Electric showers in a loft conversion

[MummytoMog]

So the general opinion seems to be that electric showers are always going to be rubbish. Unfortunately, we need something that will work in a loft conversion and while our boiler is disconnected for four months. So an electric shower it is. I've been looking at these two, and grateful for any opinions/preferences! OH gets enraged by crappy electric showers, so prepared to spend a bit to get this right.

www.plumbworld.co.uk/mira-sport-max-electric-shower-3283-25748

www.plumbworld.co.uk/aqualisa-quartz-105kw-electric-3283-20141

We have the Mira Sport Max in our guest bathroom. It's not Niagra Falls, but it's pretty decent for an electric shower. I think as long as you go for the max kw (certainly not less than 10kw) and make sure your fuse board is up to the job you'll get something acceptable. I imagine that after a few weeks of showering under it, you just acclimatise to the lower pressure and almost forget that there was ever anything better anyway.

I think that too - when we lived in a flat, our shower was AMAZING because the water pressure came via a tank fifteen metres above the shower and a massively pumped hot water tank. We've gotten used to the slightly less than perfect pressure from our combi boiler, and I think we'll get used to an electric shower too. So basically, the 9.5w ones aren't worth having? I didn't spend much time looking at them, although idly considered one for the en suite in the guest room on the basis that I won't be using it .

We're rewiring the whole house, so I'll make sure to bring it up. We'll be having a new consumer unit anyway.

We have the Mira sport max in a loft conversion, no problems.

I'd agree with PP just go for a very high kW shower. Think ours is 10.5/11 in the loft and it is fine. I never liked electric showers as PIL always had them but at 7kW. It's like showering under a dribble! They don't understand why we wanted such a highly rated shower.

All electric showers are weedy. They are much worse in winter when the incoming water is colder.

A pressurised cylinder such as a Megaflow can also be heated by an immersion heater (and/or or solar panels), so like all cylinders has the advantage that a broken or missing boiler does not prevent you having hot water. You will need a good incoming water flow to achieve the powerful showers they can deliver.

Don't blame me, it's the husband who requires the agonisingly painful war pressure. Anyway, I think I've sold him on the Mira Sport max, there's enough money in the budget for that but not for adding a cylinder and an immersion heater.

Water, not war.

An electric shower might be 9kW output. Possibly even 10kW

A Combi boiler will typically be 30kW output, maybe 36kW. So three or four times as powerful.

A megaflow can deliver even more.

Compared to the alternatives, an electric shower is weedy.

Hope you don't mind if I take notes on all your ideas, just want to get info as thinking of a similar project. In our house, late victorian, mid terrace, our boiler which goes back to the '70's! is situated downstairs at the back of the kitchen vented onto the back garden and ONLY fires up the central heating radiators in each room (mains feature gas fire & surround plumbed into the main living room). Our hot water is provided from a traditional style immersion tank in the airing cupboard on the first floor landing, when switched on it takes about 30mins for a fulll tank of hot water. If we went ahead with loft conversion it would need to relocated into the next bedroom (apparently not a problem) in order to provide room for the turner steps for new staircase over existing one. I was wondering what type of shower would work up their. Sorry to poach your thread :)

Poach away - I've been pinching ideas all over the place! I was very fond of our old conventional boiler, but I have to say that the new combi boiler has been worth every penny - reduced our fuel bills by around £50 a month in the winter. We got ourselves a shiny worcester bosch condensing combi boiler, a bit of new pipework and a few new rads and it cost around £3k, so might be worth considering as part of your refit if possible. You'd also get scrappage on your old boiler and could lose the hot water tank completely.

We have to resite our boiler as a result of our extension (we're demolishing the garage it currently lives in) and to have it temporarily sited in the house and then resited again in the extension would be about an extra grand. So we're going to have to manage with the electric shower for a few months, hence why I'm not going for a mixer off the boiler (although as we only have the WB 32 cdi we wouldn't get a loft shower off that pressure anyway).

you have a gas boiler that doesn't heat the hot water cylinder

think about fixing that.

If you're relocating the cylinder think about going for a Megaflo or similar. You can expect to need a new, larger cold water supply pipe all the way to the main stop cock, and possibly all the way to the pavement, to get the good pressure and flow it can provide. It can mostly be run in one piece, in flexible plastic pipe. You will then no longer need a cold water tank.

If you do have a cold water tank and a cylinder you can get a pumped shower, but consult an experienced old plumber.

The cold water supply to the loft may be poor, with long, narrow pipes, so there might not be much flow for an electric shower (which does not use stored water).

Yes, the main services to this property eg plumbing & heating are pretty much just as we inherited them 16 yrs ago, and it was a case of "as long as they're still working.....". We've replaced the immersion tank thermostat once or twice since we've been here (south coast of Hampshire, so very hard water area). Other people have been surprised that the boiler doesn't do everything, but we were new to it all at the time coming from an 'all electric' flat before buying this house. We've done every other room to a good standard now and had a loft room done 14 years ago (just a study with pull down ladder, although it has power' lighting & velux window, legally it can't be used as a bedroom, but we have a desk & computer up there, kids playstation & storage into the eaves where the cold water storage tank is sited. Would probably have to budget for a complete refit. Loft conversion company said that they'd have to completely undo previous work, although may save the electrics and said something about an 'unvented system' being recommended? - will have to do more homework.

"unvented" system means a pressuirised cylinder such as a Megaflo. It is fed direct from the incoming watermain, with no cold water tank. You do need a good flow and pressure, and this usually entails running a new service pipe in (preferably) 25mm plastic. the old one is probably 15mm copper, which is smaller, and, not being flexible, will have various joints and elbows which slow down the flow.

Your old taps and WC ballcocks will probably need to be replaced due to the higher pressure; if they are old they are more likely to leak.

A megaflo or siimilar can give an unsurpassed flow of hot water, subject to the incoming cold supply being good. get quite a big one, preferably with an upper and a lower immersion heater so it can be used when and if your boiler breaks down. they are made of stainless steel and last a long time.

PigletJohn, thanks very much for that, at least it explained some of the terminology he used. Have now added that to the notes. Much appreciated :)