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Shower questions

14 replies

SunsetSongster · 23/04/2021 17:39

We're creating a new ensuite and replacing our main bathroom. We currently have a standard hot water tank and gas boiler (i.e. not a combi boiler). We have one shower that runs with a pump from the hot water tank.
I think we should probably get one electric shower as I'm not convinced the tank will cope with two showers running off it. Would you put the better shower in the ensuite or bathroom? I'm leaning to having the better shower in the ensuite so grownups can use that but I'm worried we'll just end up with the kids using it anyway once they are teenagers and realise it's better! Thanks for any advice - feel free to recommend electric showers too!

OP posts:
Changingwiththetimes · 23/04/2021 17:51

Which os better? My electric one is better than the ones that run off the mains. Whichever, put the best one where the bill payer showers.

SunsetSongster · 23/04/2021 17:54

Thanks @Changingwiththetimes. Would you mind telling me which electric shower you have?

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TheRhythmlessMan · 23/04/2021 17:54

Personally I'd prefer an electric in the en-suite and proper shower in main bathroom.

FinallyHere · 23/04/2021 18:31

We have two power showers running off mains cold water and boiler heated hot water, both with thermostats and pumps

Both work fine, maybe not brilliant when they run at the same time but still really, really hood showers.

Never found an electric shower I didn't have to run around under to get wet.

Toomuchleopard · 23/04/2021 19:04

We had a similar issue so had a new hot water tank put in the loft called an unvented cylinder. Hot water comes out at the same pressure as the cold so you get amazing showers, much better than electric.

TwoIsQuiteEnoughThankYou · 23/04/2021 23:31

The very best showers use a powerful pump with the hot water coming from a tank. An electric shower or combi boiler will never beat that. The only limiting factor is the size of the hot water tank.

PigletJohn · 24/04/2021 00:01

how big is the cylinder? what colour?

how old is the house?

SunsetSongster · 24/04/2021 17:03

Thanks again for all the replies. I guess I'm worried about the water running without an electric backup. The tank is 140 litres.

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SunsetSongster · 24/04/2021 18:43

Forgot to add, tank is green/yellow and relatively new and house is 60s.

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Roselilly36 · 24/04/2021 19:04

We had the same system, our pump could run two showers at the same time without any problem.

PigletJohn · 24/04/2021 22:55

A 140 litre cylinder is plenty big enough to run two showers.

If you use a pump you might be using it extravagantly.

Run the shower into a bucket, time it to full, calculate litres per minute. I expect it is around ten to fifteen. An electric shower can only deliver three or four. Less in winter, more in summer.

Energy from electricity costs about four times as much as energy from gas.

An electric shower will deliver a relatively small amount of hot water, nowhere near as good as your cylinder and pump.

Presumably your cylinder has an electric immersion heater that you can use if your boiler breaks down. Is it at the top of the cylinder, the bottom, or both?

A pic would be interesting.

Yellow cylinders are less efficient than green, and older, so check the colour again please.

Easterbhunny · 25/04/2021 10:37

We’re part way through the same project. We had the added complication that we needed an extra hot water loop as it was previously taking over a minute for hot water to run through to the kitchen. We’ve re-sited the new tank and the new boiler into the loft and added a 210 litre pressurised tank with a pump that we run in the mornings and evenings. The bathroom isn’t even nearly finished but we haven’t lost any pressure in the new ensuite yet even with running the other taps. Showers suddenly going icy when people ran the other taps used to be a really big problem!

SunsetSongster · 25/04/2021 10:42

Thanks all. Here's a photo. At the moment my DH and I have showers one after the other with no problems so I'm maybe worrying about nothing. We do have an immersion heater so we don't need an electric shower as a backup.

Shower questions
OP posts:
PigletJohn · 25/04/2021 15:38

That's yellow. Somewhere around 30 years old I should think. There may be a date on the commissioning label. No need to replace it unless it starts leaking, if it is big enough for your needs.

Newer ones have better insulation, and, more importantly, they have a bigger heating coil inside so the boiler can reheat them faster. A modern boiler can reheat a modern cylinder in 20-30 minutes, so you can have one bath followed by another.

The immersion heater goes in at the top, which is not a problem, except that, as warm water rises, and it does not reach the bottom of the cylinder, it can't give 140 litres. It will probably have about enough for one bath, depending how wide the cylinder is (might be 18" or 24")

If you ever buy a new cylinder, it's preferable to have a good big one, with an immersion heater at the top and another at the bottom, so you use according to the amount of hot water you need. It is also very strongly recommended to have a modern unvented cylinder, which runs at mains pressure, so you need no pump, and no loft tank. You will probably have to replumb the water supply pipe, which is not as much work as you might think, as the old one is probably only half-inch and can't deliver water as fast as you want. This will give truly unsurpassed hot water.

A new cylinder will work with your old boiler, or a new one. Again, no need to change your boiler if the old one has enough power to heat your house and HW, unless it breaks down and parts are unobtainable, even to someone who is actually trying to find them*

*this excludes some companies that would rather sell you a new boiler than mend the old one

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