Shower Pump - Paint Blockage?

[Tebejo]

Hi,

We have a shower pump that we had installed around 18 months ago. It wasn't working this morning.. still made a noise, but less noise than usual and no water made it out of the shower head.
I assume they are expected to last beyond 18mths from new, therefore I'm concerned it might be blocked.
I've been doing some decorating yesterday.. swilled down the left over (water based) paint down the bath plug hole.
Could this have somehow blocked the shower pump?

thanks!

 

[CynicalSoul]

Hi,
Thats not possible, the waste from your shower, bath, sink and toilet are all completely separate to the shower pump.
If the paint was going to cause any problem you would notice the bath water draining away slower, thats all.
The pump could be a number of problems, difficult to tell without looking, but definitely not blocked with paint. Hope that helps

 

[Richard C]

We have a shower pump that we had installed around 18 months ago. It wasn't working this morning.. still made a noise, but less noise than usual and no water made it out of the shower head.
I assume they are expected to last beyond 18mths from new, therefore I'm concerned it might be blocked.

The best quality pumps have a 3 year warrant but if they are not correctly installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, they will have a very much shortened life & the manufacturer will not honor the warranty. The pump might be blocked, seized or just air locked which bleeding will cure but if it’s happened once, it’ll likely happen again. Air locking usually happens as a result of not fitting a proprietary anti-aeration flange to the cylinder or incorrect pump/pipe work installation, typically no vents fitted at the top of up & over loops to the mixer valve. Don’t run it until you get it looked at or if it isn’t knackered already, it soon will be.

I've been doing some decorating yesterday.. swilled down the left over (water based) paint down the bath plug hole. Could this have somehow blocked the shower pump?

No, the bath waste is completely separate but your still unwise to pour paint down it.

 

[Tebejo]

thanks very much for the replies.
We had a new water tank fitted recently and it caused endless subsequent problems with minor leaks from pipes connecting to it (due to its awkward position in the airing cupboard, the plumber had problems reaching to sufficiently tighten the joins etc). Upshot, he's had to drain the system 2 or 3 times over the last month when we called him back in each time. He did mention we might have to bleed the system. We didn't, but last time he came in was 10 days ago, and it's only now we have issues.

Could trapped air only materialise as a problem 10 days down the line?
Perhaps something to do with the heat wave?

Oh well, looks like yet another plumber call out!

 

[Richard C]

He did mention we might have to bleed the system.

If he drained the system down to fix his leaks, he should have bled it as part of the refilling procedure; I hope your not paying him ever time he visits to correct his mistakes

Could trapped air only materialise as a problem 10 days down the line?

Quiet possible.

Perhaps something to do with the heat wave?

No.

 

[Tebejo]

thanks. he only lives round the corner.. so he's been fixing the probs at very short notice without charging us. I bet he dreads getting a phone call from us though! We'll try and bleed the system tonight, see if that does the trick.

 

[CynicalSoul]

As you say you have a pump I will assume you have seperate hot and cold feeds to your shower, if thats the case there might be a trick that could get the air lock out.

Hold a flanel or towel tight over the the shower head (the idea is to stop the water or air getting out of the shower head)

Turn the flow on, full if possible

Turn the heat setting back and forth from hot to cold several times

The idea is to force the air lock back up the pipe to the tank with the pressure of the opposite water feed.

 

[CynicalSoul]

Dont try this for too long though as the pump is running dry, although there should be a power switch for you to turn the pump off while you do it but the lower pressure wont be as effective

 

[Tebejo]

ok, will give it a try (we know where the switch is). Can safely say I'd never of thought of this approach thanks

 

[CynicalSoul]

No problem, let us know if it works.

 

[stardanny]

You could do a few check:

1. check that the inlet filters of the pump ( if fitted ) is cleared.

2. do the pump come on when you turn shower on?

3. is the shower head higher than the water level in cold storage tank?

4. try lower the shower head closer to tray ( or bath if you got one ), this will usally clear airlock. Try with pump turned off, check water run and then turned on, is there a different?

5. if you can do plumbing skill, switch pump off, turn water off to pump, disconnect inlet connector of pump and with a bucket under, turn water each to check if the water running or not. If both hot and cold running ok, no problem with plumbing system.

If it still does not solve problem, the pump may need service or renew.

Dan

 

[Symptoms]

Teb - as you live in the SE you'll have 'hard water' with associated problems caused by limescale. Maybe, just maybe, your shower head might be blocked by limescale. Just a quick check can confirm this ... unscrew the flexy pipe from the shower head, lower the pipe towards the shower tray, then turn on the shower for a moment or two to observe flow. Good flow from pipe means blocked shower head; no flow or old-mans' dribble means pump issue. Hope this helps.