Deck Mounted Thermostatic Shower/Bath Mixer Questions

[Rubber_Duck]

Hi

I have a couple of questions that I’d appreciate some advice on.

1) My Mira Sprint electric shower has packed up yet again. Rather than replace it a 4th time I’m considering swapping out the bath mixer tap for a deck mounted thermostatic mixer unit. The Aqualisa Midas 100 & 200 seem to be suitable for the job but I’m unsure which to go for. As far as I can make out the 200 is ~£100 more expensive but the only differences are that it has metal control knobs instead of plastic and a slightly higher flow rate. Has anyone any experience or advice on either?

2) Will using a thermostatic mixer mean that it will take longer to run a bath? Both units have a quoted flow rate of 8L/min at 1 bar pressure. At present I’m getting 14L/min from my cold tap.

Thanks for reading and any advice.

Rubber Duck

 

[Madrab]

What type of water setup do you have?

Do you have a vented hot water cylinder and a cistern in the loft or do you have mains fed hot and cold water?

The Midas 100 is HP the 200 is either HP or LP. Better design and internals will be the cost difference I would think.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Thanks for the reply.

We have a combi boiler system (Vaillant Ecotec +832).

I’ve just checked the water pressure at the feed of our old electric shower and it’s 2 bar. I guess this means either the 100 or 200 will do. Which brings me back to the fact that it’s difficult to justify £100 extra when the main apparent difference is metal knobs. I was hoping someone with experience with either or both might be able to shed some light.

 

[Madrab]

Regardless, I don't think the Midas 200 bath mixer is available any more. It's now the 220 which is different.

Usually prices differences across a range are down to quality of internal components and the functionality, it won't be just because it has metal knobs. Aqualisa would be best placed to answer that one though I would reckon.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

My mistake, you’re correct it is the 220. I’ve seen it at Plumbworld for £265 vs £190 for the 110 so it’s not as bad as the first place I looked. https://www.plumbworld.co.uk/aqualisa-midas-220-exposed-19587-32704

 

[Rubber_Duck]

So in the end I decided to go for the Midas 220. It's a good mixer/shower unit very solidly built and easy enough to fit. It gives a much nicer shower than our old electric one and the controls work well though it's a little confusing at first because to turn on the shower you have to twist the right hand knob towards the floor and to turn on the tap you twist towards the ceiling. It's the reverse of what you naturally expect but you soon get used to it.

I would have liked a greater throughput of water when used as a bath filler as it's a bit slower than our old tap (I'm getting about 10 litres per minute at 2 bar water pressure). This probably wouldn't be an issue for most people but we went for the extra wide option of one of those P shaped tubs so it can take a while to fill. That said, we almost always use it as a shower so it's of no real concern. Maybe the low pressure option might have been better in this respect but then maybe the shower would waste too much water.

I'm waiting to get the temperature control knob replaced because the chrome plating isn't thick enough around the edge so you can see the brass underneath in places. Otherwise I'm very happy with the purchase.