I need help! back boilers!

[PTsuggs]

I have a 1970-'s x council property. the shower here hasnt worked since moving in (very very old) i have a gas back boiler, with no water tank in loft.
my bathroom upstairs has no water pressure.
the water tank is situated next to the bathroom in the airing cupboard.
a shower head if i had one would sit higher than the tank...

for me to have a shower, what would be needed?

do i buy a electric? do i need a pump?

could i have a mains shower with a pump?

please help me

many thanks

 

[Agile]

There are so many possibilities that it would be difficult to advise you what to do. Combi boiler, unvented cylinder etc.

The general advice would be to find a competent plumber to visit the property and advise you.

Tony

 

[PTsuggs]

thanks tony,
the idea is to keep the boiler at the moment due to funds and just get by with a shower...

the only trouble im having is i need to renovate the bathroom so i might as well get a shower fitted when i do the bathroom suite etc.

obviously i am still left with the problem of a uneffective, costly back boiler.

can you give an answer to ... what shower would i need for a limited pressure water feed?

 

[Agile]

Its not clear what head of water you have.

If no tanks in loft then you may have one above the hot water tank. That will give insufficient pressure for a shower.

You can fit a shower pump but they often run a too small tank dry in a few minutes.

There are so many aspects involved that professional advice on site is always a good idea.

Tony

 

[ivixor]

By the sounds of it, the cheapest option for you would to get a bog standard electric shower.

You will almost certainly have mains pressure cold water next door to the bathroom in the airing cupboard, so you just need to establish if a suitable electrical connection is available - get an electrician to check if you are not sure. That will allow you to see if fitting an electric shower is feasible given the money you want to spend.

 

[Flashheart]

By saying the tank is in the airing cupboard I presume you mean tanks as in 2 of them? My old system had a small cold tank situated directly above the large hot water tank giving very little pressure. That setup didn't last long...

If there is space in the loft you could simply extend the pipework on the cold tank and put it in the loft, no clever plumbing required just a couple of straight connectors. This would give you a much greater head of pressure and a normal gravity fed shower will work although you may wish to consider a booster pump. You would of course need to lag it etc and you could should consider installing a much larger version at the same time as when you use a gravity shower you will empty it at twice the speed - one pipe to the cold side and one pipe to refill the hot tank.

Alternatively, if the boiler is very old you could consider replacing the boiler with a modern combi boiler as mentioned above, you will save a fortune on gas. You could then get rid of the water tanks and have an endless supply of hot water.

A quick, cheap solution is to raise the cold tank as high as you can - that is what provides the pressure for your hot water. A better long term solution may be to replace the boiler.

I'd chat to a plumber wrt cost of the different options if you are not happy doing the work yourself.

 

[Nige F]

By the sounds of it, the cheapest option for you would to get a bog standard electric shower.

You will almost certainly have mains pressure cold water next door to the bathroom in the airing cupboard, so you just need to establish if a suitable electrical connection is available - get an electrician to check if you are not sure. That will allow you to see if fitting an electric shower is feasible given the money you want to spend.

Indeed best option - You`d think these councils would refurb places Before they sell them off

 

[expertgasman]

You probably have a Rolyat, a combination tank and cistern. You will defo have to go electric if this is the case, without fitting cisterns in loft

 

[Morris40]

I would like to add that if you fit electric shower don't fit a cheap one as these often disappoint, shower pumps are the best but you will need either negative head or universal and these for a 3 bar are not cheap, bought and installed approx £400 to £500 for a good one and as mentioned above will drain your tank in no time at all, if then at a later date you change to a combi boiler this pump will then be no use as can't use with combi, the best suggestion was the one that said have a new water tank put into loft as high as possible this will be the cheapest option for now until you decide what to do long term as the back boiler must go !!!

 

[PTsuggs]

Thanks for all your responces, I really appreciate them.
FYI, there is a cold water tank (tiny it may seem) in the airing cupboard attached to the top of the tank in there.
fitting a shower is possible, as I do have cold water pressure (enough)
So a electric shower that heats up the water is perfect.
Only thing is... Which one?

I have been told the Mira sports are good (above 9kw)
What is 9 kilowatt? Is this the heating power? The quicker it heats the less restricted it leave the shower unit?

Sorry if none of this makes sense, this is why I'm on this site...

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Mira are good, you get what you pay for.... The kW rating is the power consumption of the shower, the bigger the kW rating, the more powerful the shower, assuming the mains supply can deliver.

These showers need a dedicated supply from the consumer unit (fusebox), which will require a suitable cable routing from the consumer unit to the shower. You dont mention what shower you currently have, but the higher Kw showers will require a 10mm cable/45 amp breaker.

If in any doubt, engage a qualified electrician. Electric and water dont mix, shock or a fire hazard is a strong possibility from a wrongly installed electric shower.