Help needed please - Pumped Shower Issue

[cr0ft]

Hi all,

We have installed a whole house twin shower pump for a customer. It's a Stuart Turner Monsoon 2 bar pump. It's all been installed properly and the shower is supplied via hot and cold 22mm pipework over a 2m ish run from the pump. Both pipes then drop down to 15mm prior to going through the wall to the shower valve.

Gravity flow rate is 4L/min through the hose when hung over the top of the riser rail. When we put the shower head on it drops down to a trickle, next to nothing. The head is a standard 3" head really, nothing unusual.

The customer needs to turn on a hot/cold tap to get the pump to start first before using the shower which is obviously not ideal.

Can anyone recommend a high flow shower head that will fit to a standard shower pump/riser rail setup that is likely to sort this out? I am obviously expecting a drop in flow through the shower head but this one is ridiculous!

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

Sounds silly but a shower head with big holes will help.

 

[cr0ft]

Yup... Any recommendations please??

 

[Ermintrude]

Big drench one from the orange shed....

 

[turnpin]

Try a larger bore shower hose maybe?....regards Turnpin ps presume checked for obstruction in spray head....just a thought....

 

[Ch4 plumbing]

Check to see if it's got an internal flow restrictor?

or enlarge the holes.

 

[Toxic Ted]

Had this a couple of weeks ago where the pump was pulsing and it turned out to be the shower head. Also had problems in the past with mixer check valves being too restrictive.

 

[Billy Bob Bob]

Hi all,

We have installed a whole house twin shower pump for a customer. It's a Stuart Turner Monsoon 2 bar pump. It's all been installed properly and the shower is supplied via hot and cold 22mm pipework over a 2m ish run from the pump. Both pipes then drop down to 15mm prior to going through the wall to the shower valve.

Gravity flow rate is 4L/min through the hose when hung over the top of the riser rail. When we put the shower head on it drops down to a trickle, next to nothing. The head is a standard 3" head really, nothing unusual.

The customer needs to turn on a hot/cold tap to get the pump to start first before using the shower which is obviously not ideal.

Can anyone recommend a high flow shower head that will fit to a standard shower pump/riser rail setup that is likely to sort this out? I am obviously expecting a drop in flow through the shower head but this one is ridiculous!

Thanks for any advice.

you need a flow switch prompt switch,bristan make them for iflo,or did,think ST are making iflo/Travis perkins pumps now,does the pump kick in when you lower the head?

 

[cr0ft]

Hi Gasman. No, absolutely no gravity flow from the head at all but 4L/min with the head removed and the hose level with the top of the riser rail. I have taken the head apart (as far as I can) and there doesn't appear to be any restriction in the head itself other than the fact that the holes in the head are barely 1mm wide.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Surely this just needs a negative head pump?

 

[Ermintrude]

Nice thinking batman

 

[galaxy_plumbing]

had similar on combi where restrictor in shower head wasnt letting enough water through and boiler kept cutting as was overheating so cust had hot/cold/hot/cold shower. took me bit of time to find that restricting bugger. all fine once removed

 

[Shower Engineer]

I normally find removing the NRV's sorts this out. The springs in the NRV's are just too powerful for the gravity supplies to overcome. I hear what you say about the open end flow rate but you might find it is the same with most shower heads.
I would try a different head and if that doesn't work remove the NRV's.
Negative head kit will also sort it as would a momentary switch but both of these involve more cost.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

drop the head into the shower tray and then turn on the shower. If it works then your problem is you are in a negative head situation.

Shower heads are all resrictive to some point as they need to spread the water out and through smaller holes.

Solutions are Negative head kit or increase the height of the cold water storage tank. Another shower head may help but will be trial and error

 

[cr0ft]

Hi again and thanks for all the replies. Same issue no matter where the head is. On gravity flow with the head on there is not even a drop coming from the head. Without the head there is a decent 4L/min flow. The shower head is all metal so I am going to drill the holes slightly larger with an HSS drill bit on Monday evening and see if that works. To me the obvious problem is the shower head. A negative head pump would sort it but as there is already 4L/min from the shower we should be able to get 0.6L/min through the shower head needed to start the positive head pump. Don't really want to buy another pump!

Will keep you all posted.