Hi everyone.
Getting my bathroom sorted out and think it's time for a new shower to be installed. The old one's OK but runs a bit weakly.
A plumber's recommended one that runs off the combi-boiler and it sounds a good idea, except of course, if the boiler goes, no shower.
Does anyone here think they're a good idea or shall fork out for a decent electric one? Plumber says the water pressure is ample but I'm not so sure I'd get anything near as from a good electric one.
Thanks a lot. Ed.
I use an electric shower but at some point it will die and I have wondered is there any way you can speculate what sort of shower you would get using a thermostatic one off the combi as I would have the same decision to make as you . I have lots of mains cold pressure so how does that come in to the equation using a shower off the combi? I'd hate to install one then find it's not as good as an electric one .
The combi is fed directly from the mains, so you might expect a good flow. However, there is some throttling of the flow by the boiler to give the correct temperature at the outlet. So the shower isn't quite as powerful as you might expect.
But - it is still likely to be more powerful than even one of the better electric showers.
It's important to select a suitable thermostatic shower mixer for your boiler as otherwise the mixer and combi boiler can interact and the shower temperature can cycle between very hot and very cold (been there, done that). A thermostatic mixer that is well matched to the boiler won't cycle between hot and cold. It will keep a steady temperature and deal with other taps in the house being turned on without scalding you or spraying cold water.
Summary - If you have good mains pressure, and a reliable supply, a shower fed direct from a combi makes for a very economical shower - you only heat the water you use. But it needs care in the selection of a shower mixer that will work well with the particular boiler.
I have a shower driven directly form my Combi, and it's better than an average electric shower. I suppose a very powerful electric one might be better, but remember that and average combi has a lot of heating power, which is the limiting factor, so HW flow is generally quite good.
I wonder, is a combination boiler / electric arrangement possible?
You need one designed for use with a combi or multipoint water heater. These are fast acting, cope with widely varying hot water pressure, and know they can't change the shower temperature by adjusting the hot flow rate. These are more expensive than the common-or-garden wax pellet variety.
Could you fit an inline electric heater? In industry we used to use inline heaters either quartz lamp type or old fashioned heater coil types.
What type is it, and was it always like this? (Gives us a clue what won't work.)
This is a matter of personal preference. I'm perfectly happy with electric ones, but you won't be able to run a drencher type shower head from an electric shower, if that's important. (Actually, you'll struggle with many combis too.)
A combi is somewhat all eggs in one basket, so if you have two showers, one electric and one combi would be a good choice.
I've only ever had mixer showers fed directly from the boilers in the past few places I've been. Occasionally get to use an electric one and it makes me realise how crap they actually are, so to recap, get a mixer and you'll never go back.
How often is that likely?
Given even the most feeble asthmatic combi is normally at least double the power of the best electric showers, there is no real contest in terms of performance. Having said that, it depends on what you are used to an what you expect from a shower.
In our previous place I had two showers running from the 35kW combi. Using one at a time would allow you to have the full blast you skin off experience if you wanted (and that was with a flow reducing disc inserted in the shower head!). Both at once was less "invigorating" but still quite acceptable (and well in excess of electric shower performance)
Do you mean one shower running off both ? Electric Showers must be fed from the cold mains only.
Yes, that was exactly my point.
It's a few years ago now, but the first shower mixer I fitted was the right type for a combi but didn't suit the particular boiler I had fitted, which was a Saunier Duval. When it was changed for a Worcester Bosch, the shower mixer worked perfectly.
Ooh, lovely! Really must get round to replacing my smallish old combi with a bigger one.
Pete
The limitation on mine was also partly the flow rate from the cold main. The static pressure was quite good, but it would only manage 17 lpm or thereabouts (and less by the time you got up one or two storeys to the shower heads!) With a wider incoming pipe I might have got up to the limit of the combi with both showers going.
Yes, my combi hot water supply is rated at 13.4 litre / minute at a 30 degree increase in temperature. I reckon that's 28 kW. You wouldn't get half that from an electric instant shower.
I have a 22 year old Worcester Hi Flow Heatslave and it gives a great shower at 11 litres a minute. The shower mixer is a pressure balancing Mira 415.
Pressu.... W...
...Followed by a good rub down with an angle grinder.
ex-foliation for men!
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