shower with or without pump

katuxini

Hi

Am renovating 2 bathrooms i a 45 y old 2 storey house. It has a typical set up of hotwater/emersion tank upsatirs with a cold water tank in the attic. The water pressure seems to be decent enough in the house. The bathrooms are upstairs.
I want to replace the current shower which is fed from the hotwater/emersion tank and the coldwater tank in the attic via a pump. As far as i know the mains water is downstairs in the kitchen and bathroom sink and presumably goes up to the attic to cold storage tank
The question is - can i use a regular shower ie not one that has a pump integrated such as the triton t90. I was told i could. I am thinking of ordering this triton brushed steel 9.5kw electric shower

My reason for not wanting to buy a pumped shower is 1. they are expensive 2. no choice ugly and plastic looking.
I want to use the existing pump to feed a bar/mixer shower that i'm hoping to install in the other bathroom.
Hope all this makes sense. any advice welcome

Johny 8

have you looked at the triton showers online as2000 etc.. some beautiful shower units available

katuxini

Hi - yeah, I want to buy the Aspirante Electric Shower - Brushed Steel. This is just an electric shower(no pump).
What i waould like to know is if this shower will work.?
Also any good suggestions where to buy online.?
I tried to order it through b&q here as it is on their UK website but for some reason they said they can't. I can get someone to pick one up for me in the UK but am afraid that the fittings/parts might be different!

ART6

There are basically two types of showers -- those that work off mains pressure and those that work off header tanks, with or without pumps. It's just a case of choosing the one you can best use. Personally, I would never use the header tank or pumped types as they are just too much bother and noise if you have a mains pressure supply that you can use. The only point to watch out for when choosing one is whether it is side entry or bottom entry for the supply pipe since, depending on the pipe run, with the wrong one you could end up with the shower unit off to one side of the cubicle.

katuxini

As rhe mains presumably feeds the coldwater tank in the attic. Is it possible to run a feed off that line down to the shower or would it have to be gravity fed.
When you say 'work off header tanks' does that mean gravity fed. If so does that mean that a regular electric shower designed to work off the mains would not work from a gravity fed system?

ART6

katuxini wrote: »

As rhe mains presumably feeds the coldwater tank in the attic. Is it possible to run a feed off that line down to the shower or would it have to be gravity fed.
When you say 'work off header tanks' does that mean gravity fed. If so does that mean that a regular electric shower designed to work off the mains would not work from a gravity fed system?

Ok so. All mains supplies provide water to the kitchen tap, the toilet flush tank, and the header tank in the roof, and only them. You can interrupt the mains supply to the header tank to provide mains pressure to the shower, or you can use a downcomer from the header tank to supply the shower though a pump or otherwise. This means that you have to select a mains pressure shower or a gravity fed one. It mainly depends upon where the pipe to the header tank in the Attic is routed. If you can get to it easily in your bathroom, then go for a mains shower. If not, then you are into the jungle of pumps and gravity feeds.

katuxini

thanks art6. The header tank is more or less above the bathroom where i want to put the shower. In fact ,its above the hot press which has the same partition wall where the shower will be located on the other side. thats great, thanks.

Claw Hammer

I would never put in a mains shower. If there is an interruption to supply by a tap using the mains being turned on the shower is disrupted. The shower may cut out or start alternating between being very hot and very cold.The noise is irrelevant because the splashing of the water will be louder than the noise of the pump in any event. Who looks at a shower anyway? It won't be looked at when in use and a screen will be in front of it when not.
There is no guarantee that mains pressure will remain constant into the future. New building in the area may weaken the supply. I find it far easier to bring a pie directly from the attic tank straight to the shower. As long as there is water in the tank the shower pressure will be constant.
The saving in price is small. I always buy the Triton T90 9.5 kw series and find them reliable.

katuxini

thanks for that.
Just called my plumber and he said the same 'Get the triton t90 and you won't have any problems!'. I think I'll sacrifice the slick looks of the Triton Aspirante brushed steel model for the highly functional 'T 90'

katuxini

One last thing. Is it ok to order a shower through the UK? Is there any problem installing them?

Sleeper12

katuxini wrote: »

One last thing. Is it ok to order a shower through the UK? Is there any problem installing them?

AA shower bought from the UK is not covered by a UK or Irish warranty

As this thread is a month old it's probably too late for you but I'll say it for anyone reading this in the future.
TThe brushed chrome can cost you a fortune but look stunning in the showroom and the day it is fitted. The problem is that it looks horrible after your shower. The splash marks look bad. You need to be prepared to actually polish this after each shower.

Personally I recommend people to stick to the standard white version as it's half the price.

LIFFY FISHING

A shower bought in the UK is under warantee in Ireland, the new distribution of Mira Showers proves that! as there is no Irish importer distributer since Mira withdrew their distributership from Modern Plant, now they can be bought from any outlet here or direct from the UK and ARE under warantee as they must be under consumer law.

Sleeper12

LIFFY FISHING wrote: »

A shower bought in the UK is under warantee in Ireland, the new distribution of Mira Showers proves that! as there is no Irish importer distributer since Mira withdrew their distributership from Modern Plant, now they can be bought from any outlet here or direct from the UK and ARE under warantee as they must be under consumer law.

I have to strongly disagree.

A message I leave all my clients after fitting their mira shower as I hand over the receipt: Mira have always tried their best to get out of the warranty. If the shower breaks tomorrow & you don't have the receipt they will not honour the warranty. ( Triton will go on the manufacturer date)

Mira still have the same Irish company repairing their showers under warranty. The same rules apply. No receipt, no warranty. UK receipt no Irish warranty.

EU law does not cover warranties at all. A warranty is something the manufacturer offers. This is totally different for a fit for purpose law. Usually the fit for purpose law is for the first year. Triton & Mira offer 2 years warranty. You will loose this warranty if you buy outside of Ireland.

Last point. I fit & repair mira & triton showers. I have no loyalty to either one but triton beat mira hands down every time. Mira showers go yellow after awhile. Triton stay white for at least 20 years. Mira casing is very brittle & quite often breaks. Spare parts for mira are almost double the price of triton parts even though some of these parts are made in the same factory.

filbert the fox

katuxini wrote: »

thanks art6. The header tank is more or less above the bathroom where i want to put the shower. In fact ,its above the hot press which has the same partition wall where the shower will be located on the other side. thats great, thanks.

I'm handy with compression joints and electrical work.

At what stage do the new regulations restrict me from connecting my own shower unit up?
What needs to be inspected if anything?

Sleeper12

filbert the fox wrote: »

I'm handy with compression joints and electrical work.

At what stage do the new regulations restrict me from connecting my own shower unit up?
What needs to be inspected if anything?

New regulations came in late last year (I think November). It is illegal for anyone to work on the fuseboad unless they are a registered electrical contractor & they should give you a cert for work done.