Which shower valve?

[Lobster]

I think I'm going to have to take the plunge and rip out one of our showers to start again (it was very badly installed - not by yours truly! - ) and continual attempts to stop the leaks over the years have finally ended up with a badly stained downstairs ceiling, trashed plasterboard behind the tiles, and it's now lined out with luvverly green DPC membrane (doesn't leak at all, but 'er indoors is NOT happy).

So, now wondering what shower valve to use. Currently there's a cheap thermostatic bar-mixer valve, which is OK and could be recycled, but it's quite old and I'm minded to remove and store it for future spares/repair for our other bathroom which has an identical model.

Requirements are as follows:

- Suitable for unvented HW cylinder - excellent pressure/flow, no pumping needed.

- Riser rail/hose-type showerhead needed

- Thermostatic control

- Concealed fitting preferred

I'm a fan of Mira kit, and their blurb says the 'Excel' is the UK's bestselling thermostatic shower:

About 330 GBP upwards.

However, there are several other Miras of lower price (never mind other makes) and I can't make out what the difference actually is and why I should buy the more expensive model...

Also; I'm not particularly clued up on the shower market these days and would like to make an informed choice! Are 'shower panels' worth considering? Body jets? Doesn't someone produce one with his'n her preset temperatures?

Any thoughts / reccomendations much appreciated.

David

[Tim S]

Lobster coughed up some electrons that declared:

Sirrus (Made by Gummers of Birmingham) do one that's almost totally surface mount. The water is fed down a concentric pipe that forms the shower rail. You need 4" cube of space or so above the ceiling to house the adaptor block.

I've got two (half price via ebay) and they look nice. I know two people who have them installed and they seem pleased.

Cheers

Tim

[dennis]

I installed a shower a few months ago using some "formica" panels with foam backing I got from Wickes. They are really easy to fit and look good but they were about £55 for two

8x4 (IIRC) panels. They are fixed using silicon to the walls and have a clip in plastic surround. Is this what you mean by shower panels? I think they were much easier than tiles.

The shower was a £200 Mira from screwfix

I doubt it will last the 27 years my Mira 915b has lasted but it worked OK and looked OK.

[Lobster]

Actually no (I meant these quite large 'control panel' thingies which have knobs and controls and body jets etc sticking out of them) - but actually thanks for the heads-up: those Wickes panels sound worth a look!

David

[dennis]

Ahh, I think you will find you need two or three bar to work them so gravity feed is out for most people.

[YAPH]

All shower valves will pack up sooner or later: you can either plan ahead or suffer when it happens. If you plan ahead you either fit a device you know you will be able to get spares for, e.g. Mira or Aqualisa, or one that you can easily and cheaply replace with another make.

Going the Mira/Aqualisa route you're looking to spend circa £300 for the valve and c. £100 for replacement gubbins. Or you fit a bar type with standard 3/4" BSP fittings on 150mm centres which you can get anywhere from £30 (LiDL, when they have them) to pushing £200.

Your choice!

[cynic]

After much looking and dismay at the prices I came across a thermostatic unit at LIDL for about =A320. I thought it was so cheap that even if it turned out to be U/S it was worth trying. 2 years later it is going strong. A few months ago the units reappeared so I bought a spare "just in case" and it sits in its box in the loft waiting to be needed.

[YAPH]

But it was £30 this time, right? And £25 last year.

I know, I bought 4 last year and used them all before this year's offer! This year I bought 10 and I'm already about half way through them! Must get one of the identical-looking £55 ones from Toolstation to see if they are actually the same.