electric showers

Joey the lips · 09-11-2012 11:02am

comfysofa wrote: »

Hi,

I'm getting a new pumped electric shower for a second bathroom. Just wonder if anyone has any recommendations as to which make or model. Should I stick to Mira or Triton? Creda and Gainsborough get fairly good reviews on Amazon and seem to be a bit cheaper, but this might be a case of you get what you pay for?

One thing to note is that we live in an area with lots of limescale... lots as in a new kitchen kettle every two months and you have to chew your coffee That said, this new shower won't be used every day.

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Either a mira elite 2 or triton t90. They are both good and come with good back up service. The triton is usually cheaper so its really down to your feelings

Gypsy Roman wrote: »

Place I just moved into has a Dimplex 2000 Electric shower,there are tons of little dots on the dial and out of about 40 only one of them is a hot point,soon as u move it off that it goes freezing,had fun for the first few weeks finding that out. Brrrrrr.

It sounds like a mains pressure problem. I am unfamilular with this shower so cant advise. But you will need to correct this. The usually way to do this is by pass the mains and useing a single impeller pump you connect the shower to the cold tank in the attic

comfysofa · 09-11-2012 8:28pm

corkgsxr wrote: »

Get Mira, they last

Joey the lips wrote: »

Either a mira elite 2 or triton t90. They are both good and come with good back up service.

Thank you both!

Tomk1 · 08-12-2012 10:26pm

km79 wrote: »

Long story short there is a crack in the top of shower casing so I stopped using it over a year ago as it was letting in water and tripped switch .
Would it be safe to silicone over crack ? Or is there a better way ?
Also shower has come away from tiles on one side . Is it possible to get some kind of grip to refix it to tile ?
Thanks

Reply to old post but may help others.
Years ago our shower was letting water in trought a crack in the case, also the screw mounts at back, used a plastic glue gun (Aldi/Lidl etc) perfet job, better than silicon as rebuilt/reinforced/sealed the plastic case. The shower lasted another three years before it packed in. I recently used the plastic glue gun to seal up a leak on the bath/wall seal, even temperary? repaired a hole in the mains water pipe after a rat (with the water on as valve wouldn't shut off the water), that was well over 5 years ago.

A note on power; get the 10mm cable, as recently after replacing the standard 6mm (cooker cable) ok for 8.5kw shower max but it's not up to the rating above 8.5kw due to constant current flow, even though an electric cooker can pull higher wattage, it's not constant current. Had to replace switch & fuse holder as burn out. Sometimes it's overlooked when replacing a shower, well in my case anyway.

Merch · 08-12-2012 10:39pm

Tomk1 wrote: »

Reply to old post but may help others.
Years ago our shower was letting water in trought a crack in the case, also the screw mounts at back, used a plastic glue gun (Aldi/Lidl etc) perfet job, better than silicon as rebuilt/reinforced/sealed the plastic case. The shower lasted another three years before it packed in. I recently used the plastic glue gun to seal up a leak on the bath/wall seal, even temperary? repaired a hole in the mains water pipe after a rat (with the water on as valve wouldn't shut off the water), that was well over 5 years ago.

A note on power; get the 10mm cable, as recently after replacing the standard 6mm (cooker cable) ok for 8.5kw shower max but it's not up to the rating above 8.5kw due to constant current flow, even though an electric cooker can pull higher wattage, it's not constant current. Had to replace switch & fuse holder as burn out. Sometimes it's overlooked when replacing a shower, well in my case anyway.

I'm not so sure about your gluing techniques, but if they work

On the other hand, totally agree about the 10 square cable, had to practically insist someone get this instead of what they were recommended (6 square) as they guy said 10 square was to difficult to work with?. No room to upgrade, plus unless a calculation was done you couldn't be certain 6 square would cover it, given it was a long run. There is not really that much in the difference in cost.

