I've got a shower fed by gravity, from an immersion heater in my loft. Is there any reason why I can't add an electrical pump to the 15mm pipework to the shower, to increase the shower pressure? If so, can anyone suggest a suitable one?
Thank you,
Al
You can do, but there's often a simpler cheaper option. Turning up the hot water temp setting means you get more total shower flow possible. In some cases.
NT
On the assumption that both hot and cold are gravity fed from tanks this would do the trick
- not a "power shower" but very good. They also do bigger ones if you want to.
Not sure how increasing the hot would help unless you have cold on mains pressure
thanks
Lee.
If you are not currently using the full available flow rate because the hot is not hot enough to add more cold, and still have a decent shower, then making the hot hotter and adding more cold will give a greater overall flow.
If the cold flow is alreay max'ed out then it doesn't help.
MBQ
Isn't this a difference between pressure and flow? Pressure is proportional to the height differential between the shower head and the top of the water in the tank (on a gravity fed system anyway). Therefore, to increase pressure you would need to raise the water tank or give it some assistance. As far as I can see, unless the cold tank is higher, whilst more water could flow, pressure will be the same.
Maybe I have missed something?
Regardless of head or pressure, flow rate can be controlled by a tap. A shower mixer is a tap or two. Having hotter hot water allows you to mix more cold in and get the same output temp at a higher flow, assuming the cold supply has something in reserve.
MBQ
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Lee Nowell saying something like:
It works; in those cases where there's some spare cold flow capacity.
Lee Nowell wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@a36g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
Thanks - but, wow, they aren't cheap, are they?!
I do have the cold on mains pressure, and I do understand what Tabby was suggesting about that. The trouble is, is that I have the shower head fed by a mixer tap on the bath, and since the cold pressure is so much greater than the hot water (gravity-fed) pressure, it is extremely difficult to end up with a comfortable shower temperature, if you are mixing hot and colt together. I think the pressure from the cold side can actually flow into the gavity feed coming from the immersion heater, sending the hot water back from whence it came! So my simple solution was to set the immersion heater to exactly the desired shower temp and just turn the hot tap on at the bath.
The only other way I thought of to increase the shower pressure, was to have a 22mm run from the immersion heater, instead of 15mm. But it's rather a lot of work.
Al
I'd love to know how increasing pipe diameter will increase pressure.....?
Tim.
"Tim.." wrote in news:ZiCyo.25482$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe22.ams:
It's not rocket science: Less resistance in the pipework, and more weight of water in the pipe too.
Al
More weight? Do you mean the pressure in a pipe increases with its diameter?
"Fredxx" wrote in news:iaet72$nhq$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal- september.org:
The pressure of water at the shower head is the only thing we are concerned with.
Al
Actually the flow rate is all we are conecerned with.
Thats really pressure times diameter.
Of the narrowest point. Generally the shower head itself. Of course, its perfectly possible for mains pressure cold water to flow back through the shower and push the hot water in the tank backwards. which is why regulations are VERY sniffy about mixing gravity fed hot with mains pressure cold. In short, don't do it.
If you have a cold water header, feed shower cold from THAT.
The Natural Philosopher wrote in news:iaeu1t$4er$1 @news.albasani.net:
That definitely sounds preferable, considering that the hot and cold pressure would then be about equal. But is there any actual danger/hazard in the cold flow going back up the hot pipe?
Al
You havn't looked at the price of a Stuart Turner, then, have you?
Over ten years or so, I have had two of this general sort fail (one Wickes, one Screwfix), one from a failed seal which caused a leak through the ceiling, the other a dead motor. At that point I bought an ST.....
Whatever you fit, a power shower will be a great improvement. I assume the hot tank feed comes from a proper "flange" (Surrey, Essex, or whatever).
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