Electric shower - must I have a 'box'?

Having put in a shower than runs from the hot water system we have decided that the next one will be electric. My wife says she doesn't want a bulky box on the wall. Anybody know of a system that minimises the control box? Ideally, just a dial arrangement as with the ordinary hot water system.

Many thanks

Reply to
Pete L
Loading thread data ...

I got a Triton T300Si electric shower a few years ago. This separates the control panel, which you mount flush to the wall, from the bulky heater block. The latter might be mounted under the bath, or in our case on a wall away from the bath. I think you can separate the two units by up to 2 or 3m.

They aren't cheap but might work for you. See for instance:

formatting link
HTH Jon N

Reply to
jkn

I don't quite follow the logic but ...

There are "remote control" electric showers where the shower heater box is elsewhere and only a control panel on the wall:

Triton T300Si Superbly styled flush fitting electric shower with push-button controls The beautiful T300si operates in the same way as the Topaz T100i, but with the added luxury of a flush fitting control panel. All you need to fit in your showering area is the stylish and discrete control panel together with the riser rail kit. The water is heated in the power pack which can be situated out of sight under the bath or in an airing cupboard up to 3.5 metres away.

formatting link

Reply to
Owain

Get a better boiler instead.

Reply to
Doki

What is the problem with the existing installation?

A stored energy or instantaneous gas heated shower should provide significantly better performance than an electric shower. It may be better to fix your existing installation.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Thanks for all your suggestions. Ok, I'll come clean - it was the first shower I have ever put in and I made a bad mistake. I built a new en-suite bathroom from an existing bedroom. Having found some hot and cold pipes that were convenient I used them. They originated from the kitchen directly downstairs. So, the hot water went from the tank in the airing cupboard down to the kitchen and then back up to my new shower! After the event I realised that gravity is good but not that good and consequently the hot water from the shower is very feeble and makes it almost unusable. I have investigated putting in a shower pump but it's not feasible so I'm going to take the electric route. The Triton model mentioned by some of you looks ideal and I'll probably go for it.

Reply to
Pete L

If you were disappointed by what you did, then you will be very disappointed with an electric shower.

Because of the limitation to around 10kW of instant heating, when the mains water is cold the flow rate will be very low indeed - way lower than you are getting now. To try and address this, electric showers normally come with very small shower heads and tiny jets to at least give the user some sensation of pressure. The problem there is then that these are really uncomfortable because they are effectlively like needle jets and over a small area of skin. In order not to be like that, a larger shower head would be needed. Then you will be back to poor flow.

Even a small combi boiler can do twice as well as this.

The only ways to make a significant improvement to what you have are to either

a) Increase the pipe sizes to the existing gravity shower and run them more directly to the cylinder. You can run them via the loft if it helps.

b) Find a way to fit a pump

c) Replace the hot water system with something with about a 30kW instant rating e.g. combi boiler (large one)

d) Replace HW cylinder with a thermal store and use that to heat mains water. This can also deliver tens of kW to the mains water.

Trying to use mains water with an inadequate heat source is going to be disappointing. It's a last resort short cut for those who can't do anything else, but it would be unlikely to improve what you already have; much more likely to be worse.

Reply to
Andy Hall

This really is a matter of individual perception. What you describe as uncomfortable would be described by many people, myself included, as invigorating.

I prefer my electric shower to my CH gravity fed shower.

Reply to
dcbwhaley

If it's only gravity fed under low pressure, that may be the case for you. Neither are as good as either a pumped or mains pressure one with adequate heat source.

Reply to
Andy Hall

But ultimately the very best shower is a poor substitute for a deep hot bath with plenty of Radox, a glass of whisky, a plate of biscuits and a good book :-)

Reply to
dcbwhaley

On that I definitely agree with you...

Reply to
Andy Hall

You don't know what flow rate he is getting now, so you cannot possibly say that! I get a better flow rate from my 7500 kW shower unit than several rather poor power showers (NOT gravity fed) I've used in the past. I also get exactly the temperature I want, straight away - without endless fiddling around with the controls.

Now I agree that a very good power shower would have a much better flow rate (and, I would hope, more responsive controls), but (as I said in another thread) that luxury comes at a price. The cost savings from using gas-heated water will be more than offset by the increased amount of water you will use.

You must have unusually sensitive skin. I find such a shower an invigorating way to start the day!

Reply to
Pyriform

I should hope so. 7.5MW would give you 50 litres per second. Enough to fill a bath every 2 seconds!

Well, if a power shower can't even give you 3 litres per minute, it is malfunctioning. End of story. Normally speaking, a power shower would give you around 3-4 times the flow rate of an electric shower. High pressure pumps are available if that is what you prefer.

Clearly you have not used a modern mixer shower. You have two separate controls. One sets the temperature thermostatically. The other sets the flow rate. When you finish the shower, the temperature knob stays in the correct place, ready for use the next time. (Excluding the Mira 415 which annoyingly requires you to lose your setting after every shower). This is unlike 99% of electric showers, where one control sets both flow and temperature and you have to fiddle around endlessly trying to get the temperature right every time you shower.

There's nothing preventing you using a multi pattern head on a power shower. This will give you a choice everywhere from "soft" child friendly blobbles to a punishing massage.

Christian.

Reply to
Christian McArdle

Oh bugger...

Well, I said they were poor.

That's just the problem. I have used those, and they don't seem to work. Whether they used to work, and have just gone bad, or were bad from the outset, I have no idea. These were other people's showers, so I felt it rude to enquire. My typical experience is that the adjustments are exquisitely sensitive, so that even a tiny change in the position of the temperature control causes a large deviation in the water temperature. I've also found that the controls were not properly independent - adjusting one could have an effect on the other. I've experienced problems with control placements, so that they were easily knocked. I've also experienced long delays before the water starts arriving at the right temperature, probably because of long pipe runs.

And yet my experience is the exact opposite. Switch on, jump in the shower straight away, perhaps a quick temperature adjustment depending on how I'm feeling. No possibility of accidentally disturbing controls whilst showering. Totally trouble-free.

Reply to
Pyriform

I can, as a fairly educated guess. It would be highly unlikely that even the most feeble of gravity showers couldn't manage the 4 litres per minute of an electric shower.

Really. Where in the garden do you have the 7.5MW power generating plant? Do the neighbours complain?

The same is perfectly well achievable with a mains or pumped shower having a thermostatic valve.

It is a matter of implementing the plumbin correctly.

I don't consider that having a proper shower is a luxury.

In the overall scheme of things this is neither here nor there.

Not particularly, I just hate these horrible little pencil jet shower heads where you have to run around in the shower to get wet. Invigorating is plenty of water and a certain amount of pressure over a larger area. If I wanted flagellation, there are better ways to achieve it.

Reply to
Andy Hall

This happens if a cheap, non thermostatic valve is used

This doesn't happen if the cold and hot feeds are independently derived from the roof storage tank.

More bad implementation

Totally disappointing..

Reply to
Andy Hall

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.