Best Shower System For The Money

Summary: How to select the right type of shower for your home. If you’re wondering which shower is right for your, we cover all the types of shower consisting of electric, mixer, power showers and thermostatic showers. Understand the alternatives and fitting to choose from so you get the right one first time.

Before selecting a shower, it is essential that you comprehend the way the warm water is already warmed in your house. Some showers can not be used with some heater. Our job on domestic hot water will help you recognize your system. Once you have done that, you can pick your shower.

Electric Showers

Electric showers can be used within any domestic water system. They, in most cases, are linked to the mains cold water and an element within the shower heats up the water as it travels through the system. If you can set up a clearance of 10 metres from your shower spray to the underside of the cold water tank, you can fit an electric shower to this. In this situation the shower must have an independent cold supply from the tank.

The water at your mains entry must have a running pressure of minutes 1 bar, must flow at a rate of 8 litres per minute and have an optimum static pressure of 10 bar. A lot of electric showers will be configured for these water bye law stipulations but it is as well to consult the manufactures guidelines.

Your shower needs to be connected to the mains by means of a 15mm water pipe and it is just as well to set up an isolation valve in this run. The valve can be turned off if and when upkeep is needed to the shower and this removes the need for water to be turned off at the mains, interrupting all other water uses.

The electrical connections to an electrical shower are covered by lots of policies. An electrical shower must be set up on its own circuit and not spurred from any other connections or home appliance. First you should examine that your fuseboard can providing the current essential and must be rated above 60 amps. An RCD (residual current device) should be set up as, either part of your existing fuseboard, or individually, disrupting the circuit to the shower. Connection to the fuseboard should be by methods of a MCB (miniature breaker). Fuse, switch and cable ratings are likewise vital and we would suggest that 10mm cable is used for all setups. This makes updating your shower a lot easier in the future.

Showers up to 7kw may bring a 6mm cable as long as the shower unit is within 18 metres of the fuseboard. Fuses and switches must be rated at 32 amps.

Showers as much as 8.5 kw might carry a 6mm cable as long as the shower system is within 18 meters of the fuseboard. Fuses and switches should be ranked at 40 amps.

Showers up to 9.5 kw carry a 10mm cable to units within 35 metres of the fuseboard. Fuses and switches ought to be ranked at 45amp

Showers as much as 12.5 kw should bring a 10mm cable to systems within 35 metres of the fuseboard. Fuses and switches need to be ranked at 50 amps.

In all cases the circuit must be disrupted by a double pole pull cord switch with a neon on/off indicator and a mechanical indication ought to the neon stop working.

It is important, in all cases, that the shower supply pipelines are separately cross bonded to earth.

Mixer Showers

Mixer showers are so called since they will mix the existing cold and hot water, in an unique valve, prior to it is offered at the shower head. They appropriate for either low or high pressure (talk to your provider that the mixer valve you buy appropriates for the system you have). They are available as surface installed fixtures, where the pipework is quickly installed on the top of your existing surface area, or flush mounted, where the valve is seen, but the pipework is hidden behind the surface area. They are then perfect to set up in a brand-new shower cubicle building and construction where the pipelines can be constructed into a wall.

To operate correctly both the hot and the cold water need to originate from a source operating at the same pressure. Both can originate from a mains fed system, (combi boiler or multi point water heater and cold mains) or both can come from tank fed water (immersion and cold storage tank). If one supply needs to come from high pressure and one from low pressure, a pressure well balanced mixer valve can be set up.

A mixer shower will not increase the flow of water to your system. If your water streams from your taps at a bad rate, this is the rate it will feed the shower.

A disadvantage to setting up a mixer shower is the fact that it will usually be linked to pipelines which supply water to other points. When the other points are used (taps, toilet cistern etc) the flow rate to the shower will be affected. This in turn will affect the temperature level of the water coming out of the shower and, when it comes to the cold being drained somewhere else, might cause scalding. This can be gotten rid of, with a low pressure system, by laying different pipes to the valve from both cold and hot products and making the shower water independent. You might have to get in touch with a plumbing professional for this as it will suggest installing a special flange in the top of your warm water cylinder. When it comes to a mains fed mixer a thermostatic valve is suggested. Mixer showers can not be pumped from a mains pressure system (combination boilers, multi point heating systems) however they can from low pressure systems. There are mixer shower valves specifically created for mix boilers, (pressure stabilized mixer shower) please see your regional pipes merchant for details.

Thermostatic Mixer Showers

A thermostatic mixer shower includes a pre-set thermostat that will pick up a significant change in temperature level and remedy the scenario. Some advanced thermostatic mixers will even cut the water off when a failure in flow is spotted. Many thermostatic mixers also a have a temperature level limiting device to stop really heats being picked by the user.

Shower Valves

Shower Valves
                                                  Shower Valves

Shower valves come in numerous shapes, sizes and designs and carry out the task of opening up or shutting down a given supply of water e.g. a hot or cold supply. Some examples of shower valves can be seen below.

Power Showers

Power showers are mixer showers with important pumps which increase the rate of flow from the shower head. They can only be set up on low pressure, tank fed systems. The cold water tank ought to be no less than 50 gallons if it provides numerous outlets, a 25 gallon cold tank is acceptable for the shower alone. A devoted hot and cold supply is essential. The supply of water should always be above the system to make sure that the pump is always primed and does not need to draw any air.

Shower Pumps

There are two types of shower pump. The first is a single impeller pump, with one owning blade which pumps the water, as it is combined, to the shower head. This indicates naturally it must go between the mixer valve and the head. The easiest place for that reason to install the single pump is in the loft as it must be above the mixer valve. This can result in problems with the cold temperatures in the loft freezing the water and it can not be insulated since it requires a complimentary air circulation. For this factor a twin impeller pump was introduced. This is linked to both the hot and cold water prior to they reach the mixer valve and can be sited, preferably, in the airing cabinet. Most pump makers will specify that the pump needs to be within 4 metres of the warm water cylinder and at least 30mm below the cold tank. Pumps, similar to power showers, must have a devoted supply of water that serves no other outlets. They should also be linked to the hot supply with an anti aeration flange such as an Essex or Warix … In general a Surrey flange ought to not be used as it can restrict circulation to the pump inlet. An electrical connection is needed and ought to be taken from a changed, fused spur on a ring primary outside the restroom. It will be ranked at 5 amps.

Shower Cubicles

A lot of need to be familiar with the humble shower cubicle. Again, these can be available in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, colours, materials and styles to fit practically any provided taste.

They’re primary function is to keep all the water and moisture created in a shower within the cubicle and away from surface areas that might otherwise be harmed. Some examples can be found listed below:

Shower Cubicles
                                                                       Shower Cubicles

Drainage

Drainage for the shower water can be provided by an existing bath or shower tray waste, but need to be through a 40mm diameter waste pipe and discharge into a foul water drain. This pipe, in this diameter, must travel no further than 3 metres before entering the soil stack or discharge gulley. It can not be combined with the rain (surface area) water drain. In the air floor, to abide by structure regulations, a deep trap (75mm) has to be installed. Below that a shallow trap of 38mm may be used. This is to stop the water in the trap being siphoned out by water running rapidly through another area of the drain. This drainage information uses to all make from shower.