10 year old shower - time to replace?)

Stheno

Hi

Looking for some advice. We have four showers in our house two of which are what I call electric showers in that they are instantly hot when you turn them on.

One of them is a Mira events and in the past few months it has gotten slower to heat up and the water pressure is poor.

The other "electric" shower is a triton t90si and working fine. It however would have been rarely used but two years ago whilst the Mira has had almost daily use all of its life

They are both about ten years old.

Is it time to consider replacing the Mira and if so do you have any suggestions on what would suit to not impact on the tiling around it?

Sleeper12

Stheno wrote: »

Hi

Looking for some advice. We have four showers in our house two of which are what I call electric showers in that they are instantly hot when you turn them on.

One of them is a Mira events and in the past few months it has gotten slower to heat up and the water pressure is poor.

The other "electric" shower is a triton t90si and working fine. It however would have been rarely used but two years ago whilst the Mira has had almost daily use all of its life

They are both about ten years old.

Is it time to consider replacing the Mira and if so do you have any suggestions on what would suit to not impact on the tiling around it?

The Mira Event is a power shower. You need to heat the water in the hot press first. Could your shower be a Mira Elite 2 or Mira Elite ST? The replacement for the Mira Elite QT. If you are thinking of changing to the QT you should have a read here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=99324425

10 years is the average lifespan of an electric shower. Some people get 20 years but once you hit 10 years they aren't worth spending money on. For example a new pump or element for a Mira Elite is around €200/€220 supplied & fitted. A whole new shower will cost you around €325/€350 supplied & fitted.
It might be possible to replace the Mira with a Triton or if the Mira isn't bothering you too much you might put up with it for a while longer

Stheno

Sleeper12 wrote: »

The Mira Event is a power shower. You need to heat the water in the hot press first. Could your shower be a Mira Elite 2 or Mira Elite ST? The replacement for the Mira Elite QT. If you are thinking of changing to the QT you should have a read here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=99324425

10 years is the average lifespan of an electric shower. Some people get 20 years but once you hit 10 years they aren't worth spending money on. For example a new pump or element for a Mira Elite is around €200/€220 supplied & fitted. A whole new shower will cost you around €325/€350 supplied & fitted.
It might be possible to replace the Mira with a Triton or if the Mira isn't bothering you too much you might put up with it for a while longer

I checked it's a mira event xs, I always just call it an electric shower, don't know the differences.

We've a condensing boiler which means we always have hot water so that explains not needing the immersion

Good to know that replacing it is probably the better option, could you suggest a suitable replacement?

Sleeper12

Mira have two power showers. The event is around 650/750 supplied & fitted. This shower they keep artificially high for no real reason.
Mira also have a power shower called vigour. If I were to buy parts to repair an Event most of the parts are called Vigour /Event parts. So there is practically no real difference between the Event and the Vigour. A Mira Vigour thermostatic will cost you 365 /465 euro supplied & fitted.
The life expectancy of both showers is around the same. Mira only offer 12 months warranty with either one.
For me the Vigour is much better value. The plumbing and electrics are the same as your old shower and it's no more than an hours work.

Edit: it could be slowing with old age but there is a chance that the filter needs cleaning.
It's worth looking at the filter first. Make sure fuse at the fuse is off before you take the cover off

Stheno

Sleeper12 wrote: »

Mira have two power showers. The event is around 650/750 supplied & fitted. This shower they keep artificially high for no real reason.
Mira also have a power shower called vigour. If I were to buy parts to repair an Event most of the parts are called Vigour /Event parts. So there is practically no real difference between the Event and the Vigour. A Mira Vigour thermostatic will cost you 365 /465 euro supplied & fitted.
The life expectancy of both showers is around the same. Mira only offer 12 months warranty with either one.
For me the Vigour is much better value. The plumbing and electrics are the same as your old shower and it's no more than an hours work.

Edit: it could be slowing with old age but there is a chance that the filter needs cleaning.
It's worth looking at the filter first. Make sure fuse at the fuse is off before you take the cover off

Thanks again.

I'll have a go at cleaning the filter first at the weekend,I found the following manual with instructions https://www.manualslib.com/manual/740948/Mira-Vie.html?page=25

Am I ok to go ahead and do it even if I am not a plumber?

I think though that it's probably nearing end of life, it's incredibly noisy, so much so that even though it's in the ensuite for our bedroom I don't use it early in the morning, as it wakes people up, plus the bracket that holds the hose in place is broken and can no longer be adjusted.

That said, I'll check the filter, and see if it improves things.

Again thanks for the information and advice.

Sleeper12

Stheno wrote:

Am I ok to go ahead and do it even if I am not a plumber?

I can't answer that as I don't know your DIY confidence /skills but it's not difficult. You need to shut of the hot & cold water. These are usually in the hot press. Once you have the water & power off you take the cover off. Three screws on your model I think. The filter has one screw. Rinse filter under tap or sometimes there could be plastic from the tank so maybe something like a cock stick.
Good luck

Stheno

Sleeper12 wrote: »

I can't answer that as I don't know your DIY confidence /skills but it's not difficult. You need to shut of the hot & cold water. These are usually in the hot press. Once you have the water & power off you take the cover off. Three screws on your model I think. The filter has one screw. Rinse filter under tap or sometimes there could be plastic from the tank so maybe something like a cock stick.
Good luck

I'm fairly ok DIY wise, I tend to be the one to dismantle the washing machine etc when there are issues with the filters here, or do basic DIY, OH knows how to shut off the water for the house, the fuse for the shower is just a switch that is always off unless it's in use so that's fine.

I'll update after I give it a go.

Thanks again