Boosting Shower Pressures All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[Fast Diesel]

Hi,

Our house suffers from low water pressure from the mains supply 1.0 bar. It has two electric showers fitted upstairs that are fed via what appears to be a twin impeller shower booster pump in the loft, inlets are cold water, one from the cold water tank and the other from the mains water supply to the same water tank, outlets then run to the showers.

The pump has developed a leak and I need to replace it. We are told that the electric showers will not without some boosting of the water pressure to them (neighbours in the street). Is a relacement booster pump the right solution? I have had a quick look at online guides and these all suggest that everyday shower pumps are not designed for the way in which the one in our loft is being used, indeed they appear to be designed for separate hot/cold mixer showers.

Any advice out there, please?

[bobplum]

hi
firstly electric showers are designed to work of mains feed water and pumps are not designed to be worked off mains fed water so everything you have is back to front
if the pressure is 1.0 bar you need to check on the information label on the inside of shower cover if this pressure is ok for the shower if it is get rid of the pump and connect directly to mains feed,ie the one feeding the tank
if the pressure is too low for the shower then you need to look at alternatives
bob

[Fast Diesel]

Thanks Bob,

I think the reason the electric showers have been linked to to a shower booster pump is because the mains water pressure is too low for them to operate satisfactorily... and that the shower pump takes its water supply from the water tank is because they are not meant to be fitted to a mains supply.

It seems to me that this set up can't be reliable and indeed the pump that has failed does not look particularly old to me (we have only been in the house a short while). I'm nervous about fitting a new pump in the same way as it doesn't appear to be a recommended way of resolving the low pressure situation.

What are the alternatives?

[plumbbob]

I'm not sure about the regulations about fitting a booster pump into a shower supply, but have come across several installations over the years where this setup has worked rather well.

In fact, Triton do an electric shower, (the T90XR) that has an integral booster pump fitted. In fact, I can't see why this can't be done, fit a SINGLE impeller pump in a cold feed from the header tank. Must be a dedicated supply though. If you have a twin impeller pump, connect the output of one side to the input of the other side and use as a single pump.

The bit I am worried about is the way you say the pump is connected into the feed TO the header tank. Is this in the mains feed? If so that is a def no no! You can't fit a pump into a water main. Ok, you only have one bar pressure, but that's not the point in this instance. Where is the water being sucked from??? What happens if the header tank is filling and the shower is not on. No wonder the pump's had it.

If the water in the header tank runs out too soon, fit a second tank to double the stored quantity.

[bobplum]

EVENING
YOU CAN BUY SHOWERS WITH A PUMP ALREADY BUILT IN YOU TAKE THE FEED FROM THE COLD AND HOT TANKS AND THE INTERNAL PUMP GIVES THE PRESSURE / POWER YOU NEED THEN THAT WAY YOU CON USE THE ELECTRIC SUPPLY ALREADY IN PLACE
BOB

[Fast Diesel]

Thanks Bobplumb and Plumbob! That is helpful advice.

[TheDoctor5]

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