Power Shower - Air in pipes?

[loziv]

Hi

I have a Bristan Shower above our bath with an inline pump at the base of the hot water cyclinder.

However whenever we run a bath from the bath taps then later try to use the shower (which could be 10 mins after the bath has run or 4 hours later) the shower struggles to draw cold water but sometimes this fluctuates so no hot is drawn and only cold - and it sounds as if the pump is struggling because there is not enough flow of water through.

By turning the shower on and off a few times, moving the shower head around coupled with running the hot and cold water bath taps seems to free up the water flow and the shower operates normally again - until someone has a bath!

What is causing this and how do I resolve it?

Many Thanks
Lauren

 

[seco services]

Can only be an install issue.

Is it a new install, has it always been a problem ?
Is the bath cold supply from the cws or mains supply ?
Hows the supplies to the pump connected to the hw cylinder and cws ?

 

[loziv]

Its always been a problem since we moved in last year. The shower was put in by the previous owners - but I think its quite new

I think its from the cws, how can I check

What do you mean by
Hows the supplies to the pump connected to the hw cylinder and cws ?

I have taken some pics of the hot water cyclinder so hopefully you can help me out!

Many Thanks
Lauren

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• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

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• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

 

[loziv]

Its always been a problem since we moved in last year. The shower was put in by the previous owners - but I think its quite new

I think its from the cws, how can I check

What do you mean by
Hows the supplies to the pump connected to the hw cylinder and cws ?

I have taken some pics of the hot water cyclinder so hopefully you can help me out!

Many Thanks
Lauren

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• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

Untitled

• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

 

[seco services]

Look at the pump 2 top pipes go to shower.
2 bottom pipes 1 to hw cylinder 1 to cws

Show us a pic of the hot pipe connected to the top of cylinder.
and wheres the cold one connected straight to the cws or another pipe ?

 

[loziv]

Here is a pic of the top and side of the cylinder

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• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

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• loziv
• 14 Mar 2012
• 1

The white pipe feeds off a hot feed to another sink in a seperate WC - just in case you are thinking what it is

 

[dreadnoughtheating]

Darn it Seco, beat me to it. Again....

Just got home from a CIPHE Professhionel Development meeting with Stuart Turner (s). All about pressure/flow-rate boosting.

I get to remedy lots of these sorts of situations, I cannot identify the pump though, perhaps the OP can let us know the exact make&model. i.e postive/negative head, regenerative or centrifrugal etc.

DH

 

[seco services]

perhaps the OP can let us know the exact make&model. i.e postive/negative head, regenerative or centrifrugal etc.

Looks like a NewTeam Varispeed 50

 

[loziv]

It says Varispeed 50 on the pump

 

[seco services]

and it sounds as if the pump is struggling because there is not enough flow of water through.

First i would check the filters are clean.
The cold looks like it go's straight up the back wall to the cws.

 

[loziv]

Hi

How do you check that the filters are clean? If they were dirty there would always be a problem with the shower?

The problem only happens when you have drawn a lot of water from the bath taps, then try and use the shower whether its 10 mins later or 4 hours later

 

[longdogs]

Does shower valve have built in non return valves? If so, whip them out and fit some new ones somewhere else in the pipework. Some times they get scaled up and restrict flow. Also I notice pipes are plastic which has a smaller bore than copper.

 

[4xpaws]

I'm assuming the shower is on the same floor or lower, than the cylinder.

Trace the cold feed to the pump all the way back to the cold water cistern supplying it (or where it tees into another pipe). The pump should have a dedicated cold feed from the cistern ie. no tees on the pipework. It reads like it isn't and you're getting a airlock on the cold feed to pump.

From your photo the pipe to trace looks like the lower of the two pipes running to the pump from the LHS of the cylinder. The other pipe will go to the tee at the top of the cylinder.

You've said once 'reset', the shower (& pump) runs fine until you next run a bath. So forget the small bore pipes, non return valves, blocked pump filters - these are not induced by running the bath, or miraculously fixed by the actions you describe to 'reset' the shower again.