Choice of shower

[Aimee H]

Hello,

I hope someone can please help.

We have moved into a 4 bed 1970s house with a 1970s /1980s ensuite that needs ripping out as it leaks and is past its best. It has a 30kw condensing gas boiler with hot water tank. My query is I want to ensure if we change the boiler for a heat source pump or electric boiler run by solar panels, which shower should we get, as I do not want to refit the shower in the future.

It currently has a quadrant cubicle but are changing it to a square cubicle. We plan to use multipanel for the wet walls, and hopefully east clean glass doors.

Should I get an electric shower, if so which wattage? Or should I do a mixer?

I assume the basin and toilet will be a straight swap other than the change from imperial to metric?

We want a good hot shower as my hubby has raynauds so struggles to get warm.

Thanks
Aimee

 

[JohnD]

When you say "hot water tank," that is what we call a hot water cylinder.

It does not matter how you heat the cylinder. A shower mixer is what you need.

Solar panels do not generate noticeable electricity in winter.

An electric shower costs more to run, because energy from electricity costs about four times as much as energy from gas.

Electric showers deliver far less hot water than a good mixer installation.

The pressure of your hot water makes a difference. What colour is your cylinder?

With luck, a 1970's or 1980s house will have a 20mm or 25mm plastic water supply pipe, black or blue. Does yours? Older houses often have metal pipes of small diameter that do not deliver a good flow.

As for future changes of shower, you will be glad if you buy a surface mounted mixer. Much sadness arises when tiles have to be hacked off to extricate pipes or a shower that are buried in a wall.

Glass doors will be easier to keep clean if you have soft water.

BTW, taps and WC cisterns have Imperial threads measured in fractions of an inch.

Opinions will differ, but I have been extremely pleased with the round-bodied Aqualisa mixers. The design is very good, and they built their reputation on it. Spares are easy to get and they are simple to maintain. They also now offer more complicated electronic models, but I think the round-bodied is the most dependable.

 

[Aimee H]

Thanks so much. This is the cylinder, cylinder pipes and shower. It seems that the pipes to the cylinder are big copper ones so assume 25mm. Pipes to the toilet and basin appear to be 20mm copper ones, so I am assuming the shower in there is too. I cannot check as pipes are in the wall.

I cannot seem to find the incoming mains pipe to confirm the plastic pipe size. Plenty of wastewater but no incoming found yet, but the garage is full of junk so maybe hidden in there.

I did wonder about thermostatic mixer so we do not get the sudden cold if a tap gets used.

 

[JohnD]

Yes, the Aqualisa round-bodied has a particularly good thermostatic mechanism.

The incoming pipe will be visible at your stopcock, and possibly at the water meter if there is one, though you may only be able to see new pipework dating from the meter installation.

You can make a fair estimate of flow by filling a bucket at a cold kitchen or garden tap, timing it accurately, and calculating litres per minute.

This is an example Aqalisa, there are various colours, prices and designs, but the round body is the key point.

Aquavalve 609 Mixer Shower | Aqualisa

Delivering a precise temperature, Aquavalve 609 uses the bi-metallic thermostatic technology within a reliable concealed mixer shower that is easy to install.

www.aqualisa.co.uk

 

[JohnD]

Ah, the white cylinder is a high-pressure one, supplied from the mains water pipe. These can give unsurpassed showers, provided that the pipework is big enough to carry the flow. It will probably have a date on a label, but it looks pretty good to me. It's what I would have suggested. Due to be high pressure, it needs to be checked, and if necessary serviced, by a qualified person. Your boiler repairer probably has the qualification, but ask.

Measure the flow at the hot and cold bathtaps, they are usually sized to give the best flow available.

The copper pipes are more likely 22mm and 15mm (plastic pipes measure bigger because they have thicker walls)

I don't recognise the mixer, but it may already be an Aqualisa, or possibly a copy brand.

Looks like the previous owners of your house bought good stuff.

 

[Aimee H]

Great thanks ever so much. I will try that for the flow rate. The cylinder says 210 ltr unvented indirect. I assume this is the stop tap at the water meter. The first photo is the spec of the cylinder.

 

[JohnD]

Yes, it's the pipe coming out of the floor, but I can't make it out in the pic. Is it a concrete floor?

BTW 210 litres is an excellent size. A typical bath holds about 100 litres, including cold. The modern cylinders are so well insulated that it loses very little heat.

 

[Aimee H]

It's asbestos tiles, crysolite, we had it tested, assume concrete under them. buts that's another joy we found in this house! We are leaving that well alone if we can.

 

[flameport]

Should I get an electric shower,

Absolutely not.
Worst possible choice.
Totally incompatible with solar and heat pumps.

 

[Rodders53]

That T on the shower mixer valve handle looks like the Trevi (from Ideal Standard) logo to me.

Trevi Shower Valve Trevi Logo Indice Old Style in Grey A907294LJ MTSh078B

Trevi Shower Valve Trevi Logo Indice Old Style in Grey A907294LJ

www.mytoiletspares.co.uk

Ideal Standard are a decent enough brand, I believe.

Personally, I favour Grohe shower mixers. I've used loads in hotels and have just had a refit of our ensuite with their Euphoria SmartControl Exposed and it's far superior in operation (especially temperature control) to the Ideal Standard concealed device it replaced. https://www.grohe.co.uk/en_gb/shower-system-with-thermostat-for-wall-mounting-26509000.html

I chose to go surface mounted for ease of servicing and replacement... plus having accessible full bore isolating valves to facilitate that included.

 

[JohnD]

I chose to go surface mounted for ease of servicing and replacement... plus having accessible full bore isolating valves to facilitate that included.

yes

though some makers don't seem to be offering them much

lack of understanding by the buyers?

 

[Aimee H]

Thank you so much, you have narrowed my search no end. At least I know what not to get.

 

[drives]

We've got this shower mixer which we are very happy with:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/triton-elina-exposed-mixer-shower-valve-fixed-chrome/642fj

Would echo above with respect to access/replacement in future, and writing off electric shower (we've had one before and there's no going back once you've had decent mixer combined with pressurised hot water cylinder), plus we much prefer the style of an exposed mixer anyway.

The other thing to look out for is dual control. Some mixers will just have one lever to control flow and temp and if your mains pressure is anything like ours you won't want this as we have the flow set well under half open normally.

I've ordered the below for my new shower room project- no other reason that just wanting to try something slightly different (not installed yet) and this one has some adjustments for pipe centre tolerance which I thought would be handy, but this link gives an idea of the different configurations with respect to controls, and position of outlet.

https://www.qssupplies.co.uk/bathroom-furniture-shower-taps/165974.htm

 

[JohnD]

I've had quite a few from plumbworld.

You can easily recognise the ones with the round body and thermostatic cartridge inside.

Aqualisa Shower Valves

The UK Aqualisa Shower Valves Shop. Huge Range of Aqualisa Shower Valves in stock. Lowest Online Prices - Checked Every Day. Free Next Day Delivery.

www.plumbworld.co.uk