Can a mains shower be used on a tank feed?

johneym

hello folks,

my elderly father in law knew we needed a shower and bought us 1 before we got a chance. It was our anniversary and this was our present.
However its a "mira go" and it states on the side of the box for mains connection. The old one packed it in at xmas an that was a very old type mira elite, tank fed. My wife has managed to find out where he bought it but he no longer has the receipt.The shop has said it cannot help us without the receipt.
This shower is only ever used around 2 or 3 times a week. The tank in the attic is very big,in fact there are 2 large tanks side by side connected to each other.Reason for this is years ago there were always mains shortage problems so this was like a reservoir.The old shower has a pipe directly from this an the pressure from it is not bad. Sometimes in summer when I took a cold shower I didnt switch on the shower at all, just opened the water on cold setting and while it wasnt thumping hard it was ok.
So, my question is, what are the consequences of using a mains shower on a tank fed system? Would it be a stupid thing to do or is there a hugh difference?

Thanks a lot folks,

John

Joey the lips

It wont work. Forget about it. And tell your father stop being cheap. (its cheaper for a mains shower)

However if you buy a single impeller pump or a T450i pump from triton(also single impeller) and connect it to your tank and then to the shower the shower will work better than as if it were on mains.

johneym

thanks Joey,

thats "father in Law" My own father would never buy anyhting without making sure it would work.:D
Do you mean to put this pump somewhere along on the shower feed pipe coming from the tank in the attic?
Any idea of what the pump costs?
Could I also simply take a T off the mains pipe in the attic and connect this directly to the shower pipe in the attic? Disconnecting it from the tank of course.

An just as a matter of interest, why would the mira not work?

Thanks a lot,

John

slimjimmc

T450i should be in or around the €150 mark I think.
Tech details here

I've taken a tee of the supply going to the cold storage tank and it works, but I do have to be careful with things that can cause a drop in pressure e.g. washing machine filling, hot/cold kitchen taps, toilet cistern refilling.

Your Mira mains fed won't work on a straight tank fed supply simply because it's designed to work with the higher supply pressure you get from the mains.

With an electric showers when you adjust water temperature what actually happens is that flow of water is adjusted and therefore how long it is exposed to the heating element eg. for a hotter shower the flow is slowed so it spends more time in the element. If the supply pressure is too low there is a danger of the water boiling and scalding the user therefore showers are fitted with a pressure sensor which powers off the heater when the pressure drops below a safe level.

Most gravity fed systems can't supply enough pressure so what happens is you end up with a shower in which the heater element is frequently cutting in/out or not heating at all.

Joey the lips

johneym wrote: »

thanks Joey,

thats "father in Law" My own father would never buy anyhting without making sure it would work.:D
Do you mean to put this pump somewhere along on the shower feed pipe coming from the tank in the attic?
Any idea of what the pump costs?
Could I also simply take a T off the mains pipe in the attic and connect this directly to the shower pipe in the attic? Disconnecting it from the tank of course.

An just as a matter of interest, why would the mira not work?

Thanks a lot,

John

Connect the pump to the tank and to the shower. You can T off the mains disconnecting it from the tank.

The mira does not work because the solenoid valve has a min pressure required to open.

Tiercel Dave

Connect up the Shower in the bathroom. Then, up to the attic with you, and locate the shower feed pipe. Change feed from 'tank fed' to 'mains fed'. Happy days!

Buford T Justice

Impeller pumps can be quite expensive, so if I were you I'd look at getting a tank fed shower. You won't have problems with mains pressure then.

Sparkpea

dupe thread in plumbing