Do you mean your cooker switch and fuse holder was burnt?

johnwest288 · 10-12-2012 6:01pm

Are electric showers very noisy? Was thinking to get one but the wall it would be attached to is a stud wall (brutal for acoustics) and the room directly behind is a bedroom

Hardy Eustace · 12-12-2012 11:37pm

I fitted an electric shower in my mother's bathroom last weekend. I used qualpex piping into the compression fitting on the shower itself. For some reason, I'm not sure in retrospect if I fitted the plastic insert into the qualpex pipe before fitting it. You know the "I'm not sure if I switched off the cooker" dread you get when you're 100 miles down the road - I just can't be sure I remember doing it.

I don't want the hassle of replacing the piping if it's not necessary as it will mean removing tiles and digging the pipe out of the wall. Also, my mother's house is 150 miles away, so I'm not in a position to check for leaking immediately (there was no obvious leak when I fitted it).

So my question is - am I definitely in trouble, short or long term, if the insert is not in there? I've been googling and I find lots of reference to the requirement to use inserts with Tectite/push-fit fittings in various spec documents. I can't find any "official" requirement to use them with compression fittings, though I see it recommended in forums, etc.

Joey the lips · 13-12-2012 3:44am

Hardy Eustace wrote: »

I fitted an electric shower in my mother's bathroom last weekend. I used qualpex piping into the compression fitting on the shower itself. For some reason, I'm not sure in retrospect if I fitted the plastic insert into the qualpex pipe before fitting it. You know the "I'm not sure if I switched off the cooker" dread you get when you're 100 miles down the road - I just can't be sure I remember doing it.

I don't want the hassle of replacing the piping if it's not necessary as it will mean removing tiles and digging the pipe out of the wall. Also, my mother's house is 150 miles away, so I'm not in a position to check for leaking immediately (there was no obvious leak when I fitted it).

So my question is - am I definitely in trouble, short or long term, if the insert is not in there? I've been googling and I find lots of reference to the requirement to use inserts with Tectite/push-fit fittings in various spec documents. I can't find any "official" requirement to use them with compression fittings, though I see it recommended in forums, etc.

There is no simple answer. Yes your in trouble but you may get away with it.

Hardy Eustace · 14-12-2012 3:43pm

Thanks, Joey. I did a little experiment. I put a blanking cap on the end of a piece of 15mm qualpex, using a compression joint. I didn't include an insert and I deliberately left the end of the pipe rough and not exactly cut straight across. I attached the other end to the garden hose (glued it into the end of the hose) and attached it to the mains tap - pretty high pressure. There was no leak. I left it overnight and it was still OK this morning.

That's put my mind at ease a little. I know I might just have got lucky and that there's no guarantee the shower joint is good, but it shows it possibly has a fighting chance. No reports of leaks in the shower yet anyway, so I feel comfortable with waiting to check it out when I visit at Christmas.

viztopia · 15-12-2012 9:00am

I moved house and have a problem with a triton shower. When I pull the cord the red light comes on ok but when I press the on button for water the red light goes out and no water comes. Had the plumber in the house last weekend and he reckons its an electrical fault. It's not tripping the fuse. Anyone any ideas?

Joey the lips · 15-12-2012 2:18pm

viztopia wrote: »

I moved house and have a problem with a triton shower. When I pull the cord the red light comes on ok but when I press the on button for water the red light goes out and no water comes. Had the plumber in the house last weekend and he reckons its an electrical fault. It's not tripping the fuse. Anyone any ideas?

Sounds like an electrical fault. Then again it could be something simple like a faulty pull chord switch or a litlle more serious

Bruthal · 09-01-2013 1:03pm

viztopia wrote: »

I moved house and have a problem with a triton shower. When I pull the cord the red light comes on ok but when I press the on button for water the red light goes out and no water comes. Had the plumber in the house last weekend and he reckons its an electrical fault. It's not tripping the fuse. Anyone any ideas?

Not sure if you fixed yet, and it may be of assistance to others with a similar problem, but that`s a loose/bad connection either at the mcb board and the pull chord, or the pull chord switch itself is gone faulty.

The connection is good enough to light the neon indicator, but the heavy load of the shower breaks down the bad connection, and the indicator goes off. This assumes its the red neon on the pull chord you meant.

