Converting from an Electric Shower to a Power Shower ?

Raiser

Hi All,

Any Electric Shower I've ever used has been rubbish - I really notice it when using showers elsewhere with decent pressure. I know hotel showers etc. are an unfair comparision to a domestic situation - but I don't expect miracles - just an upgrade to standing under the pathetic little dribble of water I have at the moment.

So from this thread:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054982209

I see that there are a few considerations from changing from an electric shower to a pumped one.

1. Water supply needs to change from mains/tank to hot water cylinder.
- Apparently this can be done from the cylinder end of things without ripping your shower room/ceiling appart etc. Anyone know plumber time involved & costs [approx.]

2. Water supply may be insufficient as power shower may take 14/15 litres per min. - may have to upgrade cylinder to larger capactiy etc.
- Theres 3 of us in house - don't anticipate anyone running a bath at same time etc. - is this feasable without upgrading the tank, or is it just a bad idea to try this ie. a half measure, anyone know from experience ? I think this may be a potential show-stopper, might not be worth effort and expense as will be moving out a few years down the line....

3. Water needs to be hot in advance and stay hot enough for all users.
- I assume this means fitting a timer switch on immersion and having it on for X amount of time every morning ? In practical terms how long does this time needs to be & is it cost efficient. Does once in the morning and once in the evening guarantee you showers on demand with no angry girlfriend blaming you for cold showers :eek:

Anyway - if somebody is an expert in this area I'd love to hear whats the best thing to do & any advice would be greatly appreciated.

ircoha

Am no expert

Raiser wrote:

Hi All,...

I see that there are a few considerations from changing from an electric shower to a pumped one.what exactly do u mean by a pumped shower: can we have the spec u have in mind

1. Water supply needs to change from mains/tank to hot water cylinder.
- Apparently this can be done from the cylinder end of things without ripping your shower room/ceiling appart etc. Anyone know plumber time involved & costs [approx.]< how far is cylinder from the bathroom for hot water u also of course need the exixting cold.

2.[/B] Water supply may be insufficient as power shower may take 14/15 litres per min. - may have to upgrade cylinder to larger capactiy etc.
- Theres 3 of us in house - don't anticipate anyone running a bath at same time etc. - is this feasable without upgrading the tank, or is it just a bad idea to try this ie. a half measure, anyone know from experience ? I think this may be a potential show-stopper, might not be worth effort and expense as will be moving out a few years down the line....if they want to leave it running all through the shower then well yes it could be an issue

3. Water needs to be hot in advance and stay hot enough for all users.have u no gas or oild heating to the cylinder or is house all electric
- I assume this means fitting a timer switch on immersion and having it on for X amount of time every morning ? In practical terms how long does this time needs to be & is it cost efficient. Does once in the morning and once in the evening guarantee you showers on demand not really, depends on how long u leave it on forwith no angry girlfriend blaming you for cold showers <cold shower with GF:)> :eek:

Anyway - if somebody is an expert in this area I'd love to hear whats the best thing to do & any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Give us a bit more detail,
ie is it all electric only, how far from bathroom to cylinder, also what type of pumped shower have u in mind, ie is it a separate pump like a stuarts

Endymion

Raiser wrote:

1.[/B] Water supply needs to change from mains/tank to hot water cylinder.
- Apparently this can be done from the cylinder end of things without ripping your shower room/ceiling appart etc. Anyone know plumber time involved & costs [approx.]

An electric shower has the a cold water supply, you need another pipe from the hot water cyclinder. Also the power shower needs the cold water to be tank feed, so if your electric shower is mained plumbed, you will need to install say a 50 - 80 gallon tank to feed the power shower.

As for cost and time, your have a laugh mate. Sure it might be no problem, or it might require half your bathroom to be ripped apart. Estimates tend not to cost money.

Water supply may be insufficient as power shower may take 14/15 litres per min. - may have to upgrade cylinder to larger capactiy etc.
- Theres 3 of us in house - don't anticipate anyone running a bath at same time etc. - is this feasable without upgrading the tank, or is it just a bad idea to try this ie. a half measure, anyone know from experience ? I think this may be a potential show-stopper, might not be worth effort and expense as will be moving out a few years down the line....

