Mira shower pump died

Aug 09, 2014 10 Replies

Hi all,



Parents shower has stopped working - apparantly the pump now makes a buzzing noise and has a strange burnt electical smell...



It's currently this

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Which a reckon is one of these:



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So, obvious option of swapping like for like isn't going to work as it appears that pump is EOL ages ago, and also it's 400 quid which is 400 quid they don't really have...



I've not had chance to go look yet, but I'm assuming repair isn't likely to be an option. The pump is a fair few years old (dad thinks at least 8) and while it appears to be a good one, I can see a range of cheap replacement options for more like 120 quid from the usual suspects...



I'm guessing the buzzing points to the pump being siezed? Or is there a simple failure mode that I ought to check out?



Assuming it's dead, any recommendation on cheaper replacements? Ideally somethings that simple to fix in place of that one :-) Setup is gravity fed, cold tank in roof. Hot water cyclinder in bedroom below cold tank with the pump on shelf above the hot tank. Not sure where it's fed from until I get to visit and look, but the pump above is the second they've had, and their shower has always been excellent so I'm assuming there shouldn't be anything exotic needed.



They are in a hardwater area so scale is likely to be a possible issue.



The sort of thing I'm looking at are:



Salamander Pumps CT50+ Xtra

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Techflow TP50 (Stewart turner budget line IIRC?)

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Or for a bit more cash, the Salamader RSP50

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That one is continuous rated which inspires a bit more confidence that it's higher quality



At the other end, is cheap'n'(hopefully)Cheerful toolstation with



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from "Watermill" who I'd never heard of, but appears to be Grundfos who I have at least heard of! 110 quid and in stock up the road is appealing...



Any to avoid, or recommendations? :-)



Darren



Not really but Mira do a fixed cost repair on most of their gear, a la dyson, it may be an option.

AJH

I've been more than happy with a Salamander (the RSP75 I think) for 8 or

9 years, they still look identical on the website to mine, which I take as a good sign. I noticed a decent looking all-brass Watermill one in B&Q a while back, unlike their usual el-cheapo pumps.

Hmmm... Looks like it's showers but not shower pumps. Will dig a bit more though.

Cheers,

Darren

Ok, can anyone explain to me (in idiot proof terms ;-)) what the difference between a centrifugal pump and a regenerative pump is.

The later seems a bit more expensive... (and better?)

Ebay's the place to get shower pumps, no need to pay 110.

Sometimes it may be poss to short out the inbuilt speed control to get a pump going again.

NT

Two possibilities.

(1) It is seized. It may be possible to free it off and oil the bearings. However the water seals amy be leaking and washed the oil out of the bearings so unless they ar replaced, it will seize again. (Bearings may just be water lubricated as per central heating pumps)

(2) There are two windings in the motor. One may be open circuit.

I've had no problems with Salamander pumps from Screwfix. Had problems withe 1.5 bar (not the pump) with newer valves with thermostatic elements/pressure balancing capability. Needed to update to the higher pressure ones to get enough flow.

As a general tip IME, avoid the cheaper (eg Triton) ones with universal motors, induction motors are preferable (reliability, noise). Induction motor pumps generally have a cylindrical body that look like an electric motor and do not have speed control capability. The Toolstation one might be either, the Salamander pumps are definately induction motors, the Techflow one looks like it is.

Chris K

I will never buy a budget one again, I have a pair of Stuart Turners.

Could this be due to a failed start capacitor? The data plate mentions 7uF 400V, so I assume it has one, probably tucked away in the top larger section.

If you are able to turn it over by hand, then it is not seized.

Might be an idea to check that first, could be a cheap fix!

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