JamboPete Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I have had a new bathroom installed by B&Q and the water pressure through our shower is very poor even though we have a 1.5 bar pump to help with the flow. We have been told that because the hot water tank is downstairs and the bathroom is upstairs, this will affect the pressure (our boiler is not a combi boiler so not coming from the mains supply). If we asked for an upgrade to a 3 bar pump, would this make a decent difference? Any advice is much appreciated:10900: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I have had a new bathroom installed by B&Q and the water pressure through our shower is very poor even though we have a 1.5 bar pump to help with the flow. We have been told that because the hot water tank is downstairs and the bathroom is upstairs, this will affect the pressure (our boiler is not a combi boiler so not coming from the mains supply). If we asked for an upgrade to a 3 bar pump, would this make a decent difference? Any advice is much appreciated:10900: OK. part of the problem might be the combi boiler. Because it's instantly heating the water the flow rate is slower. The flow rate can be increased but then the water would be colder. The bit about the hot water tank is strange. combi boilers don't normally have storage tanks. The pressure is probably also a bit of a red herring as the combi boiler works with mains water through it normally for heating the water that comes out your taps.One of these problems hard to assess without looking at all the variables, but sounds , well, not quite right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambolass1000 Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 OK. part of the problem might be the combi boiler. Because it's instantly heating the water the flow rate is slower. The flow rate can be increased but then the water would be colder. The bit about the hot water tank is strange. combi boilers don't normally have storage tanks. The pressure is probably also a bit of a red herring as the combi boiler works with mains water through it normally for heating the water that comes out your taps.One of these problems hard to assess without looking at all the variables, but sounds , well, not quite right. The OP says he doesn't have a combi boiler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulandshark Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I had the same problem. My dad (heating engineer) replaced my old boiler and tank and replaced with a combi. Sorted! I would recommend getting a combi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midloth_Iain Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 Is it an existing shower or new one supplied with installation. What type of shower is it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboPete Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 I had the same problem. My dad (heating engineer) replaced my old boiler and tank and replaced with a combi. Sorted! I would recommend getting a combi! How much would that cost though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboPete Posted October 28, 2009 Author Share Posted October 28, 2009 Is it an existing shower or new one supplied with installation. What type of shower is it ? The shower was put in with the installation, it is a Mira shower, dont know the model but it was around ?350 to buy from B&Q. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulandshark Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 How much would that cost though? Boiler I got was around 450, nothing fancy but it does the job! noticed already that gas bills are down as it is only using what it needs rather than having to have it on to get hot water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cams Posted October 28, 2009 Share Posted October 28, 2009 I have had a new bathroom installed by B&Q and the water pressure through our shower is very poor even though we have a 1.5 bar pump to help with the flow. We have been told that because the hot water tank is downstairs and the bathroom is upstairs, this will affect the pressure (our boiler is not a combi boiler so not coming from the mains supply). If we asked for an upgrade to a 3 bar pump, would this make a decent difference? Any advice is much appreciated:10900: The actual pressure at the shower head wont be 1.5 bar just because you have a 1.5 bar shower pump. The actual pressure will be approx 1.5 bar - the height diff between pump out let and shower head ( deduct 0.1 bar for every meter )-frictional loss through pipe work - pressure drop across shower head. So if you have 15mm copper you will have a higher resistance than that if you had 22m or 28mm copper, therefore less pressure at the shower head. Is it a standard shower head or one of these new fancy deluge efforts? normally for a shower pump to operate you need the cold feed tank to be 1.5 -2 meters above the pump. Try Grundfos Watermill shower pumps, they do ranges up to 4bar! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The OP says he doesn't have a combi boiler ooops - i should leran to read Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2 Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 The hot water tank being down stairs should make very little difference, the important factor is the height of the cold water tank. Did B&Q do a survey of your house before fitting? If so liability should be theirs to reslove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboPete Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 The hot water tank being down stairs should make very little difference, the important factor is the height of the cold water tank. Did B&Q do a survey of your house before fitting? If so liability should be theirs to reslove. B&Q sent out a surveyor to our property before installation and we asked him if we needed a pump and his response was "do you want a pump?" and we just said yes. He didnt go into the set up of the property or where our tanks are, he was in and out in about 10 mins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midloth_Iain Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 B&Q sent out a surveyor to our property before installation and we asked him if we needed a pump and his response was "do you want a pump?" and we just said yes. He didnt go into the set up of the property or where our tanks are, he was in and out in about 10 mins. I would be asking serious questions of B&Q if thats the case. Its their responsibility to give you a properly working shower and if they thought your exisiting system was not suitable they should have brought this to your attention and suggested ways to rectify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboPete Posted October 29, 2009 Author Share Posted October 29, 2009 What do you all think is the best solution though? 1. Fit a new pump with a stronger bar 2. replace my 2.5 year old boiler with a new combi instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I would get onto B&Q,let them know you are not happy with the job and tell them to get it sorted.Sounds like something is not right because the pump should boost the flow rate sufficiently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meadows Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I would also suggest getting in touch with B & Q..but not the store you bought from. Email their head office saying how disappointed you are,that you expected better from a company of their standing and would they be prepared to help you resolve the problems you are facing. I'd imagine from past experience you will be pleasantly surprised.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboPete Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Just thought I would update the posters in the know with the latest regarding my situation. The installation team that fitted my bathroom are going to check for potential air locks in the pump itself and if any are found, the will clear them. If we are still not happy with the water pressure, they will change/upgrade the pump for us at no extra cost. What is the maximum bar pressure pump that you can get for a normal home shower? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cams Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Just thought I would update the posters in the know with the latest regarding my situation. The installation team that fitted my bathroom are going to check for potential air locks in the pump itself and if any are found, the will clear them. If we are still not happy with the water pressure, they will change/upgrade the pump for us at no extra cost. What is the maximum bar pressure pump that you can get for a normal home shower? Grundfos Watermill do 2 bar 3 bar and 4 bar. I would think that 3 bar would be more than sufficent, unless you want pinned to the wall and 3 layers of skin removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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