"Shower" pressure issue...?

[BelfastGuy82]

I put "shower" in quotation marks because all I have is one of the cheapy abominations pictured below.

Seems like about a month ago, all of a sudden, I couldn't turn the cold tap to where I would usually turn it, if I wanted to actually get some hot water out of the shower head. If I want to actually receive hot water from the shower head then I have to now have the cold tap almost completely off. Which of course results in less pressure overall, and a bit of a miserable shower.

No idea what would cause this to happen. I have a Baxi Solo boiler (serviced a month ago...) in a one bedroom flat. Hot water pressure at the bathroom sink and kitchen sink seem to be normal.

I pointed out the to guy that did the service that a valve in the hot press seems to be rattling. Although this only seems to happen when the central heating is on. It doesn't rattle when hot water is being used in the shower or sinks, so it might be completely irrelevant.

 

[JohnD]

Have you got a hot-water cylinder? What colour?

In the bathroom, put your thumb over the spout of the hot water tap. Turn it on. Can you hold back the flow?

Now the cold tap. Can you?

 

[BelfastGuy82]

Have you got a hot-water cylinder? What colour?

In the bathroom, put your thumb over the spout of the hot water tap. Turn it on. Can you hold back the flow?

Now the cold tap. Can you?

Yes I do. I'd say it's turqoise.

If I perform the test you suggested on the bathroom sink, I'm concerned that the top might blow off this tap... Water already leaks from the corroded area when I run it. The top is wobbly.

 

[JohnD]

You might get a dribble of water, but it won't burst.

Is the green paint on metal, or plastic foam?

 

[BelfastGuy82]

You might get a dribble of water, but it won't burst.

Is the green paint on metal, or plastic foam?

It appears to be some kind of foam. Had it 20 years.

 

[JohnD]

Try the pressure test with your thumb please.

 

[BelfastGuy82]

Try the pressure test with your thumb please.

No I can't "hold back the flow", clearly there's still pressure there. It just spurts everywhere, as you might expect.

 

[JohnD]

Is that on cold tap, or hot?

This is important.

 

[BelfastGuy82]

Is that on cold tap, or hot?

This is important.

Well I only tried the hot since that is potentially the problem here.

How could the cold flow be the problem, if it's the hot water that is struggling to come out of the shower hose...?

 

[JohnD]

I think I know what the trouble is.

Please test the taps and we will know. There is probably a difference between hot and cold pressure.

 

[BelfastGuy82]

I think I know what the trouble is.

Please test the taps and we will know. There is probably a difference between hot and cold pressure.

Wouldn't that be the obvious theory...?

The question is why, what is causing the problem, etc.

And what's the relevance of what material my cylinder is made from?

 

[JohnD]

I was checking that it is a low pressure cylinder.

Green cylinders are usually copper, with green-coloured foam. Your looks painted which I have not seen before. The older one was yellow-coloured foam. Newer ones are blue-coloured foam and the specification is different. White cylinders are usually high pressure, with a secondary steel casing over the insulation. So the colour is often helpful.

 

[Justin Passing]

all of a sudden, I couldn't turn the cold tap to where I would usually turn it,

What tap is that?
The shower mixer you have doesn't come up on a search so we don't know what it is. Does it have separate controls for temperature and flow?

Don't worry your hot water cylinder appearance is perfectly standard.

For confirmation, your shower doesn't normally use a separate pump, does it?

If the white mixer thing is thermostatic and the cold is restrticted it would restrict the hot as well, but "thermostatic" implies no separate taps, so you'll have to give us more info.

Rattles are more likely to be a valve or pump in the central heating , in which case aren't related.

 

[BelfastGuy82]

What tap is that?
The shower mixer you have doesn't come up on a search so we don't know what it is. Does it have separate controls for temperature and flow?

Don't worry your hot water cylinder appearance is perfectly standard.

For confirmation, your shower doesn't normally use a separate pump, does it?

If the white mixer thing is thermostatic and the cold is restrticted it would restrict the hot as well, but "thermostatic" implies no separate taps, so you'll have to give us more info.

Rattles are more likely to be a valve or pump in the central heating , in which case aren't related.

Sorry, I thought that it was obvious from the picture that it was just one of those things that fits over your taps, from Croydex: https://www.croydex.co.uk/product-7.html Since it's so basic I thought it very unlikely to be the problem. It has a good seal around the taps and there's no leaks from it.

This is the thing, knowing not really anything about plumbing, I know there is a pump in the hot press, but I believe it's for the central heating. I'm assuming there is also a separate pump to pump water out of the cylinder into the bathroom...?

 

[BelfastGuy82]

This is everything that I can see in the hot press area: