Shower options to replace Aqualisa

[davek_964]

I rent out a property which has an Aqualisa smart shower fitted. it's an old one (I think 15 years+) - the controls are at the bottom of the shower rail (On/off and boost buttons plus a lever for adjusting temperature). The control board / pump are in the loft. A separate diverter valve is used to direct the water to the bath instead.

The on / off button seems to have broken (very hard to push in) - so it's very difficult to start and very difficult to stop. In addition, the flow looks a bit weak (it was never all that powerful anyway despite being pumped, but looked weak when I saw it).

I've contacted Aqualisa about fixing it and they've given me two options :

About £600 to replace the module with the buttons plus the unit in the loft - 2 year guarantee
About £1k to completely replace everything - same basic design with the controls in the same place, but more modern - 5 year guarantee

I obviously want to avoid anything that effects tiles etc. so even if I got a plumber to replace the shower - I assume they'd be pretty limited to using Aqualisa anyway?

I'm tempted to just bite the bullet and pay Aqualise to replace it - although I'd prefer not to spend £1k, the original has done a pretty decent run - but want to make sure I'm not missing obvious alternatives.

[Simpo Two]

davek_964 said:

The on / off button seems to have broken (very hard to push in) - so it's very difficult to start and very difficult to stop.... - but want to make sure I'm not missing obvious alternatives.

Can you take the button apart and clean the contacts? (or find another one on eBay?

[davek_964]

Simpo Two said:

davek_964 said:

The on / off button seems to have broken (very hard to push in) - so it's very difficult to start and very difficult to stop.... - but want to make sure I'm not missing obvious alternatives.

Can you take the button apart and clean the contacts? (or find another one on eBay?

From a search, it seems most likely that there a rubber seal behind the button which has become dislodged and is obstructing the button now.

Realistically, I don't think it's something I can fix easily - I don't really want to spend hours at the house trying to dismantle a shower, which I might make worse anyway. If I lived there, I would probably try but it's not really practical when I don't.

Plus - even if I could do that, it seems the pump is weak now - and the shower mount no longer wants to stay in place on the pole.

Overall it seems like a new shower is probably the best thing - it's just whether there are alternatives to it costing ~£1k

[Simpo Two]

davek_964 said:

Overall it seems like a new shower is probably the best thing - it's just whether there are alternatives to it costing ~£1k

At least if it's a rental you can put it through the books and save some tax.

[Geffg]

If only a rental id go for the cheaper option.

[davek_964]

Geffg said:

If only a rental id go for the cheaper option.

It was tempting, but since it's a rental I also like the idea of 5 year guarantee (new) vs 2 year for repair - so I've gone for new.

For reasons I will never understand, the current version of the shower I have connects to Alexa etc. and can be controlled by voice. Why you'd need to do that when you need to be physically present to actually have a shower I'm not sure.