two cold water sources?

[ja5599]

Please can anyone advise?

My shower in my 80 year old house has terrible cold water flow since my boiler was replaced recently. The water pressure has been tested and is fine, and the taps in the bath and sink are also good. Mixer has been cleaned and looks fine.

I have been in the loft and it looks like the shower has a separate feed (flow in a pipe with the shower on cold only, but no flow in pipe with the taps).

Is this the cause of my problem? And is this common to have 2 separate sources?

Any help appreciated

Thanks

 

[stevetheplumber]

if the new boiler is a combi the tanks should have been removed and mains preasure cold supplied to shower

 

[ja5599]

it is a new combi.

When you mention the tanks, does this mean the water tank in the loft? And is the feed in the loft not the mains pressure one?

Thanks for the reply and any further help

 

[Bernie2]

It may be a low pressure shower. In some areas the mains water pressure is not enough for a shower and so they require a separate cistern (tank) with just a feed to the shower. Rather than go through a great big explanation, have a look on the websites of Mira showers or at a push Triton. They often tell you what you want to know as do the Wicks and B and Q websites.

 

[ja5599]

thanks Bernie2, but I am told that the cold water tap pressure is good (by my more knowledable friend). It just looks like the shower and the taps are coming from different sources.

Any ideas how I can investigate this further? Does the main water in pipe look distinctive?

Thanks again to all

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm!

No water looks like it does anywhere else usually. The simple way but not very accurate way to test the cold is by putting your finger over the end of a running tap. If you can stop the flow with your finger its usually tank supplied.

The pressure maybe okay but how is the flow rate? Showers usually require a minimum flow rate as well as a minimum pressure.

I think Triton at one time had a good explanation about site requirements for showers.
Also how are the electrics?

Sorry got carried away there a bit. Yours is a mixer not an electrical shower!

That's different.

Possibly an air lock, old properties can be plumbed out in many different ways and it would be hard to say which way yours is.

Anyway try clearing for an air lock anyway.

 

[alph250]

My mother had a similar problem a few years ago when she had the combi installed, the tanks came out but instead of cutting back or isolating the feed to the tank they plumbed it into a big loop to the other side of the loft where the bathroom was and installed an isolating valve to so it wasnt a continous loop.

The shower was fed from a pipe coming down from the loft on one side of the isolating valve and the taps on the other. bit of a head scratcher to get round when i first looked at it!

You never know you might of had the same cowboy!

 

[REDSAW]

pro's and con's of the ccombi.
sounds like cw feed direct to combi the branch to shower lowering the flow.?
maybee.?.