Electric shower performing poorly

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I have an electric shower in the guest bedroom which produces a pretty poor flow rate at the desired temperature. Could this be because it is old? Although I have a water softener, the shower predates it and was already fitted before I bought the house 9 years ago. I wonder if the performance could be due to scale? If the temperature control is turned down, the flow rate is not bad. I have replaced the shower hose/shower head. I would be happy to replace it with a new one if I thought it would be a real improvement. I will not be able to upgrade the power as I only have a 6.0 mm cable, which I believe limits my choice to 7kw, so I will be looking for a direct replacement of a Triton Jade.

Many thanks.
 
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The best you can run off 6mm cable would be a 8.5kw/9kw but this depends on the length of the cable, if it's insulated or not and mainly what rating the breaker is in the CU.

I have a 8.5kw running off 6mm cable, approx 7 meters from CU.

It's so poor compared to what I had in my old house which was a combi boiler and thermostatic bar shower.

You never going to get an amazing shower from any electric shower, even a 10.5kw.

Nothing will beat a power shower or mains pressure shower, if you have the mains pressure coming in that is.
 
The best you can run off 6mm cable would be a 8.5kw/9kw
11kW would be alright for 6mm in ideal conditions, i.e. clipped to surface or buried in masonry.

but this depends on the length of the cable,
It does but not a problem in 'normal' sized houses.

if it's insulated or not
True. It will be derated by thermal insulation or conduit.

and mainly what rating the breaker is in the CU.
That is dependent on the capacity of the cable.
 
I tested my 8.5kw electric shower the other day.

Outside temp was approx 4oc, I was getting 4-5 L minute.
 
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As above, weigh the cost of a replacement shower with the cost of putting in a thermostatic shower (if possible). It will likely be cheaper, and vastly superior; doing the above was one of the best moves I ever made.
 
I would like to put in a thermostatic shower but I have to weigh up the hassle of taking up carpet, floorboards and removing a section of plasterboard from a stud wall against improving the facility in a guest bedroom. In hindsight I should have done it before plastering the wall but thought it would be handy to have one electric shower in the house incase we ever have a problem with hot water. In the meantime I have been spoilt by a 4.0 bar pumped shower in the main bathroom!
 
Not into electric showers, though I installed one for someone using 10mm cable, a fairly long run, from the front of the house to rear upstairs bathroom, after installation I checked volt drop across the cable and it was less than 1 volt, which to me was well within spec, considering it was a 10Kw shower, however, you can never expect an electric shower to equal in flow and temperature to a gas fired shower which are typically rated at 24kw equivalent.

If you suspect your shower is performing less than before, you need to consider things like the incoming water temperature, flow, and the final temperature of the flow, and also get an electrical reading taken at the terminals at the shower in case there may be a problem with any voltage drop due to poor connections at the source and appliance, at various cutout trips, like over temperature cut out, also if it is electronically controlled via semiconductor (triacs/Thyristors/scrs) they ,may not be allowing full electric charge through, so best to check voltage at the elements, if less than the full mains apart from a few volts drop across relays, contacts, and triacs/thyristors, then you have a problem where a new shower heater could solve your problem,
again, you don't need to go into electrics as water and electrics = lethal, so unless you are competent only check it then, generally flow rate, incoming water temperature, final hot water temperature should be able to tell you if you have a problem or are these parameters within the manufacturer's specifications, google shower spec, and compare, scaling can be an issue, transfer of heat becomes inefficient, but any heat in the element must dissipate otherwise elements can become overheated and fuse, and if there are more than one element, one element may have failed.
 

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