If the bad connection was on the outdoing side of the pull chord or at the shower (as opposed to it being a faulty switch or bad connection on the supply side), the same thing would happen with the shower not working, but the pull chord neon would stay on.

Either way, its probable a new switch will be needed, as they tend to burn out with such problems if the fault is at the switch and not at the MCB board.

Malk · 17-01-2013 1:16pm

OK, so last week I went to buy an electric shower. I have my eye on this in black and also it has a nice fancy digital display.

However, after consulting with my plumber he advised that I get a tank fed pumped shower as it will provide a stronger flow and also will not succumb to fluctuations in water pressure.

The problem is, I’m finding the choice in pumped showers VERY limited. The Triton T90 seems to be the industry leader for pumped showers but it’s ugly and we don’t want a white shower.

Will a mains fed electric shower be that bad pressure wise? If the water pressure did go down we do have a shower in the main bathroom which is immersion fed.

Showers are confusing.

Bruthal · 17-01-2013 1:25pm

Malk wrote: »

OK, so last week I went to buy an electric shower. I have my eye on this in black and also it has a nice fancy digital display.

However, after consulting with my plumber he advised that I get a tank fed pumped shower as it will provide a stronger flow and also will not succumb to fluctuations in water pressure.

The problem is, I’m finding the choice in pumped showers VERY limited. The Triton T90 seems to be the industry leader for pumped showers but it’s ugly and we don’t want a white shower.

Will a mains fed electric shower be that bad pressure wise? If the water pressure did go down we do have a shower in the main bathroom which is immersion fed.

Showers are confusing.

It really does depend on the water pressure you have while it is actually supplying the shower at the litres per minute is needs.

Even if it is fine, turning on the cold kitchen tap will instantly badly affect the mains fed shower. Flushing a toilet or using another tap can have a lesser affect as the attic tank tops up with the mains supply.

Overall, tank fed is much more stable, not affected by anything one the attic storage tank is relatively full.

Burdybabe · 27-01-2013 9:58am

I have a Mira elite shower for many years. Now not working. Light at pull cord not on either. Does this mean I need a new shower?

Bruthal · 27-01-2013 10:09am

Burdybabe wrote: »

I have a Mira elite shower for many years. Now not working. Light at pull cord not on either. Does this mean I need a new shower?

Assuming the pullchord indicator light is working properly, the light not on at pullchord would indicate a possible problem with the pullchord switch itself such as switch gone faulty, or connections at it gone bad.

Other possibility is the tripswitch at the MCB board has tripped, or there is a bad connection at the MCB board. Someone electrical would find the problem easily enough anyway.

dmboards · 14-02-2013 10:44pm

Folks, I'm looking for specific options for a Shower upgrade. I'm renovating a house and currently have a gravity fed Mira mixer shower - I think its a 722 but attach picture - but there is poor flow. I considered replacing with a Triton T90 but prefer a better flow and hope to avoid too much disruption to the existing tiles and shower area. The house has one bedroom so there will only be at most a couple using it (2 showers per morning), the cylinder is standard size but has build on lagging, and water is heated using the immersion on night time rate. From the various advice threads here I think my options are either

a) Add a booster pump so that the flow is increased or
b) Install a Power shower

Unfortunately the existing mixer is leaking and may need to be replaced as well. So my questions are:

If I choose options a) is there a recommended booster pump make to use (Grundfos, Stuart Turner, ....)?

If I choose option b) again is there a recommended make (Aqualisa, Triton, ...) , and is there likely to be much more work involved - for example brining power to the shower area?

In general which would be the recommended approach a) or b) based on the characteristics of the house, expected usage and hot water cylinder.

Laoiser · 06-08-2013 4:15pm

Dear all,

Some sound advice on the preceeding 12 pages of this forum!! I'm looking for clarification however....

We have a Stuart Turner Monsoon 3 bar twin impeller pump for the "grown-ups" bathroom. The hot supply to the rest of the house also goes through the pump as its a VERY old cottage with low ceilings and quite spread out so it would take an age for hot water to get to the kitchen tap, also there's a roll top bath in the main bathroom and with the low pressure the water would likely be cold by the time the bath is filled up!

