Shower Pump fitting....

[biblejohn]

Well, ive read so many different topics on here that im totally confused now! The situation is that ive just fitted a new bathroom suite myself, now im coming to the shower. I figured id just get a mixer shower as it wouldnt need any electrics doing so i could plumb it in myself. Now, im realising that whilst i have exceptionally high cold water pressure (mains cold system in house), the hot water isnt particularly good pressure wise.

So, im thinking of 2 options.

1) I already have a mixer shower sitting there, so i could just buy a pump to boost the hot water pressure. The cold pressure is rediculously high, so is there any reason why i cant just use a single pump on the hot feed for the bath/shower to boost it? Would i need some kind of pressure regulator on the cold mains feed to the shower to keep it constant? How would I wire the pump in? Can it just be fused and wired to the mains (with a seperate on/off switch outside the bathroom) as i presume it wont draw anywhere near as much current as an electric power shower?

2) I flog my mixer shower and just replace it with an all in one electric powershower which i then have to get an electrician out to wire up etc...

Any other suggestions?

 

[dal5band]

Difficult problem - you are sort of stuck between two systems.
The old tank system had low pressure HOT & Cold. Can you get low pressure cold just to the bath ?

The combi boiler systems use mains pressure on hot and cold.

I've heard of mixer valves that take different pressure feeds - don't know if they are any good. Doubt if you get one that fits on a bath.

Electric shower seems you best bet - need a big fat cable from your fuse box.

 

[Paul Barker]

Take the shower back, they sold you the wrong thing, get one which is suitable for mains cold and gravity hot, they do exist and are not expensive, even available with thermostatic control. They use the pressure from the cold mains to draw the hot. If you put them on a combi system they break imediately.

Get the right shower in a nutshell.

 

[Softus]

Ask for a venturi shower. If they just stare at you, ask for a Trevi Boost.

 

[biblejohn]

Ask for a venturi shower. If they just stare at you, ask for a Trevi Boost.

Yeah, i did look at venturi showers, but they were quite expensive compared to mixer showers. Speaking to a friend, what i`ll do is just pipe a cold feed from the cold water tank in the loft and feed both that & the gavity fed hot through a dual pump supplying the mixer.

Can these shower pumps just be wires straight to the mains anywhere - as long as they go through a seperate fuse & switch?

 

[Softus]

Ask for a venturi shower. If they just stare at you, ask for a Trevi Boost.

Yeah, i did look at venturi showers, but they were quite expensive compared to mixer showers. Speaking to a friend, what i`ll do is just pipe a cold feed from the cold water tank in the loft and feed both that & the gavity fed hot through a dual pump supplying the mixer.

Can these shower pumps just be wires straight to the mains anywhere - as long as they go through a seperate fuse & switch?

That's a question for the Electrics forum, but the last one that I was involved in fitting (a Mira) was rated at less than 5 Amps, but required that an RCD was used. If you don't have an RCD at the CU then there are combined FCU/RCDs available, but please be aware that what you're proposing to do requires competent electrical skills in order to be safe, and requires that the LABC be notified of the work.