Triton T90i Shower Help required please

NatureGirl

Hi,
I have read all the threads I can find here on the Triton T90i shower and the problems, trying to find out what is wrong with mine - the story is as follows -

I had installed a shower working directly off the hot tank, which in fact has not worked for years (sounded like the pump was being strangled). It also barely delivered water, and sometimes not at all. I have not had the money to replace it and had a bath also so didn't worry too much.

I suddenly find an old shower in the shed. When it was opened up it looked almost new, barely used. It was a Triton T90i.
So, my kind neighbour being a bit more 'clued up' than I, took it round his place to 'test it' - it worked perfectly.
Needless to say I was overjoyed at the prospect of saving the cost of a new shower !

He took out my old one and installed the new one.
Problem - It constantly tripped the MCB (yes it has its own circuit with 10mm cable etc etc).
The helpful neighbour said that the problem was probably that it was too powerfull for the fuse in the MCB, as the old shower was hot tank fed and had no heater etc.

The next day he was moving house.

So... I went and duly bought a 50A MCB and installed it. I was very excited at having a shower at last...

Unfortunately it still cuts in and out, BUT it no longer blows the MCB.
The shower runs, heats the water and then the pump just stops.... I leave it on, water continues to run but gets cold and then soon the pump stutters a few times and kicks back in, again pumping hot water. It stops and starts like this constantly.
They might be a gap of maybe 30 secs to 1 min in between.

What I can't work out is this. Why when he tested it next door did it work perfectly and now in my house, installed it won't ?

It is fed from the cold water tank.

I would call out an electrician/plumber, but I can no where near afford to I am afraid. I'm pretty practical and know bits and pieces. I tried some of the things posted in other threads - such as putting the shower head back on and hanging it up to make it pump harder etc, but it makes no difference (apart from me getting wet :eek: )

At this point I must stink... and it has ruined my social life , as I must look and smell like a middle aged cave dweller. The novelty of washing my hair in ice cold water has worn off !!!!

Any ideas ? With eternally grateful thanks in anticitation.....

Pete67

Maybe the pump is faulty? It seems unlikely that a perfectly good shower would have been taken out and left in a shed so it was probably dodgy all along.

NatureGirl

Thank you for a quick response Pete - and I agree that would have been my first thought, except how come it worked when tested next door ? He ran it for quite a while and the water was nice and hot....

The fact that it worked when tested off site maks me think I must have something set up wrong.

I don't want to go and buy a new shower, if I will still have the same problem

steifanc

did you bleed the air out of it ?
also how hot is the water getting , is it regular showering hot water or is it scalding ?

cnocbui

It seems to me the original shower and configuration had a problem of not enough water flow.

I would guess, the new shower used the existing pipework, just the source was switched from hot to cold?

the thing that I would be wondering is if there is a blockage or restriction that is limiting how much water can flow through the pipework, hence the pumps of both showers not running smoothly.

Is the house old?

We once rented a house that was quite old. On St Patrick's day, we lost all hot water. Wonderful day to get hold of a plumber.

The problem turned out to be that the pipework from the water tank in the roof to the hot water cylinder was blocked solid with sand, silt, dead flies, and unidentifiable stuff. The practice of not covering water tanks is bizare to me.

Anyway, we solved that problem, though it was a long job.

So I wonder if something similar might be behind your problem.

NatureGirl

Steifanc
No, I didnt bleed the air out... although Im kinda assuming my next door friend (whose now moved) did that... The water flow are pressure is pretty continuous and decent.
The water temp is just right when its working yes it doesnt get scalding

Cnocbui
You might have something there.... It is being fed from a cold water tank in my attic and I just climed up... a black mat looking cover is led on the attic floor next to the tank.
The house (well this part) is about 17 years old now.
The blockage theory would certainly fit with the Triton working great next door when he tested it prior to putting it in... Would this cause the pump to start and stop start and stop etc continuously ?

Bye the way, thank you all for your fast responses

GreeBo

NatureGirl wrote: »

Steifanc
No, I didnt bleed the air out... although Im kinda assuming my next door friend (whose now moved) did that... The water flow are pressure is pretty continuous and decent.
The water temp is just right when its working yes it doesnt get scalding

Cnocbui
You might have something there.... It is being fed from a cold water tank in my attic and I just climed up... a black mat looking cover is led on the attic floor next to the tank.
The house (well this part) is about 17 years old now.
The blockage theory would certainly fit with the Triton working great next door when he tested it prior to putting it in... Would this cause the pump to start and stop start and stop etc continuously ?

Bye the way, thank you all for your fast responses

it could be, some systems will stop when the flow is too low to prevent burning out the motor(they are water cooled).
can you remove the shower and just bodge on a valve/more pipe to see the flow is like as it gets to the shower. If thats a trickle then thats your problem. Also you said it was from the cylinder but now has a cold feed, seems strange that they both have blockages..unless your pipes are all full of crud?

MPEG2

Have you cleaned out the filter for the water coming in to the shower?

It may give you a clue as to whether the supply coming in has a lot of crud in it.

Blockages in the showerhead can cause issues too. See
http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Technical/DataSheets/Triton/TechElectricPumped.htm

I'd try running it without the showerhead on to see if the problem still persists.

NatureGirl

Thank you all again

I am going to turn the leccy off and take it off the wall this afternoon :eek:

Greebo

"it could be, some systems will stop when the flow is too low to prevent burning out the motor(they are water cooled)." The water flow appears to be fairly constant when the pump is silent in between bursts, but I will have a watch.

"can you remove the shower and just bodge on a valve/more pipe to see the flow is like as it gets to the shower. If thats a trickle then thats your problem." Im not sure what you mean - you mean just watch what comes out of the supply pipe ?

"Also you said it was from the cylinder but now has a cold feed, seems strange that they both have blockages..unless your pipes are all full of crud?" Yes it does - but if you had seen how everything has been bodged and incorrectly installed throughout the house etc- you wouldn't be so amazed

MPEG2

Re filter coming into shower - I didn't know there was one, but yes thinking about it is obvious (I would have assumed the guy/neighbour who tested it and put it up did this, but you never know so I will check :rolleyes:

I have run the shower mostly without the shower head, and the problem is identical - I only put the head back on at the end to see if that solved it, which it didn't


I would LOVE it to be something simple So will attack it again this afternoon :cool::cool::cool: And try the suggestions I have no already tried.... I have having dreams at this point about hot water and showers :eek:

Many thanks as always

steifanc

there's a bleed screw on the pump that can be opened by hand to get the air out of the pump. Just take off the front cover of the shower locate the pump (usually white plastic) and find a little thumb screw that can be opened by hand.

You should have the hose off the shower at this stage or screw off the shower head and let the hose hang run into the drain If bleeding the pump gets rid of the air lock, there's a proper commissioning procedure for the shower that should be followed. Basically once the pump has been bled, close the bleed screw, make sure the temperature is set to cold (usually has just 4 settings: cold, I, II & II) and run the shower without the shower head attached. and hose hanging below the unit

Vary the flow rates up and down a few times until it seems to be running smoothly. This can take a minute or two.and will make that cutting in and out sound with the moter a whining but it should clear, Then set to max flow rate and up the temperature knob to whatever you normally use it at. Check that the water is heating up as normal.

slavetothegrind

after bleeding if probem persists check inside the cold water tank in attic, is there any foreign object or rubbish near the outlet to the shower?
Has the shower feed pipe been installed in such a way to create an airlock in the pipe?
Check that the valve is fully open ( turn anti-clockwise.) or if lever type should be inline with pipe

Good luck!