Anyway, there's also a Triton T90 in the kids' bathroom. In the last nine years we've been through two of these, with the pump being replaced on the second one. As it stands right now we have too hot then too cold then too hot again water in the T90. I've checked the inlet filter and left it in kilrock over night, same for the shower head. The problem is that quite large pieces of lime are coming though the shower hose when the head is off, when the head is on they block the head! As the inlet filter had no such grime in it I'm presuming this material is being produced from the shower itself.

I'm thinking of replacing the T90 with a standard electric shower and using the cold feed from the Monsoon to pump it, as they're cheaper, have fewer working parts so less to go wrong and we *should* get a better shower experience as the pump in the T90 is a bit rubbish, to be honest and also as the pipework already goes that way supplying the shower. So now the background is over with I have a couple of specific questions :

1. Where people mention using a pump to "boost" the mains pressure, would this normally be inline with the mains supply or from the tank in the attic, ie am I okay using a 3bar pump from the tank in the attic to power a shower meant to be supplied by the mains?

2. If the material spewing out of the shower IS coming from inside the shower I'm assuming its coming from the heating element, which obviously the new shower will also have, so is there any point changing the pipework to go from the pump if I'm going to have the same problem again in a few years time?

3. Where a pump is mentioned a single impeller is suggested, so should I not use the twin impeller to supply cold only to to the shower? If that's the case should I not be using the hot only to supply the rest of the house? (the plumber planned/installed this when we renovated 9 years ago, not me!!)

In short, any obvious pit holes / observations on my plan to redo the pipe work for the kids bathroom to go from the pump fed by the tank and put in a regular electric shower?

If you're about to suggest that if I'm going to do that then why not simply add a hot feed and have two power showers, well that's simple. We have six children and the shower can be on for 15-20 minutes at a time as we cycle them through, the hot water cyclinder wouldn't be up for that, but the cold water tank in the loft is well able, so as long as we can heat the water before it hits them we're okay!!!!!!

Any advice VERY much appreciated.

Cheers!

adelemcgovern · 06-08-2013 5:38pm

Laoiser wrote: »

Dear all,

Some sound advice on the preceeding 12 pages of this forum!! I'm looking for clarification however....

We have a Stuart Turner Monsoon 3 bar twin impeller pump for the "grown-ups" bathroom. The hot supply to the rest of the house also goes through the pump as its a VERY old cottage with low ceilings and quite spread out so it would take an age for hot water to get to the kitchen tap, also there's a roll top bath in the main bathroom and with the low pressure the water would likely be cold by the time the bath is filled up!

Anyway, there's also a Triton T90 in the kids' bathroom. In the last nine years we've been through two of these, with the pump being replaced on the second one. As it stands right now we have too hot then too cold then too hot again water in the T90. I've checked the inlet filter and left it in kilrock over night, same for the shower head. The problem is that quite large pieces of lime are coming though the shower hose when the head is off, when the head is on they block the head! As the inlet filter had no such grime in it I'm presuming this material is being produced from the shower itself.

I'm thinking of replacing the T90 with a standard electric shower and using the cold feed from the Monsoon to pump it, as they're cheaper, have fewer working parts so less to go wrong and we *should* get a better shower experience as the pump in the T90 is a bit rubbish, to be honest and also as the pipework already goes that way supplying the shower. So now the background is over with I have a couple of specific questions :

1. Where people mention using a pump to "boost" the mains pressure, would this normally be inline with the mains supply or from the tank in the attic, ie am I okay using a 3bar pump from the tank in the attic to power a shower meant to be supplied by the mains?

2. If the material spewing out of the shower IS coming from inside the shower I'm assuming its coming from the heating element, which obviously the new shower will also have, so is there any point changing the pipework to go from the pump if I'm going to have the same problem again in a few years time?

