shower AGAIN!

[cwyn]

long stoy short..

moved into a 50's property ..bungalow with loft conversion.

It's got a shower in the roof/conversion with a cold water tank at the same level, also a shower/bath ground floor with a heated imersion tank at the same ground level.

spent 50 quid on elec shower for up shower and 300 for elec shower ground floor....both rubbish! ok..they are ok-ish but i want a bit of power and as I am about to attack both rooms soon I would like some advice please.

ground floor- should I try for a gravity fed "power" type ?the heating tanks on 24/7 anyway ? the 300 qiud elec seems to be doing what it's supposed to but not enough power??

up - What? I need a powerfull shower in one area?

any ideas ?

cwyn

 

[stem]

If you want to use the stored hot water you have, how about a power shower? Basically these are a pump with two impellers that will take the stored hot and cold water supplies you have and give them some 'umph'. Some pumps are capable of driving two showers. Some of the more popular makes are, Stuart Turner, Salamander, Watermill (Grundfos)

For a Stuart Turner brochure click here

 

[cwyn]

If you want to use the stored hot water you have, how about a power shower? Basically these are a pump with two impellers that will take the stored hot and cold water supplies you have and give them some 'umph'. Some pumps are capable of driving two showers. Some of the more popular makes are, Stuart Turner, Salamander, Watermill (Grundfos)

For a Stuart Turner brochure click here

Spot on, so its the pump route.

if i'm shelling out for a pump can i also help the 5 min wait for the hot water to get to my kitchen tap that's approx 15 mtr away from tank?

silly q coming up... if I get pump that feeds two showers one up one down (and kitchen tap maybe) do I then need a thermostatic tap/control for the shower mech..the bit you turn on/off?

 

[electronicsuk]

if i'm shelling out for a pump can i also help the 5 min wait for the hot water to get to my kitchen tap that's approx 15 mtr away from tank?

Indeed you can, by installing new pipework from the kitchen back to the HW cylinder, a bronze pump and an essex flange to create a secondary circulation loop. This will keep water at cylinder temperature running through the pipework whenever the pump it on, so the pipework should all be well insulated, and the pump on a timer so it's not running in the middle of the night when not necessary.

silly q coming up... if I get pump that feeds two showers one up one down (and kitchen tap maybe) do I then need a thermostatic tap/control for the shower mech..the bit you turn on/off?

You don't have to buy a thermostatic shower, but they are much better than non-thermostatic.

 

[stem]

If I get pump that feeds two showers one up one down (and kitchen tap maybe) do I then need a thermostatic tap/control for the shower mech..the bit you turn on/off?

I would. That way you won't notice the fluctuation when the other shower is operated. And it's not a silly question BTW.

Think carefully about the kitchen tap though, the pump electronicsuk is talking about isn't the same as the shower pump. The shower pump has two impellers one for hot and one for cold, and it's designed to increase the pressure and flow.

The other type of pump is a 'circulator' similar to a central heating pump, you would have to make a loop of pipe from the hot water cylinder to the tap(s) and back to the cylinder, the pump continually circulates hot water around the loop so that when you turn the hot tap on the supply is instantaneous. As electronicsuk states the whole run has to be insulated to keep it warm. The pump will consume about 50W of electricity continuously, and it won't make much if any difference to the flow rate or pressure.