Triton T90i shower

suitseir

During the big freeze I turned on shower one day (mind you we had been using another ordinary gravity fed shower because heating was on a lot) and as water pressure was low, no water came through so I turned it off straight away due to grinding sound.

Today, I said I would try it again....water coming through - had it on cold - and then that grinding sound again.

Who do I contact? Triton? according to the bro who says better off to do so or Electrician or Plumber?

It sounds like a motor problem and it is 16 years old and had been going well up to then. We had talked about replacing it in any case.

Thanks for any advice from those in the know!

ft9

It does sound like a motor problem alright, which an electrician can replace.

If it was mine I would probably replace the whole shower as its 16 years old. The motor will cost the best part of €100 (+ installation fee) as will an element should that go too.
A new shower can be bought for what, approx €230...

jeepers101

Did you let it run for a bit? Sometimes if you let a bit of air into electric showers they make an awful sound while pumping it out. If you're getting water out of it at the moment run it for about 30 seconds on COLD and see if it comes right.

Bruthal

suitseir wrote: »

During the big freeze I turned on shower one day (mind you we had been using another ordinary gravity fed shower because heating was on a lot) and as water pressure was low, no water came through so I turned it off straight away due to grinding sound.

Today, I said I would try it again....water coming through - had it on cold - and then that grinding sound again.

Who do I contact? Triton? according to the bro who says better off to do so or Electrician or Plumber?

It sounds like a motor problem and it is 16 years old and had been going well up to then. We had talked about replacing it in any case.

Thanks for any advice from those in the know!

When the grinding noise had started, had the water stopped coming out? It may just need to be bled. Them showers have a bleed screw to allow any air in the pipe to the shower out while the shower is off. During the freeze, attic tanks emptied as the mains feed to them froze, so the shower water pipe may be air locked still.

suitseir

jeepers101 wrote: »

Did you let it run for a bit? Sometimes if you let a bit of air into electric showers they make an awful sound while pumping it out. If you're getting water out of it at the moment run it for about 30 seconds on COLD and see if it comes right.

I had it on cold and water was flowing out of it....had shower head pointing downwards....only left it on for about 10 secs max.....was afraid it might blow a fuse! Not brave with electrics!

suitseir

robbie7730 wrote: »

When the grinding noise had started, had the water stopped coming out? It may just need to be bled. Them showers have a bleed screw to allow any air in the pipe to the shower out while the shower is off. During the freeze, attic tanks emptied as the mains feed to them froze, so the shower water pipe may be air locked still.

No the water was still coming out. Would there still be an air lock?

Bruthal

suitseir wrote: »

I had it on cold and water was flowing out of it....had shower head pointing downwards....only left it on for about 10 secs max.....was afraid it might blow a fuse! Not brave with electrics!

Try taking the shower head off, and run the shower on the cold setting for a minute or 2 and see does it clear. You can leave it going once the water is flowing out. It will have a higher flow rate without the shower head on it and clear any air if there is any. if its still noisy, the best thing is a new shower if that one is 16 years old. Although if its pumping fine then it should work ok. It would be interesting ti hear the noise. They do make a rough sound when running with air going through them or running dry.

taking things easy

suitseir wrote: »

During the big freeze I turned on shower one day (mind you we had been using another ordinary gravity fed shower because heating was on a lot) and as water pressure was low, no water came through so I turned it off straight away due to grinding sound.

Today, I said I would try it again....water coming through - had it on cold - and then that grinding sound again.

Who do I contact? Triton? according to the bro who says better off to do so or Electrician or Plumber?

It sounds like a motor problem and it is 16 years old and had been going well up to then. We had talked about replacing it in any case.

Thanks for any advice from those in the know!

Hi

Im an electrician and i had the same problem recently with a triton shower. if the water pressure is lower than normal the water heater in the shower will not start to heat the water. I dont know off the top of my head for a shower that is feed from a water tank in the attic but a water mains feed shower will not heat the water if under 8 litres ( with the new shower i was installing ) of water passes through the shower a minute. But with it being 16 years old the motor most likely just broke.

if your going to change it to a new one yourself please make sure you turn off the power to the shower from the fuse board!!!

Bruthal

taking things easy wrote: »

Hi

Im an electrician and i had the same problem recently with a triton. if the water pressure is lower than normal the water heater will not start to heat the water. I dont know off the top of my head for a shower that is feed from a water tank in the attic but a water mains feed shower will not heat the water if under 8 litres ( with the new shower i was installing ) of water passes through the shower a minute.

Its not really the litres per minute that governs if a shower will stop heating due to low pressure, its the pressure itself, as showers have pressure switches to ensure the elements do not come on with no water in the heating tank. Although if the supply to the shower is not capable of delivering a certain litres per minute, then the pressure will be too low when the water is flowing alright.

The shower can have the heat dial turned right up to the hottest end(lowest water flow rate) and so the flow rate will be very low, and so the pressure switch will actually have a higher pressure on it now, and the pressure on it will reduce as the temperature dial is turned to the cooler end and the water flow increases, and sometimes showers can stop heating due to low pressure when the shower head is removed and the temperature dial is turned to full(highest water flow rate).

When the flow rate is very low due to the temp dial being up at the hottest end, and not due to low pressure to the shower, it will be the water over temperature sensor that will actually cut out the elements.

if your going to change it to a new one yourself please make sure you turn off the power to the shower from the fuse board!!!

A properly fitted isolator switch will do this on its own, and should be used even if the MCB/RCBO is off.

suitseir

Thanks for the replies! The water pressure is fine and there is water coming through, only thing is the noise and I am afraid to leave it on for more that say, 30 seconds because, well, I will blow it completely!

My question is now, do I get an electrician or a plumber to change it? Or am I better off to contact Triton themselves.....

Bruthal

suitseir wrote: »

Thanks for the replies! The water pressure is fine and there is water coming through, only thing is the noise and I am afraid to leave it on for more that say, 30 seconds because, well, I will blow it completely!

My question is now, do I get an electrician or a plumber to change it? Or am I better off to contact Triton themselves.....

Some electricians will do the plumbing bit no problem, im sure some plumbers will re-connect the cables too, so it depends on who you can get.

It sounds like a new shower is the way to go anyway. Pump/motor is probably gone in that one.