3. Where a pump is mentioned a single impeller is suggested, so should I not use the twin impeller to supply cold only to to the shower? If that's the case should I not be using the hot only to supply the rest of the house? (the plumber planned/installed this when we renovated 9 years ago, not me!!)

In short, any obvious pit holes / observations on my plan to redo the pipe work for the kids bathroom to go from the pump fed by the tank and put in a regular electric shower?

If you're about to suggest that if I'm going to do that then why not simply add a hot feed and have two power showers, well that's simple. We have six children and the shower can be on for 15-20 minutes at a time as we cycle them through, the hot water cyclinder wouldn't be up for that, but the cold water tank in the loft is well able, so as long as we can heat the water before it hits them we're okay!!!!!!

Any advice VERY much appreciated.

Cheers!

You're heating can/element is caked with limescale. This cannot be cleaned and needs replacing. I got a new shower installed last week cos I had the same problem & the guy told me all this.

Laoiser · 06-08-2013 5:52pm

I figured that, which means we'll have the same problem if I replace the shower with a "standard" electric shower, so why bother...

I suppose it *would* be much quieter and probably a better flow.... might compare prices of spare parts to see at what point I'll earn my money back

That is, of course, assuming the plan is a valid as per my post above...

Thanks for the advice!

adelemcgovern · 06-08-2013 6:33pm

Laoiser wrote: »

I figured that, which means we'll have the same problem if I replace the shower with a "standard" electric shower, so why bother...

I suppose it *would* be much quieter and probably a better flow.... might compare prices of spare parts to see at what point I'll earn my money back

That is, of course, assuming the plan is a valid as per my post above...

Thanks for the advice!

At a risk of being banned for "advertising" a company and let me stress I am not related to them in any way, I suggest you contact dublin shower repair the guy was so helpful and gave me so much information. He also had a cert from Triton to show he was trained by them. Good luck. Hope you get it sorted

Laoiser · 08-08-2013 9:10am

adelemcgovern wrote: »

At a risk of being banned for "advertising" a company and let me stress I am not related to them in any way, I suggest you contact Dublin shower repair the guy was so helpful and gave me so much information. He also had a cert from Triton to show he was trained by them. Good luck. Hope you get it sorted

Many thanks, I'm actually okay replacing the part myself so have ordered it from the UK for £50! And thanks to Parcel Motel, postage cost a grand total of ~€7 instead on €20!

I reckon I would have got a better shower out of it if I'd reworked, but I've saved a few bob this way and it should last us another few years...

Cheers!

Bruthal · 08-08-2013 6:50pm

Laoiser wrote: »

I'm thinking of replacing the T90 with a standard electric shower and using the cold feed from the Monsoon to pump it, as they're cheaper, have fewer working parts so less to go wrong and we *should* get a better shower experience as the pump in the T90 is a bit rubbish, to be honest and also as the pipework already goes that way supplying the shower. So now the background is over with I have a couple of specific questions :

What people fail to grasp about the likes of t90 showers is, it is not that the pump is inadequate, it is the fact that the shower is heating the water as its being pumped through the shower, and that a 9kw shower can only heat so many litres per minute to a useful temp. Its not a simple matter of just adding a more powerful pump, as the shower will then be too cold, as a higher volume of water is going through it, but no extra heat is being put into the water. That is actually what happens when you turn the dial to colder on electric showers, it simply increases the water flow.

Power showers are using water pre heated, so can pump it out at far higher rates than a shower which heats as its used.

Bruthal · 08-08-2013 6:54pm

adelemcgovern wrote: »

You're heating can/element is caked with limescale. This cannot be cleaned and needs replacing. I got a new shower installed last week cos I had the same problem & the guy told me all this.

They can actually be de-scaled, although its not overly simple.

MPEG4 · 12-08-2013 7:15pm

Bruthal wrote: »

They can actually be de-scaled, although its not overly simple.

Have done mine a couple of times, but am in a bungalow so it was a little easier to just cut the pipe in the attic and attach a bucket with de-scaler and water, run it through the shower and collect in another bucket, take it up to the attic and fill that the first one, repeat as necessary...

