Warm water coming through cold tap in bathroom

[andyr123]

Hi there, wanted to have a pumped shower without the expense of buying a shower pump so I had a Mira Elite 9kw pumped shower unit and disconnected the terminals to the heater inside (as the shower gets its hot water from the large copper immersion tank in the airing cupboard). This morning I turn on the cold tap in the bathroom (which gets its feed from the cold water storage tank in the loft not from the mains) and the cold tap is giving out warm/lukewarm water instead of cold now and we clean our teeth with the cold water from the bathroom tap.

I dont really know whats going on, as far as I know there is no water going up the expansion pipe into the cold water tank from the hot water copper immersion cylinder so what else could be happening and what can i do to avoid it. Is there such a thing as a one way non return valve I could fit in the cold line to stop the hot water mixing with the cold water? Thanks for any advice.

Shower with Pump

• andyr123
• 15 Nov 2012
• 1

Hi there, wanted to have a pumped shower without the expense of buying a shower pump so I had a...

 

[seco services]

Who plumbed that in ?
Your more likely getting cross over through the mixer.

Is this shower mixer on the bath ?
How do you use it ?

What do you do turn shower on then open/adjust the temp by the mixer tap ?

 

[ianmcd]

"Is there such a thing as a one way non return valve I could fit in"

What do you think a non-return valve does ?

 

[xr4x4]

I didn't know you could get a 9kw pumped shower.... How does that work then?

 

[andyr123]

"Is there such a thing as a one way non return valve I could fit in"

What do you think a non-return valve does ?

I havent seen/heard of a compression fitting non return valve for plumbing in, I see the gate valves and shut of valves in compression fittings - what do they come in 1/2" and 3/4" versions? and just fit in-line in the pipe?

 

[andyr123]

I didn't know you could get a 9kw pumped shower.... How does that work then?

Its a 9kw shower with a pump in it

 

[andyr123]

Who plumbed that in ?
Your more likely getting cross over through the mixer.

Is this shower mixer on the bath ?
How do you use it ?

What do you do turn shower on then open/adjust the temp by the mixer tap ?

Yeah its a mixer lever on the wall (not thermostatically controlled though) and the outlet just went originally from the mixer lever to the fixed shower head and was gravity fed - so all I have done is put a pump in between the mixer outlet to the shower head, so i have a more powerful shower what I set out to do which is good but now I seem to have lukewarm water coming out the cold bathroom basin tap and the bath cold tap.

Yeah i wonder if its crossover as you say through the mixer tap, if it is why werent i getting crossover problem and lukewarm water out the cold taps when it was being gravity fed? why all of a sudden now I have put a pump inline between the mixer outlet and shower head. The pump really should only be pumping in one direction shouldnt it just to the direction of the shower head and not back to the mixer shouldnt it?

 

[xr4x4]

I'm guessing your not leaving the mixer hot and cold taps open?

 

[seco services]

I didn't know you could get a 9kw pumped shower.... How does that work then?

Same as a mains electric shower but this is supplied by a cistern.

 

[seco services]

As said earlier your more likely passing hot to cold in the mixer.
Is the mixer being left in shower mode ?

 

[andyr123]

I'm guessing your not leaving the mixer hot and cold taps open?

Thanks Paul, Well the way i am operating it at the moment is (so as i dont burn out the motor pump by letting it run dry) is I leave the lever on and then pull the 45amp cord just outside the shower cubicle to turn the water/shower unit on and off (shower has solenoid in to cut off water when electric mains power to shower unit is killed) because if I turn off the mixer lever first the pump will run dry until I pull the 45a cord pull just outside the shower cubicle. Do you reckon this is what the problem could be, because I am not turning the actual mixer lever on and of but just letting the shower unit solenoid turn the water flow on and off instead?

If I were to turn the lever off whilst the pump is still running and then a couple of seconds later when I get out of the shower pull the cord switch will this harm the pump motor or shorten its life do you think?

 

[seco services]

Why don't you use the button on the front of shower to isolate it instead of the pullcord ?
And turn the lever off the same time.

It's not really the ideal setup for this type of shower.

 

[andyr123]

Why don't you use the button on the front of shower to isolate it instead of the pullcord ?
And turn the lever off the same time.

It's not really the ideal setup for this type of shower.

I have got the Shower unit tucked away neatly in the airing cupboard (which is behind the shower cubicle / mixer tap /shower head) so i didnt have to drill into tiles and have the shower unit inside the shower cubicle - in any case I think the front switch on the shower does any different to what pulling the ceiling cord does which is to kill the 240v electrics thereby de-energising the solenoid in the shower thereby shutting off the water to the shower head. I may be wrong but I think thats how it works.

 

[seco services]

yes it shuts off the pump/solenoid but i didn't know you had the shower unit in the cupboard.
so you could isolate shower and mixer at same time.

 

[andyr123]

yes it shuts off the pump/solenoid but i didn't know you had the shower unit in the cupboard.
so you could isolate shower and mixer at same time.

well I could turn off the lever to stop the water (then the motor noise changes, goes higher pitch I think) and then I can step out of shower and pull the ceiling pullcord switch, as long as doing it this way it wont ruin the motor having a couple of seconds it running without water going through the pump. and then I can see if this stops the lukewarm water coming out of the cold taps in the bathroom.