RE: Water Heater & Electric Shower

[Graham Keeble]

Hi All

Just a couple of questions.

Firstly I have a water heater which heats water for my whole house, much like a combi boiler (i.e. when the hot tapes are turned on) but without the central heating side of things. The problem is that when I use the shower the heater rarely "kicks" in so the water is cold. Any ideas why this is and how I can resolve it?

Also I am thinking of installing an electric shower, and would like to know if its best to connect it straight to the mains supply or from a cold water tank?

Thanks in advance

Graham

[Christian McArdle]

Sorry for the slow reply.

This group is mostly US, so they probably don't have a clue what a combi boiler is.

If it kicks in fine for other outlets, you probably have a lazy flow switch on the boiler. Try turning up the flow on the shower so it draws enough water to kick the boiler into life. Alternatively, the switch could be replaced.

It absolutely must be on mains. An electrically heated shower is pretty poor at the best of times without dragging it down further by running from gravity flow. It will usually provide a much worse performance than a combi boiler to start with.

Even the best electric showers are around 10kW. A typical combi will be

24-30kW and will give a proper shower, unless you've got a panel shower with fifty jets.

Christian.