Variable water pressure causing electric shower problem

[Kay999]

I have a B&B that has had lots of plumbing issues in the past e.g. hot water to a toilet! I am fed up of spending money so hoping someone can help as several plumbers so far have been hopeless. The latest problem is that I had an electric shower replaced because it was cycling between scalding hot and cold. The plumber said "That's what happens when they go". I was pretty sure it wouldn't solve the problem which it didn't. I have people getting very aggressive with me due to this problem. The problem is intermittent and I am pretty sure it is due to variable water pressure e.g. if someone flushes a toilet, runs a tap etc. The other showers in the property run off twin vented Gledhill cylinders and are okay (but some people moan about low water pressure). Not sure if I can swap this shower to the same system easily as last on the pipe run and it is good to be able to use this room if only one room booked rather than heat those two big tanks. The Gledhill tanks were leaking out the thermostat ports therefore I was told to have a pressure reducing valve fitted. The plumber decided to do this at the water inlet to the property in the cellar. Should he have chosen this? I would have thought it needed to be fitted at the inlet to the cylinders so as not affect anything else? Would this solve the problem (as I think the electric shower problem existed before the valve was fitted)? Do I need some sort of water holding system to even out water pressure fluctuations? If so, can I put in the cellar as no space elsewhere? Are there electric showers with big water reserves to mitigate water pressure changes?

 

[Ben-gee]

Seems odd- if the two cylinders are vented then a pressure reducing valve on the mains will not do anything as they are fed by gravity from storage tanks in the loft???

These showers suffering from low pressure would be solved with a shower pump.

If you’ve enough stored water then yes replace the electric one with one run from the gravity system. However this would require re-plumbing for a hot and cold gravity feed.

Alternatively you can get a thermostatic electric shower which will hold its temperature, eg Mira Advance. This would be easier/cheaper to do as would use existing cable and water pipe.

 

[John.g]

Or, the electric shower can be replaced with a gravity fed one which has its own internal pump known around here as a pumped electric shower and still only requires one cold feed but from the CWST.