Bathroom without immersion heater

Aug 28, 2012 11 Replies

I have a fairly small bathroom, with bath, toilet, basin and airing cupboard containing a cyliner with immersion heater. I want to add a shower, but the only way this could be possible would be if the cylinder were done away with.



Is that (a) feasible? (b) sensible.


It is feasible, but can this cylinder also be heated by a gas/oil boiler? Or have you only got an electricity supply.

Shower over the bath? Or one of those 'disabled' baths with a door in it if the requirement for a shower is prompted by physical difficulties. Or a bath seat / lift etc.

You will not get an electric non-storage hot water system that can fill a bath.

The drawback to the bath-with-a-door in it is you have to close the door and wait while the bath heats up, and wait (wet, getting cold) while the bath empties before you can get out. And leaks. My mother got locked in hers.

Owain

yes, yes. If the house is small and you have mno teenage girtls, fit a combi.

If it isn't remove the old cylinder and retrofit a pressurised main pressure cylinder somewhere else. Typically the loft is usable, but even outside in a lean too can be done - I've seen this! needs a frost stat and lagging mind :-)

If you have a loft mounted header,. you can ditch this and use the sapce

None of these come cheap tho

You could either have a simple electric shower and a small undersink water heater for the basin. Or... an instant water heater, rated about 10 to 12kW which feeds both your shower and basin. Depends on how good your electric supply is, for the latter one. I fitted one a decade ago in place of a gas geyser and while it worked rather well, the load it put on the mains was a bit of a concern. No fuses blew and it was within the limits of th supply, but it tended to dim th lights a bit.

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon writes

Lime scale is an issue with instant water heating in hard water areas.

regards

Thanks very much for the response.

It seems from my plumber that the cost of the electric wiring would be a major part of the expenditure - but SWMBO is very keen on getting a proper shower. (There is already one in the bath, but she is not satisfied with that.)

That at least would be no issue, as our water (in Dublin) seems exceptionally soft.

would improving the existing shower over the bath be acceptable - if it's a vented system with low pressure at the moment then adding a shower pump?

Owain

So take the bath out. That will teach her.

What is the objection to the shower over the bath?

If it's the shower itself then simply putting one in a cubicle will not help, especially if it's down to the water supply.

If it's the shape of the bath then consider changing the bath for one designed to have a shower at one end. They have steeper sides and allow you to stand under the shower.

MBQ

Sometimes worth looking at the benefits of this too:

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NT

Electric shower over the bath?

Jonathan

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