Morning folks, we’re just in the process of renovating our house and just wondered if anyone can help with a shower related question. Normal vs Solenoid?
We know we don’t want an electric shower with a box on the wall, so want the clean look with a false wall where the shower comes out of.
The plumber has fitted us a big hot water tank in the cubby next to the bathroom and just wondered if that will be enough on it’s own to get some good pressure for the shower?
We want something with a good bit of power behind it and just wondered what a difference normal powered vs solenoid powered would be?
Thanks
What is solenoid powered?
I think you may be getting your terms mixed up.
So, you have a large hot water cylinder?
What head have you got?
Is it mains pressure?
If the header tank is just above it in the attic, then you will not have much pressure, maybe 1 bar at most.
If it's a pressurised tank, then you are good to go.
If it is a low pressure tank, with the header in the attic, then you will probably need a shower pump to get a decent pressure. These can be fitted anywhere suitable, even underneath a bath, or, usually, in the cupboard that contains the tank.
The size of the hot water cylinder has no bearing on the pressure of the water, it could be just a big cylinder, though pressurised ones are generally a little bigger than gravity fed ones.
Shower heads that add air can help make less water seem more I think. I quite like the rain dance Hansgrohe ones.
You can get mixer valves to be hidden in the wall or surface Mount. If you’re hiding in the wall I’d recommend putting it somewhere you can reach both out and in the shower. That way you can turn it on before getting in and so let it warm Up.
Hot tank size will determine how big your pump and shower flow rate can be if you’re to have a shower long enough before all the water runs out. I think an average shower head can use something like 9l a min of which maybe 1/3 cold, 2/3 hot water. So 6l a min of hot. A 180l tank will last you roughly 30 mins.
For a given flow rate a Smaller shower head will enable more pressure but tighter spray larger one the opposite.
It’s important to understand what system you have to advise.
You and Your plumber really should have discussed this before installing anything.
We know so far you have a hot water tank, is it “mains pressure” also known as unvented, or is it a vented indirect cylinder?
Some of those 'boxes' on the wall are quite neat now, but you've got the option of hidden if a completely new bathroom.
We only re-tiled our bathroom so had to go with a new electric one. Pretty small unit and easy to fit. The other thing, with an electric shower, you've still got somewhere for a hot wash if the boiler/tank packs up.
Given how my son can spend ages in the shower, it would soon go through the hot water tank. 1 bath can empty it.
Ahh it sounds like I might be in that case, the tank is a pressurised tank around 1.5 bar I think, it’s next to the bathroom and brand new. There’s also nothing in the loft.
It sounds like we might have enough pressure then in that case, it’s hard to know at the moment as we are using the downstairs bathroom and the upstairs we have never used as only moved in 10 months ago and it’s been a big renovation project. The bathroom is one of the last rooms for us to do And there’s no running water setup at all in that room
Brilliant, if you do indeed have an unvented pressurised hot water system.
You don’t need any boxes on the wall or any pumps.
You just need a shower mixer valve - either a bar mixer which is a small unit on the wall or a completly flush mixer valve.
ooh as you've got a pressurised system....you can get a digital shower
https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/professional-zone/news/mira-digital-showers-explained/
the wife convinced me when we had the bathrooms done, and they're amazing. A bit middle class and all that, but very very good
We have a Mira digital shower on a combi (is that a pressurised system?). It's great, love getting a consistent temperature and not it varying when taps are turned on 🤨.
A pair of Mira digitals here after being recommended on here years ago - they really are the business and no need for anything on (or in) the wall and all the plumbing gets done in the loft or under the bath.
ooh as you’ve got a pressurised system….you can get a digital shower
https://www.mirashowers.co.uk/professional-zone/news/mira-digital-showers-explained/
the wife convinced me when we had the bathrooms done, and they’re amazing. A bit middle class and all that, but very very good
Agree, this is one of your options.
We have a Mira digital shower on a combi (is that a pressurised system?). It’s great, love getting a consistent temperature and not it varying when taps are turned on 🤨.
Yes a combi delivers hot water at mains pressure (short answer... caveats apply)
Sorry I hadn’t seen everyone else’s replies!! So we totally agree about discussing with the plumber but in short, he was an *expletive* very opinionated and we won’t be getting him back.
It was one of those Situ’s where we got a plumber round who was recommended to see what was needed and we expected £500 maybe, Bill ended up £2500 once taking into account of the hot water tank and fitting that was £1k. He convinced us but we never thought to ask about shower, he just suggested it as our previous system was being stretched as the house is two houses into one.
Really useful info, sounds like we need a mixer valve then. I think digital showers are out of the budget, but it’s certainly cleared up a bit what we need. We’ve gone for a 250mm shower head so that’s the main reason I’ve been asking about the pressure as the head has the capacity to dump alot of water out
We had a pump added to our system in our last house to pressurise lifting water into a loft extension. My god, it was a great jet wash. For the first person. It emptied the hot water tank in about four minutes. So we went back to mains pressure. In our current house we have a pressurised tank that is great too.
One point. If you live in a hard water area, add a hand shower adaptor if you can. I like to rinse down the shower cubicle with cold water after a shower as this evaporates slower and deposits less scale that warm water. It also gives the ten seconds to drip dry before using a towel.