Depending on the power shower model, you would go through water allot faster then 14/15 L/M, that the minimum you're looking at.

You may need both a new water tank and a new cylinder.

3. Water needs to be hot in advance and stay hot enough for all users.
- I assume this means fitting a timer switch on immersion and having it on for X amount of time every morning ? In practical terms how long does this time needs to be & is it cost efficient. Does once in the morning and once in the evening guarantee you showers on demand with no angry girlfriend blaming you for cold showers :eek:

Depends on how long its on for now doesn't it? Emersions tend not to be cost efficient. powers shower use allot of water. 20 minute in mine and all the hot water is gone out of our cylinder, which takes about an hour to heat up fully.

Anyway - if somebody is an expert in this area I'd love to hear whats the best thing to do & any advice would be greatly appreciated.

This will cost you money is my opinion, Though I'm no "expert" my borther is, and I've experience from giving him a dig out now and again. couple grand at the least, persuming new tank and cylinder.

Raiser

IRCOA - Thanks for your reply

- When I said power shower I meant the models by MIRA, TRITON etc. that are marketed as "Power Showers" - I take this to mean that the enclosure is more or less filled with a good sized pump as opposed to sharing space with the heating element etc. etc.

- Cylinder is on same level as shower 6-8 feet away.......Yes, it would be a requirement to have the water running for duration of shower......Also worry factor re. cold water would negate happy factor from better pressure/more water

- There is gas central heating - would be hot water anyhow for some of the year.......Would help with the economics of situation and be a plus factor..... Re. how long does the immersion have to be on for - I know - how long is a piece of string ??? I suppose I'd need folks to volunteer their own experience etc.

Carnivore - Again thanks for taking the time and effort post

Seems to me that I need to do this properly to avoid problems, cold showers etc. Means replacing tanks, cylinders etc. Will possibly not be worth the effort and expense...:( ...I plan on moving house in a few years if things go to plan.

I had thought that with a bit of minor chopping and changing and some moderate spending this could be done - For this reason project is on hold & will be scrapped unless anyone can suggest another cunning, viable alternative......

ircoha

Raiser wrote:

IRCOA - Thanks for your reply

- When I said power shower I meant the models by MIRA, TRITON etc. that are marketed as "Power Showers" - I take this to mean that the enclosure is more or less filled with a good sized pump as opposed to sharing space with the heating element etc. etc.

- Cylinder is on same level as shower 6-8 feet away.......Yes, it would be a requirement to have the water running for duration of shower......Also worry factor re. cold water would negate happy factor from better pressure/more water any power shower can have the volume reduced by way of a fitting in the shower head, just looked at the Mira extreme and u can get it down to 8 litres/ min. I would do this, if u are doing the job

- There is gas central heating - would be hot water anyhow for some of the year.......Would help with the economics of situation and be a plus factor.....I would use the gas to heat the water all year around, much quicker than the electric- if u want u could have both on Re. how long does the immersion have to be on for - I know - how long is a piece of string ??? I suppose I'd need folks to volunteer their own experience etc.trial an error, if the 3 showers are back to back then it could be tricky but if there is a break between showers for shaving/ drying hair make up etc then the gas should be able to keep up

Carnivore - Again thanks for taking the time and effort post

Seems to me that I need to do this properly to avoid problems, cold showers etc.I dont really agree, its a bit of planning and conservation, once oil gets to 100 a barrel, the showers will be getting shorter Means replacing tanks, cylinders etc. Will possibly not be worth the effort and expense...:( ...I plan on moving house in a few years if things go to plan.

I had thought that with a bit of minor chopping and changing and some moderate spending this could be done - For this reason project is on hold & will be scrapped unless anyone can suggest another cunning, viable alternative......

If interested post a few pics showing where the existing shower is and where the cylinder is, have someone nice in the shower:)

Raiser

Hi Folks,

Gave up on this, not willing to invest the time, effort and money involved as planning to sell up not too far down the line.

Existing shower was an 8.5 KW Triton managed to replace with a 9.5KW vers. of sam e model [T90SI] - getting more water/pressure and should be a bit better than the old one especially in the winter months when its that bit harder to heat the supply.

Thnaks for the input - without your good advice I might have started on something else and botched it