Page 1 of Need a new shower - advice please

Hi, I used http://www.checkatrade.com/ to get details for a local plumber to look at our shower, as although water still comes out of it, rather than having teh temp on 1/2 way, we need it on 3/4, and the pressure isn`t as high as it should be. I took the hose and head apart to give a clean, but that made no difference.

As far as i can see it`s a fairly bog standard electric show, a Triton Ivory II, it was here when we moved in, which was 8 years ago. Plumber I spoke to today said it`s not really worth trying to fix, but up to us to use until it completely dies, or replace before then. He also said it was up to us whether we buy one, then get him to fit it, cost about £80 he said a couple of hours work, or he could supply and fit one.

I expect it to cost about £100, so before I ring up a few more to get quotes, was just wondering, is it generally best to buy yourself from homebase, B&Q etc, or let them supply one of their choice, or can you say what you want, in case they can get it cheaper trade? Was thinking they would know best what brands are good/bad, and there may be some good ones you can`t get on high street?

Cheers

Do a bit of research and find one that`s best for your needs and budget. You could buy one yourself, but if your plumber uses a particular supplier, there`s a chance he will have an account set up with special rates (we have several). However, wether or not any saving will be passed onto you if up to them.

Also, there aren`t any particular manufacturers that only give specific models to specific outlets. It`s up to the retailer to supply the ones that will sell quickest, and give the most profit. In short, it`s probably best to go to a specialist supplier (Plumb centre, City Plumbing) as they`ll have a much wider range, either in stock or available to get within a week

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Cheers, there`s both Plumb centre and City Plumbing near me on the way to Homebase so i can have a look in them and get an idea of prices, and they`re more likely to have some-one who can answer my questions as well.

Plumber sounds about spot on to me, entry level electric shower units are two a penny pricewise tbh, i often found it cheaper to buy the same item from say screwfix or B&Q than i could buy it from my wholesaler and i suspect your plumber will be of the same opinion, which is why he is saying up to you...

At 8 years old or more its done well if it was used everyday - most don`t get that far

Grumpy

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sounds a reasonable price for the job... just make sure you know what power rating your current wiring has, the more modern showers up upto 13 kilowatts, our existing is 8.5 kilowatts, when i was looking at new unit it was rated at 12 kilowatts, and the plumber said nope, wasn`r prepared to fit it as couldn`t guarantee it was safe with the existing wiring!

I fit my own last time. Was a bit of a pain trying to find a model with the same insides so I didn`t have to get the plumbing reworked, but I managed it in the end. Triton`s new model looked identical but had flipped the insides (morons), so I ended up getting a Wickes exclusive model that was identical to the old one internally. Was actually a very simple job and I`m a DIY noob.

Took a bit of effort to get the old shower disconnected from the outlet because there was a lot of gunk around the joint. I have a very strong feeling this was because the previous shower hadn`t been fitted properly, so it was leaking slowly internally (confirmed visually by opening up the case and turning it on). This is why it died after a very short time.

I made sure to push the connections together securely on the new one so that no water leaked. Then just a simple case of wiring it up and job done. Been going strong for years now. I was overly cautious about making sure the electric was off at the consumer unit though. I also went safe on the wattage, as although the flex was replaced some time ago I wouldn`t want to put anything too demanding in there (partly because they cost more to run).







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Usual setup for shower heaters with RCD protection.....

Up to 8KW use 6mm twin and earth cable with a 32A MCB with 32mA RCD unit at the dist board (fuse box).

Up to 10kW use 10mm twin and earth cable with a 45A MCB with 32mA RCD unit at the dist board (fuse box).

We do not fit any shower with higher wattage than 10kW/45A for domestic installations. 

You also need an electrical isolation switch at the shower, (normally ceiling mounted with pull cord in shower room, though wall ones can be fitted outside shower room). 

Also be on the safe side for earthing, we also run a seperate 6mm green/yellow earth cable from dist boards shower MCB/RCD to shower unit.     

If the cable length is longer than a normal standard house size from dist board to shower room, then cable calcs are needed to see if bigger than 10mm cable is needed to deal with volt drop, same goes for seperate earth using 10mm instead of 6mm green/yellow cable.

The Triton Ivory II came in 3 wattage sizes

8.5KW
9.5KW
10.5KW

Most modern showers offer multipoint access for water inlet - external and internal.

I won`t add anymore as i have seen Bandicoot has said it all above.......  

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NEW* The Grumpy Old Gits guide To Bank Holidays....
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Bandicoot, why dont you live nearer me so you can come and fit a new unit!

I am guessing the 12kw would be classed as commercial unit? It was from a trade site, not B&Q... i note the DIY sheds only seem to do up to 11kw... I am thinking my plumber looked at the existing wiring, and knew it was the basic stuff as mentioned by Plumbking Bandicoot!

This item was edited on Friday, 15th June 2012, 18:08

wow, a lot more complicated than I thought. I`ll let my dad look at the fusebox tomorrow and he can tell me what to get, I had assumed I should get as many watts as possible for the most powerful = best shower :)

the shower power switch is a switch, on the wall outside the bathroom. as you face the shower the water in pipe comes is in the bottom right hand side.

We`ve been planning on getting a new bathroom for ages, so this is probably the quick up the arse to get one. I thought missus wanted shower replaced ASAP, but she`s since decided we may as well get it done when bathroom is done. I told her we could get the shower replaced, then when bathroom is done keep existing one, but she`s willing to wait now.

Cheers again guys

Al