Shower LUKE Warm Help Please

[julea field]

Hi All

Firstly I would like to thank any one who takes the time to read this and then gives me some ideas.

I have a small one bedroom flat and had a Worcester Combi 24cdi fitted November 2001, all previous
Water storage tanks were removed.
In April 2005 I had a whole new bathroom suite fitted and got the plumber to extend the pipe work from the bath tap outlets up the wall to fit a thermostatically controlled shower mixer bar.
I never tested the shower ( long story ), but rented the flat out in May 2005. The tenant complained that shower wasn’t to hot so I called Worcester Bosch out as I had a service contract with them. Although they had already replaced several bits in Nov 2004 including the heat exchanger they replaced something else and I never heard from the tenant again about the problem.
New tenant moved in last month and complained of the same problem, shower not getting very hot. I still have a service contract with Worcester but now I am thinking that it is the shower not the boiler. I went to check it out for myself , this is what I found:

Plenty of pressure and hot water to kitchen tap
Plenty of pressure and hot water to Bath tap.
Boiler fires up OK when shower mixer turned on, the red light is on all the time.
Boiler is on maximum heat for hot water.
Took the end of the shower mixer bar apart as the red knob which prevents going over 38c was stuck down.
Manually turned the brass swindle with my fingers on the temperature end of the bar that I had just taken apart
Didn’t matter how far I turned it up the water was still luke warm.
I could feel the hot water pipe on the wall coming into the mixer bar was hot, but the mixer valve isn’t doing a very good job of mixing the water.
The cold water pressure is very high from the shower head and I am wondering if this is over riding the pressure of the hot water.
Or maybe it is just that this mixer bar was a cheap low quality model that I got from Ebay, it was new though.

I have found a very similar looking model and price currently on Ebay, not sure if I am aloud to do links to other sites but not sure
How to up load a picture, thought it would help if you could see a picture of what I am talking about.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SAVES-ENERGY-...ryZ42347QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I have read and searched this forum for other posts on this subject before boring you all again, but was unable to get any sound advise on whether you can use these thermostat controlled mixer bars with a Combi boiler

Ok so do I replace the mixer bar with another better quality one, or forget the thermostat controlled bar and fit two separate knobs so the hot and cold can be mixed manually by a human being.
I think this shower as been like this since the day it was fitted and the previuos tenant just lived with the luke water.

All your help would be appreciated as I can do this job myself OK, just need to fit the right one this time.

Thank You

Julea Field

 

[fitz1]

would tend to agree that its the shower. put another thermostatic in due to you renting. dont want claims for scalding.

 

[Lee-King]

Before you go buying a new thermostatic replacement, remove the shower valve and there should be some filters inside the two nuts. It could just be a bit debris in them that needs cleaning out.

If this is the case, just clean out the filters and put them back in. But if you have been turning the thermostat without the control knob on, you will need to re-calobrate the temperature. You should have the information on how to do this in the instructions that came with the valve (if you kept them).

If the filters are clean it will be a new replacement thermostat thats required.

 

[julea field]

Thanks very much for your advise.

Not sure if I can undo the two pipes that attach to the bar, probably a compression joint ????. Or maybe there work on th esame idea as connecting a tap on a sink to the pipe work, just two nuts

Any suggestions on a good make to replace this cheap one with !!!!!, that's assuming that the filters are not blocked.

Thanks guys,

Found your name rather amusing "Leeking"

 

[breezer]

compression joints are there so you can open / undo them

 

[bab]

Got called to the same problem just before christmas. it was a bristan mixer similar to yours on a worchester combi. the hot water flow was slow enough when working to get the hot water very hot & it freaked out the wax capsule inside that controles the thermostat function of the valve . it also happens on comercial blending valve that work the same way. after stripping it down & refitting the rubber sleeve back on the wax capsule turned the boiler to appro 50 oC hw temp its been ok. less hassel than a new valve.

 

[Lee-King]

Thanks very much for your advise.

Not sure if I can undo the two pipes that attach to the bar, probably a compression joint ????.

To isolate the water supply to the valve all you need to do is turn off the mains water. With an adjustable spanner undo the two chrome nuts that you can see in the picture above and remove the valve. You will see the filters sitting in those nuts. It really isn't that difficult a job to do, and well worth checking before even thinking about spending any pennies on a new one.

Found your name rather amusing "Leeking"

Thanks

 

[julea field]

OK Guys, thanks for you idea's

Have read over and over the last few posts and now I am thinking that some of you think I am getting too much hot water and that the shower is too hot

Quote from Fitz1

would tend to agree that it’s the shower. put another thermostatic in due to you renting. don’t want claims for scalding.

Bab:

Not sure where I would locate the wax capsule, and it sounds like the hot water did the damage on the Bristan, I appear to have little hot water entering the valve.

I have no idea how to send any of you a private massage, perhaps someone could advise me how you do that.

I went to my local plumbers merchants today as the guys in there are pretty helpful with good knowledge. Thought I'd buy another mixer any way in case when I got to the flat the filter was clean and if I also take apart the thermo end to check out this wax capsule it's not that either. The property is a long way away from where I live don't want to make loads of trips.
Anyway the guy in the Plumbers shop got a new valve out and I asked him where I would find the wax capsule, then I explained my problem as he didn't know why I would want to take apart a new valve.
He also had the problem with a mates shower on a Combi boiler and it was the cold water pressure that was making the shower too cold.

This was something I had thought of after testing the shower the other week. The cold water is very powerful coming out of the shower head, and maybe this is over riding the hot water?

So Now I am completely CONFUSED !!!!!!!!!!!!.

He told me to fit a valve on the cold water supply to reduce the flow down to 6 litres a minute, this is something I know I can not do myself. It would make sense to check for the filters first, it's just that I want to get the job done on one trip. Or just send I, plumber round to fit this reducing valve.

Look forward to hearing from you.

How do I private message ????

Thanks guys Julea

 

[bab]

The wax capsule is in the centre of the thermosta side of the shower it has to be completely stripped down to get at. Would it be easier to fit a new valve or even better get an installer to fit a better quality valve to fit & forget . Aqualisa or mirs valve will give years of good service.