Thermostatic Power Shower

Joined
12 Dec 2010
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Location
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Country
Ireland
Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend a good thermostatic power shower? We've got a gravity-fed system and its shocking, would like something with a little more ooomph!

It should be reasonably simple to install as we've got the hot and cold already running to the shower unit so will only need to grab some power from somewhere.

Anyway cheers in advance for any suggestions :0)

J
 
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Hi

I have a mira event xs cabinet pumped shower(pump is within the unit itself) which is great. A couple of things to bear in mind though before you start out.

1. the hot and cold feeds have to be nominally equal pressure ie hot from cylinder and cold from tank in loft. - you cant use rising mains water for your cold - is this feasible ??

2. As your storage tank in the loft feeds your cylinder as well as the cold feed for the shower check that its big enough or your shower could run dry quickly and knacker the pump.

Nothings simple im afraid!!
 
I am looking at doing the same and have done a bit of reading:

Check the 'awful' flow from your existing shower. It is probably OK for a cheaper positive head pump as long as you get much more than 1 litre/min from the shower head in its normal position and you plan on putting the pump down near the floor. There seem to be three types:
  • impeller pumps for positive head
    regenerative pumps for weak positive head (noisier)
    negative head pumps (expensive)
You'll also need a Surrey flange to prevent air entrapment. Anyway, have a look at http://www.wickes.co.uk/Good-Idea-Leaflets/Shower-Booster-Pumps/pcat/46showerpumps
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for your replies - I've been sans internet/time for the last couple of weeks so apologies for being slow getting back to you.

I'm 99% sure that the cold water is fed from the attic tank as the pressure in the shower (when using cold alone) is nothing like that from the kitchen tap downstairs. Is there any sure-fire way of checking this?

We have a large cold-water tank in the attic so I don't think it'll be a problem, I asked our plumber about installing a power shower some time ago and he said the tank would be fine. I guess I'll need to check that the actual size exceeds that recommended by the pump manufacturer.

Also, I'm positive that we get more than 1L a minute from the shower head in its normal position (and the pump would go on the floor in the airing cupboard, which backs onto the shower room) but, again, is there any way to check this for sure? Or is it just a case of filling up a watering can and timing it ;)

Thanks guys
 
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Hi

Checking if your cold comes from the loft is simple. Turn on your cold only to your current shower - get yourself in the loft - lift lid on tank. If ball valve drops and tank starts to refill then hey presto its tank fed. If nothing is happening in tank then its mains fed. Make sure your not drawing water anywhere else in the house at the same time though so your sure.

Good luck.
 
Sweet - I ran the shower on cold today and it started refilling from the tank so I think its safe to say its tank fed :)

Also measured the shower flow - on cold it took 25 seconds to fill a 1.5L bottle, so I'm going to hazard approx. 3.3L a minute (though I guess it will be less when hot is added).

Incidentally - when I was up in the attic I noticed that there is a second, smaller tank without a lid on (its also full of nasty looking gubbins - rust and dust and all sorts) is this an overflow tank or something? I hope my water doesn't get pumped through there as standard...
 
the smaller tank is prob for the central heating.

thought about adding a separate pump to your existing shower?
 

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