Standard electric shower help needed

[Old wrench]

Afternoon chaps.

I have recently installed a standard electric shower direct off the mains cold feed(we are doing a complete new bathroom).I am aware that these showers let out less water the higher the temperature but i have to say i am a little disappointed after all my hard work and spending £80 (reduced from £160) on the pressure.

It is a Gainsborough Stanza 9.5kw and my flow rate at the kitchen sink is 13.5 lpm.its all on one floor and i am ground floor in a small block of flats and have a combi.i havnt measured the pressure.but essenssially does that matter?there is water there when the shower is on colder but just a poor amount when hot.so is this normal for the shower or if i had better pressure would the shower work better?i havnt played around with the rings in the shower head to try and get more out but for what is a higher end electric i am dissapointed.

I also wanted to maybe feed the pipe straight back in the wall and have a suspended small drencher style head above.but if it doesnt work well with the head it came with will it be even worse with a different one?obviously id have to get a similar size and use the correct pipe size,but surely in terms of the water getting in up and out its no different to having a hand held head high up in the corner?

Sorry for the long waffle but this is my first major project and its dissapointing that i havnt got a very good shower out of alot of hours work!

any help on either issue would be much appreciated.many thanks

 

[Puddle]

I am not a Gainsborough fan, generally find their performance poor, have checked price and although many have £140 to £160 retail price ,lots being sold for around £75 to £80 and the old saying stands, you get what you pay for, after saying that, checking some reviews, if seems to be pleasing a good few people
You cannot go changing heads as you please, as you require the hose and head supplied with shower or same spec, these are designed to decrease flow rate and increase pressure,do not forget the water is being heated through unit as you use it, so is limited
If you have a combi,you should be able to get a good shower from this
It is disappointing when you spend alot of time doing something and get a poor result (so I am told ),which is why it is so important to do your research and fit items that will meet your requirements


IMHO

 

[Old wrench]

Many thanks for the reply Puddle.

So in essence,if i want to change the head to a fixed head i need to make sure it is of similar size/capacity,uses the same size/length of pipe and is adjustable so that if i encounter a problem there should be a setting that works ok?

The shower has a pressure release valve.if i cannot find an exact similar size of head,to er on the side of caution,is a larger or small head less likely to cause this to go off?

Regarding the feed of the shower,i was under the impression that leccy showers run straight off the cold feed,not off of cold/hot from my combi(boiler can get damaged??).obviously if this is not the case then i could run the shower on a colder setting pressumably with better pressure and it would be warmer that at present,correct?

Many many thanks Puddle,hoping to finish off this weekend!

Have a good easter

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

woooooooahhh He doesn't fit it to a combi he means you could've had a mixer shower fed from your combi and not forced to the electric route

I would check that you pressure meets the minimum, normally 1 bar and also check with the manufacturer to see what flow you should get, Electric showers are known not to give the best flows

 

[Puddle]

Many thanks for the reply Puddle.

So in essence,if i want to change the head to a fixed head i need to make sure it is of similar size/capacity,uses the same size/length of pipe and is adjustable so that if i encounter a problem there should be a setting that works ok?
yes if you change head,if has to be the same spec as the one you are replacing/came with shower and stay away from any pulsating models
the length of hose does pipe does not matter to much,the size /inner diameter wants to remain about the same if possible,do not fit a smaller diameter outlet
The shower has a pressure release valve.if i cannot find an exact similar size of head,to er on the side of caution,is a larger or small head less likely to cause this to go off?
try not to 'er' on side of caution to much as you will end up with dribble
The pressure release valve on the bottom of the tank/kettle is there incase it gets blocked or water flowing through is incorrect and unit overheats badly,a smaller hose or shower head is unlikely to active this valve,it is one of the reasons however why the shower head should be kept scale free

Regarding the feed of the shower,i was under the impression that leccy showers run straight off the cold feed,not off of cold/hot from my combi(boiler can get damaged??).obviously if this is not the case then i could run the shower on a colder setting pressumably with better pressure and it would be warmer that at present,correct?

Electric showers do run off cold mains,I was just mentioning you have a combi boiler,so could have had a more powerful shower with a bigger shower head if you had used your combi to power shower rather than electric unit,however the advantage is ,if combi breaks down,which happens occasionally,you have back up with electric shower and you will not have to worry about pressure drops so much when others turn various other outlets around the house


Hope you have a good easter all be it,sounds like a busy one

IMHO only