Hi,
I've been reading a few of the posts on your forum which have been useful, and was hoping I could get some specific opinions/advice if that's ok.
I own a third floor flat in a five storey block of approximately 16 flats built in the late 1980s. I've lived there for a couple of years but I'm now looking to let it out.
The block has no communal pump so the pressure/flow at all storeys is only driven by the mains pressure outside. My flat has an economy7 Horstmann immersion heater gravity tank for the hot supply (incidentally the electrical unit and one element have needed to be recently replaced).
One issue I've had intermittently since moving in is with the electric shower, which is a Triton Bewitch. The shower has always been quite weak regarding the flow of water out of the shower (so much so that the shower can only be used on economy mode as main hot button causes the temperature to jump up and down), and at peak periods before work, the hot element can cut out entirely through the safety override due to the lack of pressure/flow. I haven't done anything to the shower since moving in except replacing the hose.
I've had the management company and Welsh Water investigate the low pressure, and their readings showed the pressure at c 1 bar and flow of c9 l/m. They have told me there is nothing they can do outside the flat, although I'm aware this is quite a low pressure area in general due to the number of flats.
I think I need to resolve the shower before I let it, so I've been in contact with some plumbers to try and resolve it.
1) The first who has done work for the management company on other flats and the mains in the building, suggested installing a shower pump and mixer tap shower (the current hot water is very poor pressure as it's only pushed by the weight of the tank), but I've unfortunately not managed to get a quote out of him despite chasing, so I've needed to go elsewhere. He also suggested that the water meter that I have on the pipe outside the front door before it enters my building might be the cause of the issue with the flow, but Welsh Water assure me it wouldn't have any impact. I'm not sure who is correct here, but it would be quite costly in terms of bills for me to remove the meter.
2) The second plumber initially looked at installing a pump for the mains as it enters the building, but after contacting the supplier, decided this wasn't the way to go as it would still be dictated by the use in the building itself. His new solution is to install a low pressure specialist Triton T80si Pumped Electric Shower, which isn't cheap at £400, and I'm concerned that this isn't the way forward as the manual suggests it should only be used for gravity based systems, not attached to the cold mains as my current shower is. I'm waiting for him to clarify if he intends to plumb it into the hot tank instead, if that's even an option. Given it's a flat, I can't install another loft based tank which I believe is usually done with this type of shower.
Does anyone have any views on either of these solutions or an alternative suggestion? I'm very much still learning when it comes to this sort of thing, and the differing messages really aren't helping me, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I've been reading a few of the posts on your forum which have been useful, and was hoping I could get some specific opinions/advice if that's ok.
I own a third floor flat in a five storey block of approximately 16 flats built in the late 1980s. I've lived there for a couple of years but I'm now looking to let it out.
The block has no communal pump so the pressure/flow at all storeys is only driven by the mains pressure outside. My flat has an economy7 Horstmann immersion heater gravity tank for the hot supply (incidentally the electrical unit and one element have needed to be recently replaced).
One issue I've had intermittently since moving in is with the electric shower, which is a Triton Bewitch. The shower has always been quite weak regarding the flow of water out of the shower (so much so that the shower can only be used on economy mode as main hot button causes the temperature to jump up and down), and at peak periods before work, the hot element can cut out entirely through the safety override due to the lack of pressure/flow. I haven't done anything to the shower since moving in except replacing the hose.
I've had the management company and Welsh Water investigate the low pressure, and their readings showed the pressure at c 1 bar and flow of c9 l/m. They have told me there is nothing they can do outside the flat, although I'm aware this is quite a low pressure area in general due to the number of flats.
I think I need to resolve the shower before I let it, so I've been in contact with some plumbers to try and resolve it.
1) The first who has done work for the management company on other flats and the mains in the building, suggested installing a shower pump and mixer tap shower (the current hot water is very poor pressure as it's only pushed by the weight of the tank), but I've unfortunately not managed to get a quote out of him despite chasing, so I've needed to go elsewhere. He also suggested that the water meter that I have on the pipe outside the front door before it enters my building might be the cause of the issue with the flow, but Welsh Water assure me it wouldn't have any impact. I'm not sure who is correct here, but it would be quite costly in terms of bills for me to remove the meter.
2) The second plumber initially looked at installing a pump for the mains as it enters the building, but after contacting the supplier, decided this wasn't the way to go as it would still be dictated by the use in the building itself. His new solution is to install a low pressure specialist Triton T80si Pumped Electric Shower, which isn't cheap at £400, and I'm concerned that this isn't the way forward as the manual suggests it should only be used for gravity based systems, not attached to the cold mains as my current shower is. I'm waiting for him to clarify if he intends to plumb it into the hot tank instead, if that's even an option. Given it's a flat, I can't install another loft based tank which I believe is usually done with this type of shower.
Does anyone have any views on either of these solutions or an alternative suggestion? I'm very much still learning when it comes to this sort of thing, and the differing messages really aren't helping me, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!
