Water Pressure via Electric Shower ?

[Vini]

Moved into our first "real" (mortgage!) house over the weekend. Unfortunately, as a shower connoisseur I'm really disappointed with the shower that's installed...

We've moved about 200 yards up the road, from a house with immense water pressure, and the actual water pressure through the new house is more than adequate.

However, the shower is pants. It's like a soft rainfall, when I want hail!

Any ideas on what the problem could be?

The shower itself is a Triton T70Si (8.5kW)

[Flibb]

First thing to try is descaling the shower head, most supermarkets sell the stuff to do it. Have used vinegar in the past.

[Sputnik]

could be a few things, The pressure is too low, The shower head is clogged with scale, There is a restriction in the pipe that feeds it.

I also like a shower like a monsoon.

[Funkstar]

With electric showers it isn't just down to water pressure, the shower itself has to heat whatever water it is pumping out. So if the water is colder than normal, the heating elements under powered, or you have the temperature up very high, you are going to get lower than desired flow.

That 8.5KW shower isn't going to be great, you really want a 10.5 or a 10.8KW unit. But you will need to make sure your wiring can cope.

The other suggestions are worth looking at too, but at the end of the day, a heating element rated to a particular wattage can only heat so much water.

[mmh]

could be worse...
http://thereifixedit.com/2009/12/22/...hygiene-needs/

[TheAnimus]

8.5kw as mentioned is erm, poor.

[peterb]

I would guess that the reas0on f0or an electric shower is because there isn't an easily acessible domestic hot water supply.

If you want a good shower, you either need a supply from the domestic hot water suppkly via a pump (or if the system is a pressurised system, then just off the hot water supply, or massivley uprate the electric shower - but, as others have said, you will almost certainly need to uprate the wiring back to the mains distribution board. A 10KW shower will take around 40 amps from the supply.

[Vini]

First thing to try is descaling the shower head, most supermarkets sell the stuff to do it. Have used vinegar in the past.

Cheers but, it's a new shower head and tail pipe...

I would guess that the reason for an electric shower is because there isn't an easily acessible domestic hot water supply.

If you want a good shower, you either need a supply from the domestic hot water suppkly via a pump (or if the system is a pressurised system, then just off the hot water supply, or massivley uprate the electric shower - but, as others have said, you will almost certainly need to uprate the wiring back to the mains distribution board. A 10KW shower will take around 40 amps from the supply.

Is the difference between 8.5k and 10.5k that noticeable?

Typically our sparky has broken his leg so could be a while before we get owt checked on the wiring front...

The pressure through the system would be sufficient to power a normal "mixer" shower, but the work involved in having one installed is not something we can really stretch to at the minute. It would be cheaper to install a 10.5k probably...

[Jay]

I have the same problem with our shower and our cable can't take a more powerful shower. I am getting a mains one installed run from the combi.

[smelly]

Mate i had the same problem when moving into our new home. Wife was really unhappy that our shower was pants. you switched it on and only a dribble of water came out.

I called a plumber out to do a few things and to see if he could help.

Turns out that the shower pump (2bar) has a separate fuse! the trip switch was in the airing cupboard. It had obviously been tripped and not reset. After he reset it damn me the shower was a beauty!

I suggest a looky in the airing cupboard or your fuse board.

[rox0r]

When we bought our new place we found that people staying would prefer not to use the 8Kw electric shower in the guest bathroom and would ask to use the one fed off the combi in the en suite upstairs instead. Replaced it with a Mira Sport 10.8Kw instead and had no complaints since, it's still not as good as the combi fed (we have good pressure) but it's a far cry from the dribble that old one put out.

You could have water pressure that could cut steel it doesn't affect an electric (unless you have low pressure of course) An 8.5Kw electric shower will still cut to a dribble when you turn the heat up, it just can't cope with the demand.

Oh and Smelly, a seperate pump and fuse means that it's a 'power shower', ie. fed off a low pressure tank system which isn't applicable to the OP.

[peterb]

Cheers but, it's a new shower head and tail pipe...



Is the difference between 8.5k and 10.5k that noticeable?

Typically our sparky has broken his leg so could be a while before we get owt checked on the wiring front...

The pressure through the system would be sufficient to power a normal "mixer" shower, but the work involved in having one installed is not something we can really stretch to at the minute. It would be cheaper to install a 10.5k probably...

Well its a 25% improvement - and as others have said (from experience) size does make a difference when it comes to shower power! (More energy going into the water so it can flow faster.

Fitting a plumbed in shower isn't difficult (although best done when redecorating the bathroom) but with plastic pipe and push fittings the plumbing isn't difficult. However the pump (if you are going for a pumped system needs to be carefully sited and you really need an extra feed from the cold tank (which should be lower than the feed for the hot tank) and the feed from the hot tank should also be separate from the DHW feed (you can but adaptors so you don't have to drill a hole in the hot water tank - they work well - I've fitted two)

Or you can buy shower units with a pump built in. They work by having the pump in the shower unit after the mixing valve so you just need the hot and cold water feed (same considerations apply for the feed).

There are also pumped electrically heated showers - but again the same considerations apply as for non pumped showers - lots of power, and temperature is again dependent on the flow rate.

[smelly]

Oh and Smelly, a seperate pump and fuse means that it's a 'power shower', ie. fed off a low pressure tank system which isn't applicable to the OP.

corrected my knowledge of plumbing is similar to my knowledge of what's under the bonnet of my car.

[Funkstar]

Well its a 25% improvement - and as others have said (from experience) size does make a difference when it comes to shower power! (More energy going into the water so it can flow faster.

It's a 25% overall increase in power, but all of that is going into the heating element, as the basic running of the shower will be the same regardless of the power rating. So in all likelyhood there will be a much larger increase in the heating potential of the unit

[peterb]

It's a 25% overall increase in power, but all of that is going into the heating element, as the basic running of the shower will be the same regardless of the power rating. So in all likelyhood there will be a much larger increase in the heating potential of the unit

That is true, but the OP's original concern was the shower flow/pressure, so with a more powerful element he can have a faster flow rate at the same temperature or (as you say) a hotter shower at the same flow rate. And anything in between! So many choices!

[Andeh13]

My shower is 7.5kw, an 8.5kw sounds like a suitable drowning to me!


Is there anyway to tell what sort of system your shower is, or does it take a plumber to have a good poke around behind the scenes to figure it out? It is something I will need to look at in the future but seeing as this thread is on the right subject, might see if I can scim some prior knowledge of it first!