Replacing an electric shower with exactly the same model myself

[FondantFancyAnyone]

This may be one for @PigletJohn, please.

Can I replace an electric shower with the same make, wattage and model myself?
I think that as long as I am careful and follow the instructions to the letter, it should be very easy.

The shower is on its own electricity circuit, and I the stopcock is closed.
Do I need to let the hot water run until the taps are dry before doing it?

I think the valve in the old one has broken. The shower still works but the water still runs after switching it off (or it would if I hadn't stopped the water and lecky)

I have no plumbing experience, but I have replaced a light fitting, can change a plug etc.

What could go wrong?

(Any advice welcome, but I'm an anxious type, so no scare-mongering please.)

It's very easy. Just switch off the electricity and the mains water and it will take you less than 30mins.

No need to drain the hot water electric showers don't use hot water. There will only be a single water connection and a single electric cable to worry about.

it was +£125 for it fitted and it would take a plumber 10 mins tops. I'll try tomorrow. Thanks for the reply.

Did you manage it?

I was wondering if you had the correct tools to hand.

I wanted to do this but the make and model of shower I had was discontinued, so I had to buy the 'honestly the same thing, direct replacement, really and truly trust us' new model. Which, when we got the old one off, needed completely different holes to be drilled in the tiling which I couldn't do, so had to wait for someone with the right equipment as I didn't trust myself not to crack all the tiles around the bath/shower.

So it's something to beware of when buying a 'like for like' replacement shower!

Hi @PigletJohn . I had trouble disconnecting the water pipe. I managed it and got a replacement part. I've just started a thread about connecting the earth wires.
I have 2 earth wires going into the unit but only one terminal.

it's one of those with a nut then two copper flat ring-shaped things. One wire has a ring on the end, and one looks like a thick single wire bent into a hook shape.

How do I connect them please?

I had tools but I probably could have done with specialist ones. Failed to get an electrical tester at my local diy sheds.

Any advice on what to have in my toolbox will also help.

I think the green and yellow earth wires connect to (10).
Red is live and black neutral, both connected.

Here is the question:
I'm installing something and the wiring going into it has 2 earth wires. There is only one connector (terminal?) and it's one of those with a nut then 2 copper rings.
Do both wires connect to the same connector, and in what order do the wires and the copper disc shaped things go.
The nut will be the last one.
The earth wires are one with a ring, and the other one is a copper hook shape to the end.

This is the picture from the instructions, but I have 2 green and yellow wires.

More images:

You connect both earth wires to number 10.

@HPReject , in what order do the wires and the little parts go on please?

You put a copper ring, the cables another copper, then the silver one then the nut.

Thanks. Do the copper rings go on with the raised bits facing each other?

Yes, flat side down, wire, wire, flat side up

The raised bits on each copper ring should go at an angle to each other to keep everything in place.

Thanks, I'll go and do that.

I'm desperate for a shower. Basin washes only go so far, and I was thinking of flushing the loo with rain water

Diagram to help.

It's leaking.

The leak is from the bit I didn't remove. I must have dislodged it or something.
The circle is where the leak is. It did look a bit corroded.

How do I fix it,and is it safe to take a shower?
I've turned the water off again.

All the earth wires connect to the same point (unless there are multiple earth terminals connected together, usually on a brass bar, which sometimes happens.

The wire that has been finished with a ring terminal should fit onto the stud, on which you put a washer and finally the nut.

Under the ring, put the "hook" with a washer under it. Use a long nose plier to nip the hook round the stud so it can't come off. Observe the way the hook bends, and place it so that any rotation as you do up the nut will tighten it.

(Edit, too late, already answered)

The photo is too fuzzy, but I think it is probably a brass compression elbow on a 15mm copper pipe.

Have you got spanners or an adjustable wrench that perfectly fits the nut? You will need a second wrench to hold the fitting steady while you turn the nut, so it does not twist,

Like https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-brass-compression-equal-90-elbow-15mm/33526 but some of them have a different shape on the other end of the elbow.

@PigletJohn , Thank you. Have you got spanners or an adjustable wrench that perfectly fits the nut? You will need a second wrench to hold the fitting steady while you turn the nut, so it does not twist,

This is where I went wrong. The pipe was not held steady.
I have 2 adjustable wrenches that will fit the fitting, and it is the elbow, just like in your photo. The elbow will be as stiff as anything, no doubt.

I didn't try Screwfix before as they like you to order and then collect, and I wasn't sure what I needed, and I couldn't remove the broken valve from the fitting.
Wickes were useless (possibly because it was late when I went there), and B&Q slightly better.
Now I know what to order, I'll try them.

It's the fitting you need to hold, not the pipe. If it has old sealant on it, undo the nut and clean it out of the joint with green nylon pan scourer and a rag.

I think they have a set of small/medium/large wrenches at about ten pounds. They are not as good as expensive ones, but I think adequate. Tighten the adjusting ring once it is on the nut as you wiggle it. Cheap ones do not tighten precisely.

The water seal is not the thread, but the copper ring that slides onto the pipe and is pressed into a recess when you tighten the nut. You can smear sealant onto the ring, or wrap it in a few turns of PTFE tape, as if you were putting elastoplast over a wedding ring and overlapping onto the finger.

Do not put sealant or tape onto the thread or plumbers will mock you.

I find the tape simpler and cleaner to use.

Is the ring like a wedding ring but smaller, and is it called an olive? Or is it like a disc - a washer? Do I buy that separately?

I've got wrenches, and they were probably cheapish ones. Small:15 cm - 19 mm, Medium: 20mm - 24mm, Large: 25mm - 27mm.

@PigletJohn , both elbow joints are leaking.

Is this how I should use the wrenches?

Yes, and the ring is called an olive.

You get one in each end of a new elbow, and can buy a bag full at modest cost. They can be brass or copper. You put them on the pipe and push the pipe fully into the fitting, this will slide the olive to the right place.

When you are using two spanners to turn a nut on the fitting without stressing or twisting the pipe, I find a good way is to position the handles of the wrenches so you can span them with one hand and squeeze them together. Once it has moved you need little force.

Once you have tightened the nut, it will squeeze the ring onto the pipe, immovably, so try a few dry runs to see how it works before you tighten it. The old ring may be squeezed onto the pipe, if you are using the same brand of fittings it will probably fit so you do not have the arduous job of removing the old one.