Dan1983 Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Afternoon all, strange one here, we are in a rental and seem to have an issue with the pump that supplied the water to the shower. The system is just an emersion tank and solar panels (no boiler) When we first moved in the showers would not work properly the flow/pump would just pulse in and out. This turned out to be wrong spec shower heads and was a quick fix (needed higher flow) Been here over a year now no issues. Went to use the shower yesterday and pump cut in for maybe 10 seconds then switched off If you turn water all the way to hot it cuts in again for another 10 seconds then pump cuts out again. The property also has a downstairs shower room which we don’t use. Strange thing is if you run the downstairs shower and upstairs shower at the same time it all works fine and pump stays in. Ive de lime-scaled the shower head upstairs to see if this was the fault but still no joy. Any ideas what could be causing this? Many thanks for any pointers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Some heads have a mesh filter. Between hose and head. Did you descale that as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 (edited) Air in the cold supply causing the mixer to stop because of the over heated hot water: anti scalding device shutting the valve? Turn to fully cold. What comes out? and or what temp says Edited May 1, 2022 by Marvin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan1983 Posted May 1, 2022 Author Share Posted May 1, 2022 No mesh filter guys And nothing comes out at all when turned to fully cold Just bizarre it works with downstairs shower running, can only presume it’s an over pressure issue. Ive removed the shower hose completely and this changes nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 Shower pumps are typically activated by pressure drop - i.e. when shower valve is opened the decrease in water pressure in the pump body trips a switch that activates the motor. If your water supply pressure exceeds a certain amount then the pump might not run. Opening another tap or shower may reduce the overall pressure and allow the pump to run. I take it the hot feed is from a UVC and cold directly off the main? There must be a pressure regulator and gauge somewhere - what does it say? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickfromwales Posted May 1, 2022 Share Posted May 1, 2022 The pump inlets have gauze filters ( or should have ). If these get blocked by fine debris from the tanks then they will allow water to flow but at a restricted rate. Most pumps switch on via the flow switches in the pump outlets, so those need a minimum flow rate to stay 'in'. Perhaps the flow is just on the cusp of being not quite enough to keep the flow switch in. Either that or a failing flow switch. A strip down of the pump and a service ( check manufacturers website for instructions / to do list ) and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan1983 Posted May 3, 2022 Author Share Posted May 3, 2022 Yes hot feed is from unvented cylinder Cold feed is direct. I have tried opening a tap full blast but shower pump does not cut in. Although if I turn downstairs shower to cold and barely crack the flow then upstairs shower works fine. Wonder if the warmer weather has bumper cold water pressure or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteamyTea Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 13 hours ago, Dan1983 said: Yes hot feed is from unvented cylinder Cold feed is direct. Confused. Is this pump connected to mains pressure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radian Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 7 minutes ago, SteamyTea said: Confused. Is this pump connected to mains pressure? It shouldn't be at mains pressure as there ought to be a PRV feeding the UVC and cold feed to shower (for balance) but maybe its not working or adjusted properly. Maybe the pump has been installed to overcome restrictive pipework or to feed extra shower jets? 13 hours ago, Dan1983 said: Wonder if the warmer weather has bumper cold water pressure or something You need to know what pressure your UVC is operating at. If copper then something like 2 bar or 3 bar if stainless steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMo Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 Confused why you are even bothering fixing stuff in a rental, that's what the owner is responsible for. Call home owner or their agent, tell them to get it fixed. If it rented via an agency your contract will be with them so call them, they will get the plumber out and back charge the owner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Punter Posted May 4, 2022 Share Posted May 4, 2022 5 minutes ago, JohnMo said: If it rented via an agency your contract will be with them so call them In England the contract is between the Landlord and Tenant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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