Shower problems

[leezer3]

Hiya,
I've got an ancient Triton T50 electric shower in the ensuite (Very old design, plastic is even yellowing now) To the best of my knowledge, this has never actually been used while I've been in the house (Hose was missing initially, added a hose but never got round to using this one). Two problems as such- First, a godawful banging when I try to turn on the water. This is the only set of pipes in the house that bang, although the bath taps do bang if you turn them on with the shower on.

Anyone care to pass an opinion as to how to stop the banging? I haven't done anything to the pipes/ shower other than turn the water off a few times. The system is run off an Ariston Eurocombi A23 MFFI, no water tanks. The bathroom is on the first floor, two storey house.

Second, the little red light on the ceiling switch doesn't even come on, and the shower doesn't appear to be producing any hot water. I can't be sure that its not working though, as I can't get much of a flow out of it ATM (Related to the banging I would think), so would like to fix that first.

Cheers

-Leezer-

 

[stardanny]

Do it sound like a water hammer or a bang when you turn any tap on or off?

Loose pipe, pipe not clipped, too much pressure. Airlock on disused dead leg?

Shower: Check it not trip on RCD or MCB on CU.
Shower: It better to replace it and the pull switch as well as neon blown.

 

[leezer3]

I'm by no means certain the neon is blown , all I know is that it isn't lighting.
An electric circuit which couldn't be traced got disconnected by the electricians when the safety certificate was done, could quite easily have been the shower, as everything else works.

The noise is a constant banging/ hammering when the shower is on.

If the worst comes to the worst, what would be an approximate price for getting the shower replaced?

Cheers

-Leezer-

 

[stardanny]

Shower cost between £80 to £200. Go for TRITON or MIRA.
It a day job with a plumber and/or electrian about £150

Without looking at the pipework, I cannot tell what is causing a noise?
I was think maybe a stopcock the wrong way, maybe shower flowcontrol faulty.

It would be better to trace that pipe from shower to where and anything in between?

It would be better to replace pull switch, cable from cu to shower.

 

[leezer3]

The cold pipe to the shower etc. is floating loose inside the floor, no clipping or anything that I can see (Play of several centimeters either way), and its vibrating like crazy. There's also a cable running into the bottom of the shower & I assume from there into the wall/ switch. The shower flow control may well be faulty- It's turning on in the opposite way to the indication on the dial

Pipework looks like this FWIW:

Pipe from downstairs==> Basin (Branches upwards on a T)==> Bath (Branches upwards on a T)==> Shower


Could really do without a £300 odd bill to replace the shower, especially as the **censored** who installed it thought it was a good idea to screw the floorboards down inside the base with no play to remove them.


That means that basically then, I'm looking at a cost of about £70 or so for a very cheap shower & another £200 odd to install the thing, ugh.

-Leezer-

 

[Softus]

I've got an ancient Triton T50 electric shower in the ensuite (Very old design, plastic is even yellowing now) To the best of my knowledge, this has never actually been used while I've been in the house (Hose was missing initially, added a hose but never got round to using this one). Two problems as such- First, a godawful banging when I try to turn on the water.

IIRC with this shower you start the flow with the knob, not a button?

The system is run off an Ariston Eurocombi A23 MFFI, no water tanks.

Surely not?!

This shower is designed to be supplied with cold water from a mains supply, not hot water from a combi.

Second, the little red light on the ceiling switch doesn't even come on, and the shower doesn't appear to be producing any hot water.

You need to check that power is supplied to the switch, and that the switch is working. You can't do this effectively without a meter and a little bit of knowledge. The latter can be gained here, but do you have a meter?
_________________

It a day job with a plumber and/or electrian about £150

Are you kidding? I could do four of those in a day, but I wouldn't do a day of work for £150!

It would be better to replace pull switch, cable from cu to shower.

Why? What's wrong with the cable?

 

[stardanny]

It a day job with a plumber and/or electrian about £150

Are you kidding? I could do four of those in a day, but I wouldn't do a day of work for £150!

It would be better to replace pull switch, cable from cu to shower.

Why? What's wrong with the cable?[/quote]


4 in a days? I don't like to rush the job, cos it a bad job. Think about adjusting pipe, cable, tiling to replace if it was fitted on plaster wall, upgrade electric work, earthing, testing.

£150 to fit a like for like shower. More if any work is need. Softus: do you think, is it too dear or cheap?

Cable: When renewing shower, may need to upgrade cables as some electric shower may be 9kw or 10.5kw.

leezers: Try this, turn shower on, check pipe going into shower, is it hot? Not hot, it coming from main

 

[leezer3]

Sorry, well aware that the shower is defintely off cold mains feed (What I was getting at is that there is no cold water tank of any description in the system, never sure if the boiler model etc. is needed or not)
Turning the shower on is done ATM by turning the knob anti-clockwise. The shower itself shows a clockwise arrow for hot water and turning on.

This is the offending article:


Not worried about visible pipework or uber neatness really, just getting this fixed/ replaced. Cable wise, this appears to be the same as the rest of the cable in the house (Flat & grey, about 2cm wide) & has been plastered into the wall.
All the pipework is loose within a wooden floor, holding the pipes reduces noise to near nil so I'd hope from this that all that's required is some clips.

-Leezer-

 

[Softus]

4 in a days? I don't like to rush the job, cos it a bad job.

I said "do", not "rush".

Think about adjusting pipe, cable, tiling to replace if it was fitted on plaster wall, upgrade electric work, earthing, testing.

Electric work would be extra, naturally, but we're not talking about a higher rated shower.

£150 to fit a like for like shower. More if any work is need. Softus: do you think, is it too dear or cheap?

Too dear.

Cable: When renewing shower, may need to upgrade cables as some electric shower may be 9kw or 10.5kw.

Might do; might not.

 

[Softus]

Regarding the banging - a wild guess: if it's thermostatic I can't remember if the T50 is) the stabiliser valve could be misbehaving from lack of use.

Try turning the knob fully in each direction and running the shower for a while to coax it back into operation.

Clipping pipework is always a good idea - wafting around leads to strained joints and eventual leaks.

 

[leezer3]

How long is a while
Sounds like whole things going to shake itself to bits.
The shower definitely hasn't been used for a minimum of two years, further to that I really can't say, so lack of use is definitely a factor.

The PIR done when the house was bought didn't highlight any issues with the shower wiring, not if this means the wiring is good/ connected, or simply not electrically dangerous?
Haven't got a multimeter to hand, its one of the things I've been meaning to get for a while now for other purposes.


Things aren't helped by the fact that every time I pull up a floorboard or attempt to change a lightbulb I find a DIY bodge job in all its glory- There's 5 different types of lighbulb needed, and this is only for simple lights, nothing fancy. (Halogens in kitchen, bayonet in living room/ bedrooms, screw fit in bathroom, small screw fit in hall, candle bayonets on the stairs), and amongst the things changed so far were metal spotlights in both bathrooms

Cheers

-Leezer-

 

[Softus]

How long is a while

Clearly it's longer than a short while, and nowhere near as long as ages.

 

[Michl]

Anybody know how to remove the fascia from an ancient Triton t50? I've unscrewed the screw underneath, tried prying it off but it doesn't want to come off. There's a screw in the middle of the temperature dial, does the dial have to be removed to remove the fascia? The screw head on mine is so worn I couldn't move it.