Performance after fitting shower booster pump

[mackandmutley]

Have recently fitted a pressure pump-1.5 bar during a new install to supply a shower enclosure Results aren't as impressive as I hoped. Three thoughts

1] shower instructions specify connection to mains inputs via flexes. These need to be 600mm long due to maintenance. Question is that would these flexes be restricting the flow becos they seem to have a internal bore of about 8mm?

2] instructions also explain to fit isolator valves to the flexes to allow isolation of supply for maintenance so I went for flexes with isolator valves built into them. Question is could these isolators be restricting flow?

3] all pipework to and from pump are in 15mm copper as I have seen in friends/families installations and flexes supplied with pump are 15mm push fit. Could these be better in 22mm

Any suggestions gratefully recieved.

Thanks

 

[ChrisR]

connection to mains inputs via flexes

Hope that's a typo - you shouldn't be connecting anything to the mains!

Boittom line is to measure your flow. If you have a shower head designed for an electric shower or one that's scaled up it'll be restrictive. Measure the flow at showering temp, into asay a 9 litre bucket. Then remove the shower head, assuming it's a handset, and measure the flow from the hose itself.
What do you get?
ANything over 10l/min would be normal.

Remember that ALL the flow has to coup the shower hose, so 15mm and flexy hoses on the pump inputs are fine.

 

[mackandmutley]

Sorry yes, not into mains but simply from the outputs from the pump.

 

[mackandmutley]

Perhaps didn't explain enough, the shower enclosure and fittings are all new and its one of these all singing and all dancing shower cabins where you connect water and electric to it and it has a multitude of heads and settings etc. Bought the pump from the same shop and was told it was perfect for this cabin.

 

[ChrisR]

Not surprised the performance is a bit poor from a 1.5 bar pump with more than one or two outlets. Still, do measure the flows combined.

Then consider your HW store. If you have say 100 litres hot, which you mix with cold to give say 140 litres, and you put a pump in which will dump it at 28 litres/min, that's only 5 minutes showering.

 

[mackandmutley]

Only one outlet is able to be on at once via control valve switch. Do you think that flexes/isolator valve are not contributing to weak performance. Is a HW capacity as simple as increasing cylinder or is that too simple?

 

[Technotim]

1] shower instructions specify connection to mains inputs via flexes. These need to be 600mm long due to maintenance. Question is that would these flexes be restricting the flow becos they seem to have a internal bore of about 8mm?

Yes ditch them. Full bore flexi, Full bore valves.

As ChrisR say's 1.5bar not good.

Does the Manual that comes with the shower reccomend 1.5 bar most showers with diverters to multi outlets need at least 2bar and more,

Most pumps of that size require 22mm pipe work.
you can reduce to 15mm near the shower.

I think you might have been under sold the pump size myself.

Take it back! I would not mention the way you have connected it though

Even if you changed the flexi pipes you still really do not have enough pressure.

What is the brand and model of pump?