Bruthal · 12-08-2013 7:17pm

MPEG4 wrote: »

Have done mine a couple of times, but am in a bungalow so it was a little easier to just cut the pipe in the attic and attach a bucket with de-scaler and water, run it through the shower and collect in another bucket, take it up to the attic and fill that the first one, repeat as necessary...

Yea that`s one way that will work.

Laoiser · 13-08-2013 12:08pm

Bruthal wrote: »

What people fail to grasp about the likes of t90 showers is, it is not that the pump is inadequate, it is the fact that the shower is heating the water as its being pumped through the shower, and that a 9kw shower can only heat so many litres per minute to a useful temp. Its not a simple matter of just adding a more powerful pump, as the shower will then be too cold, as a higher volume of water is going through it, but no extra heat is being put into the water. That is actually what happens when you turn the dial to colder on electric showers, it simply increases the water flow.

Power showers are using water pre heated, so can pump it out at far higher rates than a shower which heats as its used.

I did mention I was going to replace the shower, my current t90xr is an 8.5kw so was going to go 10+. Using our existing pump would also make the shower considerably quieter so it wasn't *just* about the pump... Personally I didn't need the lesson in thermodynamics, it was the plumbing question I wasn't sure about!

As it happens I replaced the heating can assembly and the shower is like new again flow-wise, but still very noisy. At least I've deferred the new shower investment (and the work that would have gone along with it to redo the piping!!!!).

Many thanks Adele for the tip!

Now MPEG4 that's not a bad idea, any particular reason why you wouldn't submerge the assembly up to the copper (or even completely for that matter, as long as the unit had thoroughly dried out before use) in a bucket of dilute descaler?

I too live in a bungalow and have full access to the ceiling above the shower in question. Wish I hadn't thrown out the old unit now

I could have descaled that and replaced when this one clogs up and kept going... Not to worry, I'll be proceeding with the replacement when this one goes anyway!

MPEG4 · 13-08-2013 4:12pm

Laoiser wrote: »

Now MPEG4 that's not a bad idea, any particular reason why you wouldn't submerge the assembly up to the copper (or even completely for that matter, as long as the unit had thoroughly dried out before use) in a bucket of dilute descaler?

I too live in a bungalow and have full access to the ceiling above the shower in question. Wish I hadn't thrown out the old unit now I could have descaled that and replaced when this one clogs up and kept going... Not to worry, I'll be proceeding with the replacement when this one goes anyway!

No reason so long at the descaler gets into it, I just found it easier to do it this way as you don't have to take the shower apart to do. Once you have done it once the second time round is easy

Bruthal · 13-08-2013 7:18pm

Laoiser wrote: »

Personally I didn't need the lesson in thermodynamics,

Some people might have an interest in the reason electric showers cant have the same flow rate as pre heated mixer showers. Dont take it personally.

it was the plumbing question I wasn't sure about!

You said this, so I posted some info about it explaining that the pump is not the cause. You dont want to know, fair enough.

we *should* get a better shower experience as the pump in the T90 is a bit rubbish

Bruthal · 13-08-2013 7:55pm

MPEG4 wrote: »

No reason so long at the descaler gets into it, I just found it easier to do it this way as you don't have to take the shower apart to do. Once you have done it once the second time round is easy

There may possibly be nuisance RCD trips if water gets into the element ends if the whole heater tank unit is submerged.

Laoiser · 16-08-2013 10:53am

Bruthal wrote: »

You said this, so I posted some info about it explaining that the pump is not the cause. You dont want to know, fair enough.

Info/lecture/rant is a fine line...

I actually never asked about the cause of the problem, I asked about my proposed solution, which as I explained involved buying a new shower (which would be designed to at least enable more water to flow through it much more quietly than my 8.5KW T90XR could handle).

I thoroughly don't expect an answer now, but please don't pretend you were trying to help.

Don't take it personally

Bruthal · 16-08-2013 3:34pm

Laoiser wrote: »

I actually never asked about the cause of the problem, I asked about my proposed solution, which as I explained involved buying a new shower (which would be designed to at least enable more water to flow through it much more quietly than my 8.5KW T90XR could handle).

