Hot water head - low pressure shower?
Discussion
Since i moved in , the shower has been low pressure, just about bearable.
I have a conventional hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard on the landing. Hot water header tank in the loft. The header tank is about 70cm above the shower head, which i understand should give acceptable pressure. The pressure in the shower now seems to have dropped even more.
When i take the shower head off and lower it down in to the bath, the pressure is more, so i'm looking at some sort of probelm to do with the head of water.
I went up in the loft last night, and took the cover off the hot water header tank. It's only around half full. The ballcock prevents it filling any more. I can only assume it;s allways been like that.
I know i can increase the pressure at the shower head, by lifting the header tank ( i can probably get another half metre higher), but does the amount of water in the tank make a difference to the head pressure ?
The other option i'm investigating is a pump, but the girlfriend is up stupidly early, and i imagine even the quietest pump will wake me up, as the it;s all stud walls, and the airing cupboard is right next to my bedroom.
Can any plumbing experts offer any advice ?
Thanks
Avi
I have a conventional hot water cylinder in the airing cupboard on the landing. Hot water header tank in the loft. The header tank is about 70cm above the shower head, which i understand should give acceptable pressure. The pressure in the shower now seems to have dropped even more.
When i take the shower head off and lower it down in to the bath, the pressure is more, so i'm looking at some sort of probelm to do with the head of water.
I went up in the loft last night, and took the cover off the hot water header tank. It's only around half full. The ballcock prevents it filling any more. I can only assume it;s allways been like that.
I know i can increase the pressure at the shower head, by lifting the header tank ( i can probably get another half metre higher), but does the amount of water in the tank make a difference to the head pressure ?
The other option i'm investigating is a pump, but the girlfriend is up stupidly early, and i imagine even the quietest pump will wake me up, as the it;s all stud walls, and the airing cupboard is right next to my bedroom.
Can any plumbing experts offer any advice ?
Thanks
Avi
I'm no expert, but I thought the header tank was used to keep the central heating (or maybe hot water cylinder?) topped up.
The problem with the shower head pressure comes from having the main hot water tank at the same level as the shower, that's why the pressure increases when you lower the head of the shower to a point lower than the main tank.
A pump is the obvious solution, otherwise the hot water tank needs to be in the loft, or install a completely pressurised system.
One other option would be a cold water only fed electric shower that will have a quiet pump, but I find these pretty dreadful
The problem with the shower head pressure comes from having the main hot water tank at the same level as the shower, that's why the pressure increases when you lower the head of the shower to a point lower than the main tank.
A pump is the obvious solution, otherwise the hot water tank needs to be in the loft, or install a completely pressurised system.
One other option would be a cold water only fed electric shower that will have a quiet pump, but I find these pretty dreadful
JRM said:
I'm no expert, but I thought the header tank was used to keep the central heating (or maybe hot water cylinder?) topped up.
The problem with the shower head pressure comes from having the main hot water tank at the same level as the shower, that's why the pressure increases when you lower the head of the shower to a point lower than the main tank.
A pump is the obvious solution, otherwise the hot water tank needs to be in the loft, or install a completely pressurised system.
One other option would be a cold water only fed electric shower that will have a quiet pump, but I find these pretty dreadful
I have 2 header tanks, one for the central heating, and one for keeping the cyclinder full and providing a head of water , which generates the pressure at the taps.The problem with the shower head pressure comes from having the main hot water tank at the same level as the shower, that's why the pressure increases when you lower the head of the shower to a point lower than the main tank.
A pump is the obvious solution, otherwise the hot water tank needs to be in the loft, or install a completely pressurised system.
One other option would be a cold water only fed electric shower that will have a quiet pump, but I find these pretty dreadful
It' the height of the header tank in the loft that determines the pressure at the shower, rather than the height of the cyclinder.
We have a similar system to yours. A large header tank, built up on legs, in the loft, supplying a mixer shower with both hot (via the hot water cylinder) and cold water. Allowing the tank to fill a bit more will give you a small improvement in pressure.
Our hot water cylinder is actually lower than the shower, being mounted on the floor on the same story as the bathroom. As aviz has said, the height of the hot water cylinder does not affect the shower pressure. The pressure is only determined by the height of the header tank feeding the system, also your pipes need to be of sufficient bore to maintain a decent flow rate.
In order to give us a bit more flow/pressure we fitted a mixer power shower with an in built pump, which works well but is a touch noisy. If your hot supply out of the cylinder, and cold supply to the shower are close together, say in the airing cupboard, you may be able to fit a separate pump fairly easily.
Our hot water cylinder is actually lower than the shower, being mounted on the floor on the same story as the bathroom. As aviz has said, the height of the hot water cylinder does not affect the shower pressure. The pressure is only determined by the height of the header tank feeding the system, also your pipes need to be of sufficient bore to maintain a decent flow rate.
In order to give us a bit more flow/pressure we fitted a mixer power shower with an in built pump, which works well but is a touch noisy. If your hot supply out of the cylinder, and cold supply to the shower are close together, say in the airing cupboard, you may be able to fit a separate pump fairly easily.
Just had exactly the same problem. Even got as far as getting the plumber round to quote for a pump.
But as he still hadn't come back with a quote, I took the shower apart and swapped the mechanism for the one from the other bathroom (identical model). Instantly full pressure has returned. Turns out the mechanism wasn't opening fully - wasn't a pressure issue really but a flow issue. Of course now the other bathroomn has a knackered shower but I can get a new mechanism for a hundred quid...
It it was working before and has gradually worsened then I would think it unlikley that the head of water is an issue?
But as he still hadn't come back with a quote, I took the shower apart and swapped the mechanism for the one from the other bathroom (identical model). Instantly full pressure has returned. Turns out the mechanism wasn't opening fully - wasn't a pressure issue really but a flow issue. Of course now the other bathroomn has a knackered shower but I can get a new mechanism for a hundred quid...
It it was working before and has gradually worsened then I would think it unlikley that the head of water is an issue?
Edited by offshorematt2 on Saturday 7th August 00:58
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