Shower pump

[Chris Styles]

Hi,

My parents shower is like a a watering can, as it is gravity fed.and they are in a bungalow.

As the shower room backs onto the air cupboard where the hot water tank it, it seems like it will be very easy to fit a pump and beef it up a bit.

Looking in scre fix, they have two models that look like they might be suitable, one is £80 and is 1.5 bar, the other is £140 and is 2.0 bar.

I dont have a feel for what an average shower is, so I am not sur whether to recommend the 1.5 bar or 2.0 bar. Our house has a mains pressured hot water system and has a lovely strong shower. If i know for instance that Main pressure was say ~1.5 bar, i'd have some frame of reference.

Any suggestions?

I'm pretty competant at plumbing and so I'll be fitting it myself. Any top-tops and gotchas appreciated though...

Cheers Chris

[John Stumbles]

The cheaper one will do fine, and £80 for a Salamander which is supposed to be a pretty good pump seems a cracking good price. I'm about to fit one this afternoon to replace a Newteam which is leaking at the impeller casing seal even though it's only a few months old.

[robgraham]

In line with two current threads on this NG on low pressure in the HW supply just check that the HW system isn't restricted elsewhere and that the pump will succeed ! If the pump just can't get enough water then there's no point in having it.

Rob

[David Hansen]

On Fri, 3 Feb 2006 11:44:01 +0000 (UTC) someone who may be "Chris Styles" wrote this:-

As others have said, ensure there is not a partially closed valve in the feed to the cylinder first. Is the shower head clear of obstructions?

Raising the cold water tank is another alternative, though with insulated lofts this can cause other problems.

If fitting a pump then make sure it will not cause vibrations by things like the cupboard door. Be careful cutting into the pipes as it is easy to damage hot water cylinders by small movements with pipes. You may need to change the shower head to one suitable for a pumped shower. If the shower valve is not thermostatic then a pump is likely to make temperature fluctuations worse, I assume the existing shower is not supplied from a separate connection to the cylinder. I take it that the shower has a separate cold supply from the tank. Pumps wired into the lighting circuit can make the lights flicker as they start, it is better to wire them into the ring main. How is the water contained? Shower curtains can be inadequate to contain pumped water.

[John Stumbles]

Update: clients report that the salamander is very much queiter ("almost silent") than the Newteam/showerfarce

[Paul Andrews]

Wish my Salamander was like that...