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Looking for showers for our main bathroom and ensuite. We have a cold water tank in the loft and a hot water tank in an airing cupboard so pressure is pretty poor.
I was planning on having a pump in the loft and a pair of standard thermostatic bars but looking at the digital options from Mira and Aqualisa where the pumping and mixing are done in the loft and controlled wirelessly look like a great option. Surely cheaper to fit and the Eco and convenience benefits are appealing.
So far the Mira is winning as I've heard of the brand and they seem to have more features (but I'm open to the aqualisa if anyone has any good experience)
Of the Mira options, I'm struggling to find any real difference between the Platinum and Vision (other than I prefer the look of the controller on the vision)
Any experience or advise appreciated, and if anyone's a plumber covering cambs\herts border then please shout up....
I've got a platinum dual non pumped, had it almost two years no problems at all and at the time of fitting my plumber had said he'd done a few without issue.
One of the great things IMHO is keeping the mixer / pump in loft for easy access and just popping through the ceiling to feed the heads.
Solution looking for a problem? Electricity in a shower - what could possibly go wrong?
Seriously though - what's the advantage supposed to be? Wouldn't temperature changes take more than twice as long to be felt in the shower due to the [temp adjusted] water having to travel down from the loft and then back up to the shower head?
We've had a Mira Platinum pumped unit for about 4 years now. It's been faultless, even to the extent that it's still got the original batteries in the controller. Main advantage over our other pumped shower apart from the plumbing aspects is that it's virtually silent, whereas the "normal" one sounds like a 747 taking off in the airing cupboard.
For another option, have you got decent mains water pressure? If you do, change your entire system over to a mains pressure hot water tank pressurised system. They are so efficient you get almost constant hot water (the water reheats almost as quickly as you use it + you have a tank full to start with).
We changed to this and it's been amazing - two powerful showers on the go at the same time and the only time we ever run out of water is if we forget to override the hot water timer (it works on a timer like a conventional boiler as opposed to 'always on' of a combi). Even then it only takes about 10 minutes to heat a tank from flat cold.
Not cheap to convert, but fancy digital shower mixers aren't cheap either.
We have a mira vision. Took about 30 minutes to fit with the mixer/pump in the loft and the shower feed coming down through a 20mm hole in the ceiling.
Work out how much it will cost to fit a traditional pump and mixer valve setup before deciding digital showers are more expensive.
Silent operation, temp/flow controls on the remote and things like limiting it to 5 minute showers are great. Kids dont drain the tank with one shower anymore.
The Aqualisa digital jobs are great.
My mum's got the Visage digital, press the "start" button, wait for the light to change from flashing-> solid and it's up to temp.
You can get fancy with remote wireless controls etc, but it's only a shower 🙂
I've got an Aqualisa. It works well... but the controller doesn't like getting wet!
Doesn't sound like the best idea, I think I'll stick to analogue showers- I'm fine with the 0s but not so keen on the number ones.
my shower is sometimes digital.
it flips between freaking boiling to bollocking freezing.
Aqualisa Quartz Digital here - was fine for 6 years, then needed a new controller dial. About £50 and a simple DIY fit. Pleased with it overall.
Aqualisa here - might be as above for jeff - digital with outside shower on/off switch (quite handy).
I think it needed a new controller about a couple years back, we had the receipt and a new one was sent with no problem.
Was careful to put protection round the screw holes on the dial fitting.
Aqualisa here. Only negative is the sealed pump/mixer unit, which they insist is non serviceable should it go wrong out of guarantee. Nonsense of course. They choose to keep it so by not making spares available, so they can supply and install it for something approaching £300. Expensive way to stop the inevitable eventual drip. Plenty plumbing forums give advice on repair.
Digital shower?
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For another option, have you got decent mains water pressure? If you do, change your entire system over to a mains pressure hot water tank pressurised system.
that was my thought. Would benefit all the hot water sources in the house.
Idiots who did the flat next to mine fitted an new electric heated vented tank and then had to fit a pump which makes a hell of a noise instead of fitting a mains pressure one.
Maybe take a look at this as an alternative?
[url= http://www.earthbathrooms.co.uk/products/hudson-reed-remote-digital-shower ]http://www.earthbathrooms.co.uk/products/hudson-reed-remote-digital-shower[/url]
I've just supplied one to DIY SOS for a low pressure install and it's worked a treat
I've got one of [url= http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/triton-satellite-thermostatic-3596-17460 ]these[/url] brand new open to offers after deciding to fit a combi boiler & the high pressure version of the Triton - works a treat.
We had an Aqualisa Visage fitted about 6 months ago - along with an unvented (mains pressure) cylinder and another Aqualisa shower to replace an old power-shower. The digital shower works brilliantly - but i'm not sure there's any real benefit over a non-digital. The push button on/off thing is neat... but far from essential.
And I can recommend a very good plumber in Herts if you need one.
Petrie - As someone has mentioned, change to unvented if you have decent pressure and flow available. A bit more expensive than two digital showers but many other advantages.
The cost of 2 digital mixers won't be cheap and I question their longevity (especially as most aren't installed correctly, as most shower pumps aren't either).
Unvented would give you mains pressure throughout the house giving you a wider choice of taps and fittings for other outlets.
Our Grohe wireless shower (pump / mixer unit) is still going strong 6 years after first install. The unit was replaced about 3 months in due to a slightly panicked call from Grohe along the lines of "We think we've left a tool inside it".
I briefly looked at megaflow tanks when we first moved in but 1500 for the cylinder alone puts it well over budget.
Doesn't have to be a Megaflop others are available and that is nearly double what you could get one for
You clearly didn't look for very long at all....
https://www.plumbnation.co.uk/site/heatrae-sadia-megaflo-eco-direct-unvented-hot-water-cylinder/
I paid about £2k all in for my conversion (removing old tank/cylinder etc, re-siting new cylinder with all pipeworks etc - the only thing I didn't change was the boiler as that was quite new and a decent Worcester Bosch so no need to change it.
I think ours is a 220ltr cylinder - takes a serious hammering before it is emptied.