You asked if there were any pitfalls to your proposed pump through the standard electric shower idea. I simply explained that the flow rate is governed by the heating capacity of the element. Increasing the element to 10kw will improve it slightly compared to 8.5kw, and the fact the element is clear of scale in the new shower, it will appear to be a big improvement, but it will still be limited by the element size more so than the pump ability.

Turning off the heat elements while the shower is still running, for 15 or 20 seconds might reduce limescale buildup on showers over time. Im not sure many would get into the routine of doing that though.

I have heard of calgon tablets being put into the attic tank close to the water outlet now and again, and using that method to de-scale the shower. I myself have used methods closer to the other poster who mentioned using a bucket. Not exactly that way, but similar.

but please don't pretend you were trying to help.

That`s all I usually do when posting any explanations or ideas I might have. Thankfully, most others dont see it as being intentionally unhelpful. Good luck with your project.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 6:25pm

Hey guys, hope you can help.

I got a new shower 2 weeks ago, T90Z, wired\plumbed it in no problem and it was working great, it was a 9.5kw. it worked fine until two days ago, now when i pull the power switch outside the shower, then press the show button, the light briefly flashes on then off and thats it. ive opened it up and checked all the wiring, it looks fine. I checked the power going into the shower once the cables pass through and its getting power alright. could something have gone in the shower itself? its only 2 weeks old, should i bring it back?

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 6:29pm

keithgeo wrote: »

Hey guys, hope you can help.

I got a new shower 2 weeks ago, T90Z, wired\plumbed it in no problem and it was working great, it was a 9.5kw. it worked fine until two days ago, now when i pull the power switch outside the shower, then press the show button, the light briefly flashes on then off and thats it. ive opened it up and checked all the wiring, it looks fine. I checked the power going into the shower once the cables pass through and its getting power alright. could something have gone in the shower itself? its only 2 weeks old, should i bring it back?

Which light is lighting, then going out, pull chord one, or the shower one?

Try it with the heating elements off (heat setting to cold) and see does it run.

First thing to mind is a loose connection or bad contact in the switch or MCB/RCBO, which fails when the heating element load comes on.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 6:31pm

Its the shower light flashes, its blue. I checked the entire thing inside for loose wires, I even took the power wires out and put them back in again just to be sure. it doesnt even come on for 1 second, the light only flashes for a millisecond.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 6:39pm

keithgeo wrote: »

Its the shower light flashes, its blue. I checked the entire thing inside for loose wires, I even took the power wires out and put them back in again just to be sure. it doesnt even come on for 1 second, the light only flashes for a millisecond.

If it is a loose connection, it could be on the load side of the shower pull chord switch.

If it was the supply side of the pull chord switch that had a loose connection, orindeed down at the MCB board, the shower switch neon light would also go off when the shower is switched on.

Try it with the heat elements off as this will remove the 9.5kw load, and possibly the shower will run. That would confirm a loose connection.

If it still wont run, it may still be a bad connection. When you tested for power at the shower, how did you test?

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 6:42pm

when you say heating elements off do you mean, turn the dial to the cold option and right down on the heat dial as well? if so i dont this already and it didnt work.

When i say i tested the power, i have a screwdriver mains tester, I touched the screw holding in the wires on the side that is in the shower with it to make sure power was going through. it was, it lit up.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 6:52pm

keithgeo wrote: »

when you say heating elements off do you mean, turn the dial to the cold option and right down on the heat dial as well? if so i dont this already and it didnt work.

The temperature dial wont matter, it simply adjusts the rate of water flow. The heat selector dial to the cold selection i mean.

You have done this already so its academic now. But leave in the cold selection anyway, for test runs now.

When i say i tested the power, i have a screwdriver mains tester, I touched the screw holding in the wires on the side that is in the shower with it to make sure power was going through. it was, it lit up.

That test tells little though, firstly because it applies no load what so ever to the circuit, so will possibly light even with a very loose connection. And secondly, it fails to do any test on the neutral wiring part of the circuit.

