BOTH upstairs showers dead?
Discussion
Bit of an odd one - both upstairs Aqualisa showers have died simultaneously. Pumps run, controls all light up but only a dribble comes out briefly.
It died yesterday, and some faffing with turning one off/on/off/on/etc got one to work, whereupon the other was also good.
Today, same thing, but I can't sort it. Seems like it could be an airlock - but it's a pressurized system.
It died yesterday, and some faffing with turning one off/on/off/on/etc got one to work, whereupon the other was also good.
Today, same thing, but I can't sort it. Seems like it could be an airlock - but it's a pressurized system.
EmailAddress said:
Work it back.
Pumps off, does water get through to the shower heads.
Is there water at the pumps.
Are they overheating and tripping out.
Do you have both hot and cold feed making it to the pumps.
...
I'm trying to think the fault through logically before spending too much time crawling around in a cramped, hot loft space with thick insulation Pumps off, does water get through to the shower heads.
Is there water at the pumps.
Are they overheating and tripping out.
Do you have both hot and cold feed making it to the pumps.
...
I know there's some fancy boxes with valves for electronic controls for each shower - but as both have stopped at the same time, unlikely to be one of them at fault. They're both powered OK because I can hear stuff whirring and lights flash as they try to operate. The electronics don't let me turn on the shower without the pump...
If there's no water, - but also no water pouring through the ceiling - it guess a pipe must be 'blocked' somehow...
I remembered there are pressure reducing valves on the hot/cold feeds to the showers, fitted when we changed to a pressurized system to avoid having to change the shower controllers. Possibly one of those is stuck?
Fastpedeller said:
The 'super-expensive' control with-a-button type showers seem to give problems in very cold weather, maybe very hot has a similar effect?
Sometimes simple is best.
Indeed. Oddly, we had no issues last summer. Sometimes simple is best.
Controllers are about £500 each, although I've found somewhere that services/repairs them for a reasonable fee, if we need that. They were installed by previous owner who had a gravity-fed system. so needed something to give decent flow. Now we've a pressurized system we could probably switch back to 'normal' showers.
EmailAddress said:
Any use... LINK?
Thanks, that is the kind of system we have. - Except, ours is pressurized system - but there are PRVs inline before the showers, as the showers were installed when it was gravity-fed.I've tried the procedure, but no joy. Debris filters will be checked, but doesn't explain why both failed at the same time.
EmailAddress said:
How long ago did you swap from gravity to pressurised?
ETA. And does the route the pipes take from the pump to the shower dip below and raise above the height of the shower head?
12 months ago. Not sure of the route, but the pumps are in the loft, and the shower hose is at waist level before going up to the head. Same layout in both showers.ETA. And does the route the pipes take from the pump to the shower dip below and raise above the height of the shower head?
... and like clockwork, today, as soon as we get hot weather, they're both failed again. Problem is definitely worse than last year.
When plumber was last out they were both working, naturally.
My suspicion is that the mod they did when converting from pumped to gravity (basically, fitting a pressure reducing valve in front) is part of the problem.
When plumber was last out they were both working, naturally.
My suspicion is that the mod they did when converting from pumped to gravity (basically, fitting a pressure reducing valve in front) is part of the problem.
Realised I forgot to say this was finally (and fairly expensively) solved last summer!
As above, we had boiler replaced in 2022 and system converted from gravity fed to unvented.
The plumbers who did this realised - while installing - that there were two pumped (low pressure) aqualisa showers, and so put PRVs on the inputs to them,
After endless faffing of 'rebalancing' the PRVs, replacing them, to no avail, we finally replaced the old pumped shower processors with unpumped ones (about £350 each...). Problem solved.
Was able to flog the old used shower processors on Ebay for a couple of hundred, which eased the pain a little!
As above, we had boiler replaced in 2022 and system converted from gravity fed to unvented.
The plumbers who did this realised - while installing - that there were two pumped (low pressure) aqualisa showers, and so put PRVs on the inputs to them,
After endless faffing of 'rebalancing' the PRVs, replacing them, to no avail, we finally replaced the old pumped shower processors with unpumped ones (about £350 each...). Problem solved.
Was able to flog the old used shower processors on Ebay for a couple of hundred, which eased the pain a little!
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