Water pressure / poor plumbing?

[maarten]

Hi, last year sometime I had a new cylinder fitted in the house along with having the small central heating tank in the loft moved. After the plumber had left I had no water to the electric shower so I had to call the plumber back. Since then I have had problems with poor pressure in the shower. If someone turns on a tap the shower shows low pressure and goes cold.

In the loft I have a very large cold water tank (it seems much larger than normal). Would the shower have run from this tank before and since the plumber came he switched the shower to mains? At the moment the shower is running straight from the mains. If I switched the shower to be fed from the huge tank could this help solve the low pressure?

I really don't understand what the plumber did in the loft but it is now very frustrating as we didn't have the problem before. I am happy to have a go at changing the lay out in the loft myself but I am not sure what should run where.

 

[bengasman]

... At the moment the shower is running straight from the mains. If I switched the shower to be fed from the huge tank could this help solve the low pressure?

It is probably the other way around; shower was running from mains, and numpty connected it to the tank

 

[TicklyT]

Easiest check first - is your mains water stopcock fully open?

Half open may supply enough water most of the time, you may only notice if you open two cold taps at the same time.

Some people half open the stopcock to check their work for leaks, then forget to fully open it afterwards - at least I have done that

If your plumber has taken the feed to the shower from a tee after a service valve, that may be restricting the flow. Many service valves have a small bore, only intended to feed one outlet. Full bore valves are available.

 

[maarten]

Thanks for your fast replies.

I have looked at the stopcock in the road outside my house as I know he shut that off. That seems fine. I have also looked at the stopcock where the mains comes into the house. This looks old but was open fully.It is slightly stiff though. Is it worth trying to replace the old looking stopcock incase this is damaged and restricting the flow? One other thing that springs to mind but is probablly a longshot, could the limescale be building up on the stopcock and reducing flow?

Could it be that the previous owners of the house had a similar problem and that is why they installed such a large tank in the loft? Can you buy a shower that would run well if it was tank fed?

 

[maarten]

I have been thinking about this problem. It only becomes a problem when using the shower. Considering this, what is the creme de la creme of showers? I would like a shower that gives loads more water and stays at a stable temperature. If I put a new shower in that may cure both problems.

 

[bengasman]

If I put a new shower in that may cure both problems.

Unlikely.

 

[lufcmark]

If your shower has an inlet strainer this may have become partially blocked.

If you are thinking of upgrading your electric shower you need to consider the existing electrical feed too and the maximum output of shower it is capable of supplying.

 

[jackthom]

Following the plumbers visit are you absolutely certain that the shower is still directly connected to the mains.

Does the shower lose pressure only when a mains cold tap is turned on?