A question for a plumber and/or sparky please:
The motor which drives the shower in our rented house has recently got pretty noisy and if you look closely, you can see a blue flicker/small sparks on the inside when the shower's on.
My question is, are shower motors normally noisy and is it normal/safe to see blue sparks on the inside?
I'm not a professional, but I'd say yes on both points. Your definition of noisy may differ from mine though ofc.
I'm a sparky and I say get rid.
two answers.. no and omg.. sparks visible? only on fireworks owt else bin it..
Pretty normal for them to be noisy and pretty normal for a motor to spark at the brushes. I wouldn't be but if you are worried get your landlord to get someone in, that's one of the benefits of renting.
All motors spark a bit as the brushes wear, try using a battery powered drill in the dark and you'll see sparks through the cooling vents.
I assume this is a shower pump rather than an electric shower - ie it pumps hot and cold rather than heat up the cold water? If you can see sparks on the latter then stop using it.
As nickjb says, it's possible to see sparks from the brushes of a motor. For a remote pump this doesn't necessarily mean there's a problem. However, if it's noisy and you're uncertain I'd change it.
Cheers all. It's a motor which sits in the cupboard in another room (not the bathroom) next to the boiler so I'm guessing I'm not going to bang just yet. I'll contact the landlord and see if he can get anyone in though to have a look.