Second shower with a combi..best to go electric?

[indus]

Hi

I know combis don't cope well with two hot water demands at the same time. If you had no choice and had to have a combi but wanted to be able to run a second shower would an electric one give an advantage?

Given that the electric shower would only draw cold water does that mean the combi would carry on happily providing it's circa 12l/min to the main shower?

Thanks

 

[gasmanstu72]

it depends what type of combi you have, and what kind of mains pressure you have, modern high output combis (30KW+) on a decent water main can cope with two outlets running at the same time quite well.

what are the chances of both showers running at the same time regularly?

remember if you fit an electric shower it could mean an expensive upgrade to your fuse board and running a 10mm cable isn't cheap either.

 

[OwainDIYer]

A lot depends on the type of shower. Triton have water-saving showers that run down to 3 - 8 litres/min.

https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/triton-dove-bar-mixer-shower---chrome/

 

[Hason]

I always state a electric shower if it's an ensuite/second bathroom as at some stage a combi not matter output will fail atleast you have a back up for hot water and also very easy to replace if they fail.
Don't put all eggs in one basket

 

[indus]

it depends what type of combi you have, and what kind of mains pressure you have, modern high output combis (30KW+) on a decent water main can cope with two outlets running at the same time quite well.

what are the chances of both showers running at the same time regularly?

remember if you fit an electric shower it could mean an expensive upgrade to your fuse board and running a 10mm cable isn't cheap either.

Hi

A new fuse board and wiring is being fitted anyway so that is not an issue. I'm not sure about modern high output combis being ok with two outlets though, even the manufacturer's own websites say that combis will not work well with more than one demand

 

[indus]

A lot depends on the type of shower. Triton have water-saving showers that run down to 3 - 8 litres/min.

https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/triton-dove-bar-mixer-shower---chrome/[/QUOTE]


Hi Owain

I take your point that there are water saving showers out there but what I'm trying to figure out is which is the better combination

1) Two showers both fed off a combi

or

2) One shower fed off a combi and the second being electric

Or is there no difference??

 

[OwainDIYer]

Depends on what you want.

Gas is approx 1/3rd the running cost of peak rate electricity, so that might be a factor in heavy use situations.

As Hason says though an electric shower gives you a backup when the boiler fails.