Shower / water pressue help needed

[B3Svert]

Not looking for any volunteers to scrub my back thanks, but need some help in identifying what shower would work best for me.

I have a traditional open vented HW system which manages to deliver staggeringly low water pressure upstairs, downstairs is bearable. As such, having a shower upstairs is just st, downstairs is ok but during winter is extremely cold. I would like to sort out the pressure upstairs before winter kicks in properly this year.

I see from various shops/websites that for an open vented system the only real options available are mixer showers (have this and it just dribbles) or electric showers. Electric showers seem to come in 3 flavours, 8.5, 9.5 or 10.5kw. For each power rating, would they require a different pressure into the unit? I have a feeling that given my very low pressure upstairs (both cold and hot) that I would damage the unit if sufficient pressure was not fed into it.

Am I looking at this from the wrong angle? Should I be fixing the pressure issue instead? If so, could this be blocked pipes or just a st setup, should I replace with a full pressurised cylinder instead?

Sorry for all the questions, just not sure where to start!

Cheers

[Simpo Two]

Or a shower with a pump in it - decent pressure and uses existing hot water.

[007singh]

I had a similar situation, and decided to go with a non vented system. It allows hot water at mains pressure (since it is fed by cold mains water), and does not need any moving parts like motors etc that may need to be maintained (big issue is heavy water areas).

Its also quiet, as there is no noise from any pumps etc. Maintained my same boiler, but just removed the water header tank, and relocated my water cylinder from the airing cupboard to the loft (which just gave me added space).

Worth considering. However, you do need decent mains pressure for this to work at its best. Hope that helps.

[B3Svert]

Thanks for the replies.

Re. shower with a pump in - isn't this a power shower? I read that this would not be compatible with an open vented system. I may be wrong but the electric showers must have a small pump in as they increase pressure too, must work in a different way though I guess.

Re. changing to a closed pressurised system the pricing I have seen for this seem to be £1500-2200ish, not sure I am really willing to pay that if as you say the mains pressure is required to be higher. Is there something I can do to increase the mains pressure?

[russ_a]

We had a power shower fitted that had an internal pump. We had to install a cold water header tank in the loft that cost about £150 from Screwfix. This then fed cold water direct to the shower which heated then pumped it out.

To save £20 I went forthe 8.5kw version and the performance was rubbish.

[007singh]

B3Svert said:

Thanks for the replies.

Re. shower with a pump in - isn't this a power shower? I read that this would not be compatible with an open vented system. I may be wrong but the electric showers must have a small pump in as they increase pressure too, must work in a different way though I guess.

Re. changing to a closed pressurised system the pricing I have seen for this seem to be £1500-2200ish, not sure I am really willing to pay that if as you say the mains pressure is required to be higher. Is there something I can do to increase the mains pressure?

You cant do anything to increase mains pressure, Im fairly sure of that. It is against the law to add a pump etc to any mains feed. I could be wrong in regards to other ways to do it, but im not 100%.

In regards to cost of non-vented, cylinders start from aroun £600 for a half decent one, but it depends on how big you need it etc, and which brand name you go for. For fitting, again it depends on if you have a friendly plumber etc, but it should not be too difficult to do, around 1 days work I guess. Not sure on labour rates for plumbers, but say £500 for a day might be a fair bet. Personally, I think it is money well spent provided your mains pressure is adaquate, as its maintainence free and works very well.

[oOTomOo]

You could add an electric pump to your Mixer shower to increase pressure (hot water - not mains)

Electric shower units require a minimum pressure. Get a plumber in to check your mains water pressure. IIRC they are supposed to be a certain pressure anyway. You will also need a dedicated feed to the consumer unit (fuse box) for an electric shower, depending on how far the shower is from the fuse box this may cost a few quid to install. Saying that, you might also need a dedicated feed for a pump.

[prand]

007singh said:

big issue is heavy water areas

Don't fancy living in one of those areas!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water

[B3Svert]

Thanks guys, I think the next step is to measure the water pressure I have and see what options are available. Time to find a friendly and honest plumber!

[Ricky_M]

Its flow rate you need to worry about not pressure.

The best bet would probably be a mixer shower with an external pump. You may need to install another cistern in the loft, especially if you have a low flow rate on the mains.

The mixer shower is future proof should you decide to go down the high pressure hot water route in future, be it unvented or combi.

Also a dedicated flange on the HW cylinder is advisable rather than teeing off existing pipework.

Avoid electric showers if possible, even the 10kw ones are poor.

[Smiler.]

I recently fitted a Grohe wireless unit:

http://www.grohe.co.uk/m/25_794/page/modules/pn/in...

Really easy to fit & works a treat.

[007singh]

prand said:

007singh said:

big issue is heavy water areas

Don't fancy living in one of those areas!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heavy_water

LOL, i meant hard water! Scale forms whilst you watch! so much for 3 valleys water quality!