We have been running a shower from our combi and we think it's about time that we began to experience the pleasures of actually getting wet whislt taking a shower (the flow from the head is pretty awful from the combi). We reckon we need an electric shower (no header tanks etc as we have a combi) but we want a "good" one. By good we mean fast flowing hot water. So, which is the best shower? Are there any limitations that we should consider?
I have a 9.5 KW electric shower, and I really hate the dribble coming out of it.
Got myself a decent mixer and not use the 28cdi wor combi. Double the rate in my opinion.
The results will be even worse than the combi.
What combi and what shower?
If all is well (i.e. shower and boiler are working correctly) then even the most feeble combi should trounce the performance you will get from the best of the commonly available electric showers.
(an old 24kW 70% efficent combi will still deliver 17kW of power to heat the water. Most electric showers are under 12kW - many are in the 7 to
9kW range).
Don't go there with Electric showers!. We had two of the pox ridden things and we chucked them out sometime ago and have a large storage tank and Two MIRA event pumped units, and absolute bliss in comparison.
Just spend the time and moolah and do it that way, very, very worthwhile long term investment!. Wish I'd done it sooner:).
Like investing in a good SDS drill!......
Are shower exhaust heat exchangers readily available? These would dramatically increase the amount of water that could be used.
We've got a cheapo Gainsborough 9.5kw and it is excellent - far superior to our neighbours shower off a combi boiler and dead cheap to buy and install. Jeremy Clarkson type geeks hate them however as they are simple and not the most powerful - but they are good value for money and very adequate performers.
We used to have a feeble shower from our 5 year old "how little did the previous owner spend" combi. Had it replaced last year with an Ideal Isar 35 - huge improvement and now have a great shower
Charlie
The good value argument rarely holds up I find. I have fitted a couple for friends in the past. Sure the showers were under 100. However by the time we had spent between 80 and 200 quid on parts to upgrade the electrics and lay on the supply to the bathroom, plus time spent doing it, we were well into decent thermostatic mixer sort of money.
Performance from a 9.5kW shower is reasonable this time of year (not so good in the winter) as long as you don't expect too much. Performance from a modern modulating combi will usually be at least twice as good.
However with older combis they can be far less satisfying especially if you have a shower / combi combination that does not work well together - you can get mad temperature fluctuations, or an inabiity to get a workable temperature at all.
Quite!...
And make sure that anyone else in the house does nothing to upset the mains water pressure!....
Wouldn't give one house room, unless it was a single occupancy one and even then they'd have to be some compelling arguments for it....
Even the smallest combi will be 24kW. The best electric showers are about
10.5kW. The figures are directly comparable when it comes to shower performance. Therefore, the worst combi shower will be well over twice as good as the best electric shower.You may (and probably do), however, have a fault that prevents the combi working properly. It could be fed off gravity water tanks instead of the mains, for example. It might be scaled up. The shower head might need replacing with a type with bigger holes. The shower mixer valve might be clogged with scale. Fix these issues, rather than waste money on an electric shower.
Christian.
Not to mention the higher running costs of electricity compared with gas.
Owain
Running costs for electric shower usually lower than alternatives because it is instant on/off with no storage , waiting for boiler to heat up, heat loss in pipes, and uses less water than the higher output types. Installation costs obviously a factor - just depends on details; =A3200 to upgrade electrics is high, I'd expect nearer the =A380 as a rule.
cheers Jacob
ditto combi
fairly negligible, and most of the year heat losses from pipes contribute to general house warmth anyway.
That's not a fair comparison. If you want to restrict a boiler shower to a comparable flow.temp, it will still be about half the price to run as gas is cheaper than electricity per kWh. Also more environmentally friendly, because of the *huge* distribution losses in electricity.
Owain
Hey! I know! Fit two electric showers side-by-side! Surprised you-know-who hasn't already suggested it...
David
In article , snipped-for-privacy@jpbutler.demon.co.uk writes
Is that running in a hefty cable from the dist board and then into a bathroom subject to part Pee?.
More expense of course!....
He'd never condone anything in such an installation but a pair of combis.
But where is Dribble? Anyone heard of any recent explosions or serious water leaks on council estates?
I was in Dublin recently visiting a friend. They had an Triton electric power shower. I think it was badged on the front "T9".
The shower was like a proper power shower. It got very hot and the pump within the power shower unit delivered a powerful spray to the shower head.
I felt it was fairly similar to a combi boiler arrangement in terms of use output.
Would a pumped electric power shower be allowed in the UK?
Graham
Distribution losses are not the long pole, it's the horrible about 50% of the gas or whatever that comes out as heat as heat at the cooling tower.
With gas at a quarter the price of electrcity I am not convinced. Running on a modern 90%+ efficent combi, the losses will be small. So even allowing for the fact that you will oprobably use twice the flow rate (because you can!), it still ought to be cheaper of the boiler.
Depends on if you are talking parts only or including labour. Last one I did required a henley be inserted into the meter tails to feed a new dedicated small CU with RCD, 10m of cable plus switch to be laid in, and then some work to update the EQ bonding. Parts alone were about 80, and all told it probably took 10 hours of work.
The previous one to that required a complete CU replacement, but a much simpler cable run. Tad more in parts, but only five hours of time.
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.