Power Shower Filters

[TheMrX]

Hi all.
A keep getting a problem with my power shower. Every so often it loses all pressure although the pump is still going.

When I remove the shower I find that the filter washers are blocked up with some sort of fibres (like cotton wall).

My pump is in my loft, so I wonder if during the 'pumping' process it draws in air and what I am seeing is the fibres from the loft lagging that are in the air being drawn into the pump and then being caught by the filters?

I've checked all the filters on both sides of the pump and they are clear. They only appear on the filter just before the shower unit itself.

Does that sound plausible? And if so can anyone recommend a way of stopping it? (Other than moving the pump from the loft!)

Could I make some sort of box for it? Or does it need air flow around it?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[m1key00]

It would be impossible for fibres from around the pump to get into the pipes, I would recommend not boxing in the pump as this could cause it to overheat.

The fibres must be getting in from the storage tank, this would be where I would check first, maybe the tank lagging has got into the tank?

Hope that helps.

 

[TheMrX]

Thanks for the reply m1key00.

The first time it happened (last year) I thought it might be the storage tank as it was replaced at the same time the pipework was put in for the power shower. So, I drained it down and had a good look inside but it seemed spotless.

I would have thought that the fibres would also be getting stuck at the filter that leads into the pump as well. But that is perfectly clear.

Also, I thought after draining the tank, and having cleared the filters at least 4 times previously that any amount that was in the tank would now be gone.

That's why I thought that maybe 'new' fibres are being drawn in somewhere, somehow?

PS I've also checked that there are no cracks, holes or splits in the storage tank itself that could be letting in the fibres but that is all in tact.

 

[m1key00]

There is still no way fibres can get into the pipes from the surroundings, if they could get in then water would get out and you would have a leak.

Is there any way you could blast the pipes through without the shower unit in place, maybe isolate the pipes to the shower, disconnect the pump, and join the pipes, remove the shower and open the valves, collect the water in a bucket and see if there are any of the fibres in it.

I still believe that the fibres are either stuck in the pipes or in the tank.