Turn off the Breaker for the shower. Open the pull chord, and inspect its terminals. Best to undo the connections and ensure no insulation from the cable is under the screw, which does happen. You need to be certain the power to the switch is off, which would be indicated if it has a neon which goes out when you switch off the shower breaker.

The pullchord itself could be faulty or show signs of overheating at the terminals if a connection is the problem. The actual problem is simple to identify within a couple of minutes for the experienced with a multimeter in this sort of scenario, but check the switch anyway.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 6:58pm

Do you mean open up the switch on the wall not the shower?

We dont have a pull chord in the bathroom, we have a switch on the wall outside that we switch up before we need to use the shower, a red light comes on there when we do this.

we then hop in the shower and press the button on the shower to turn it on.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:03pm

keithgeo wrote: »

Do you mean open up the switch on the wall not the shower?

We dont have a pull chord in the bathroom, we have a switch on the wall outside that we switch up before we need to use the shower, a red light comes on there when we do this.

we then hop in the shower and press the button on the shower to turn it on.

Yes the wall switch. Most people have pull chords, some have a wall one.

Does the wall switch light stay on when the shower is attempted to be run?

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 7:06pm

Just tried it there, when the power on the shower is pressed, the red light on the switch on the outside does nothing, its just stays on as normal.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:09pm

Turn off the breaker for the shower down at the MCB board, ensure the wall switch light goes off, unscrew from wall and inspect it. Check the terminals.

If no luck there, you`l have to get someone with a multimeter and check the switch, and circuit to find the problem.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 7:12pm

Thank a lot for the help i appreciate it, ill check it out. would getting a 9.5 shower if we had an 8.5 previously cause this issue? I dont actually know what we had before but we got a 9.5.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:16pm

keithgeo wrote: »

Thank a lot for the help i appreciate it, ill check it out. would getting a 9.5 shower if we had an 8.5 previously cause this issue? I dont actually know what we had before but we got a 9.5.

No not really, 9.5 usually needs a 10 square cable, where as an 8.5 might have had 6 square, but that would not cause this problem.

A badly connected terminal would cause it however. Or a loose connection anywhere from the MCB board to the shower itself. Whatever the problem, it is somewhere between the outgoing side of the wall switch and the shower though, evidenced by the wall switch neon staying on during the problem.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 7:18pm

Thanks again! Ill look into it some more and see if i can find a loose connection. appreciate the help.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:24pm

keithgeo wrote: »

Thanks again! Ill look into it some more and see if i can find a loose connection. appreciate the help.

Yes the wall switch being the first place to look.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 7:30pm

Just took apart the wall switch, didnt seem to have any loose connections, just to make sure though i took them all out and screwed them back in tightly, tried the shower again. still the same, a flash of the blue light when i press the power button.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:45pm

It would seem to be a problem in the shower unit itself then, again possibly a bad connection, check the connections coming out of the shower main terminal block into the shower.

I think the blue light is meant to be on all the time on the shower once the wall switch is on. I have the shower internal circuit here, and that also would indicate the shower light should be on all the time.

The fact the wall switch neon stays on would indicate the wall switch itself is not faulty. I assume the wall switch neon goes off when you turn off the wall switch.

Bruthal · 24-01-2014 7:50pm

Could also be a faulty start/stop button, but I have not really seen that happen.

Optimus Prime · 24-01-2014 7:56pm

Thanks ill check the insides again to make sure.

Optimus Prime · 10-02-2014 11:44am

Just to update, i used my meter and checked the power on the shower, the neutral in the shower was only reading 65.

So turned off the power and was going to twist the live and neutral wire together at the switch end then do a continuity test at the shower end wires to make sure there wasnt a break somewhere and i decided to test the switch while it was off the wall.

The live side was getting continuity, but the neutral side wasn't. so it was just the switch in the end.

I temporarily used a connecter block for the neutral, and put the live back in the switch and the shower is working perfect.

The light was coming on the switch before which is why i overlook it as being the issue. thanks for the help!

electric showers

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