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What type of shower can I use in my new install?


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Hi All,

 

I was wondering if anyone could help with some advice.

 

We're in the process of getting a new bathroom.

 

I'm looking at suites and the like, but then when it came to choosing the type of shower to pick, I was so confused!!

 

At the moment, we just have your standard two taps, one with cold water one with hot water, connected to a shower head. We set our own temps and pressure by adjusting the taps.

 

Now, with the new shower, I see we have several options and this is wherein the confusion lies!! which one is suitable for our bathroom!


I have been looking at

  1. Electric showers
  2. Power showers
  3. Mixer showers
  4. Digital showers

 

Can anyone advise on how I can tell which one I  can use on my property? I reached out to one of the suppliers of the showers and they suggested that I get a local plumber to check this.
 

I'd be looking at a standard call out charge to find out this type of information wouldn't I?

 

I don't think the bath fitter will even bother coming out to look and help determine this as he has basically more or less refused to come out to measure out the bathroom to make sure he gives me the correct dimensions on the products we need for the suite.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

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41 minutes ago, TonyT said:

So how to you currently heat hot water?

do you store hot water?

 

We previously had an old style cylinder that we would have to switch on to get water. But a few years ago, we had BG change out the boiler, now we have constant hot water when we want. We don't have the cylinder anymore but in its place in a different location is a ...not sure what they are call to be honest. A big white unit and several pipes coming in and out of it.

 

 

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You have a combi, so have a mains pressure hot water supply albeit lower than an unvented cylinder due to the flow restriction within the boiler. 
 

Power are usually pumped (but not exclusively) and can’t be connected to a mains supply directly, Mixers can be either high or low pressure, and digital are just posh mixers (some of which have pumps ) 

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6 hours ago, PeterW said:

You have a combi, so have a mains pressure hot water supply albeit lower than an unvented cylinder due to the flow restriction within the boiler. 
 

Power are usually pumped (but not exclusively) and can’t be connected to a mains supply directly, Mixers can be either high or low pressure, and digital are just posh mixers (some of which have pumps ) 

thank you very much!! :)

 

Does a combi boiler mean I can choose any of the mentioned shower types?

 

edit: to get hot water, we had to switch on a switch and wait about 15 mins for hot water.

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1 hour ago, TryC said:

Does a combi boiler mean I can choose any of the mentioned shower types?

 

No you should probably choose..

 

3. MIxer Shower

or

4. Digital Shower (Provided the maker allows use with a combi).

 

Not a recomendation but Mira do some digital showers for use with a combi boiler..

https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/showers/digital-showers/products/?installation-type=rear-fed-dual-outlet

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I wouldn't use a digital shower with an instantaneous water heater, such as a combi, as the supplied hot water temp can fluctuate a lot in a multi-occupant dwelling. Even flushing a loo or filling a kettle will affect the hot water output of even the best combi.

With any instantaneous water heater you 100% need to go thermostatic in any respect, and a good quality mixer shower will serve you perfectly well. A quality thermostatic mixer will adapt to input hot water fluctuations almost as they happen, and then zero additional boxes / thechno-paraphenalia / moving electro-mechanical parts etc.  

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9 hours ago, Temp said:

 

No you should probably choose..

 

3. MIxer Shower

or

4. Digital Shower (Provided the maker allows use with a combi).

 

Not a recomendation but Mira do some digital showers for use with a combi boiler..

https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/showers/digital-showers/products/?installation-type=rear-fed-dual-outlet

thanks very much for your advice. I appreciate it! 

 

I will be looking for a mira shower as this is the brand the fitter recommended.

 

Are they really good? as I am now conscious about this, as when I went into the orange shop, I'd never heard of Valspar and they said that was the best, hence the bit central display.

 

Then when I spoke to someone else about how to put up my insulated liner, they paused when I mentioned Valspar and proceeded to tell me it has been on TV for standards (albeit,, a few years ago).

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1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

I wouldn't use a digital shower with an instantaneous water heater, such as a combi, as the supplied hot water temp can fluctuate a lot in a multi-occupant dwelling. Even flushing a loo or filling a kettle will affect the hot water output of even the best combi.

With any instantaneous water heater you 100% need to go thermostatic in any respect, and a good quality mixer shower will serve you perfectly well. A quality thermostatic mixer will adapt to input hot water fluctuations almost as they happen, and then zero additional boxes / thechno-paraphenalia / moving electro-mechanical parts etc.  

Thanks very much for your advice. I appreciate it.

 

I think perhaps the digital ones are a tad bit fancy for me ha ha!

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Hey all,

 

Does anyone know if one can have a whirlpool bath tub in a room that has no plug sockets?

 

The fitter says he will have to connect to the nearest socket. He hasn't explained exactly how when I said that the nearest socket was either in the landing or the room next door.

 

Anyone have any ideas please?

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1 hour ago, Nickfromwales said:

I wouldn't use a digital shower with an instantaneous water heater, such as a combi, as the supplied hot water temp can fluctuate a lot in a multi-occupant dwelling. Even flushing a loo or filling a kettle will affect the hot water output of even the best combi.

With any instantaneous water heater you 100% need to go thermostatic in any respect, and a good quality mixer shower will serve you perfectly well. A quality thermostatic mixer will adapt to input hot water fluctuations almost as they happen, and then zero additional boxes / thechno-paraphenalia / moving electro-mechanical parts etc.  

 

I thought all digital showers were thermostatic (eg temperature  regulating)? 

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10 hours ago, Temp said:

 

No you should probably choose..

 

3. MIxer Shower

or

4. Digital Shower (Provided the maker allows use with a combi).

 

Not a recomendation but Mira do some digital showers for use with a combi boiler..

https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/showers/digital-showers/products/?installation-type=rear-fed-dual-outlet

 

I managed to find the paperwork - does this also help with your initial diagnosis?

Screenshot_20210513-101625_Gallery.jpg

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46 minutes ago, Temp said:

 

I thought all digital showers were thermostatic (eg temperature  regulating)? 

Yes, but not as accurate as a ‘regular’ quality thermostatic mixer IMO. 
They are ‘cool’ but too many moving parts / points of failure ( again, IMO ). 
You have to ask why you would choose a digital shower off a high pressure / balanced hot water system. Pumped digital off a gravity cylinder is a very neat, compact solution, but with a balanced high flow supply I think there’s no need to introduce the expense / complexity of ‘going digital’. 

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8 minutes ago, DavidFrancis said:

On Valspar paint, see this story

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40655163

yes! this is what the man told me what happend. that the paint smelled of cat pee!!

 

I recently used it to paint my ceilings and it doesn't smell of cat pee, so hopefully, Valspar sorted it out by adding back that addictive!!! Or I guess I will see soon in the summer months ha ha!!

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Sorry i missed your post above. That paperwork suggests you have a decent size combi (32kW) so yes the suggestions we made above still stand. 

 

If you have ever had an electric shower they are typically 8-10kW so your 32kW combi should give you good results.

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2 hours ago, Temp said:

Sorry i missed your post above. That paperwork suggests you have a decent size combi (32kW) so yes the suggestions we made above still stand. 

 

If you have ever had an electric shower they are typically 8-10kW so your 32kW combi should give you good results.

thank you very much :)

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