Power Shower & Boiler Conundrum!
Discussion
I moved home in early January and quickly realised the pump for my power shower doesn't work. It's an Aqualisa Aquastream and after some flicking of various fused spurs have confirmed that there's power to the unit but the pump itself won't start (it just whirrs/buzzes but never kicks in). As a result water pressure is fairly woeful and although I can shower, it's not a hugely enjoyable experience.
Alongside this, the property has a roughly 20 year old regular boiler which probably needs to be replaced in the medium term with a combi (3 bedrooms, just 1 bathroom, only 6 radiators, I live alone... yadda yadda, combi is the best choice).
Replacing the Aquastream with a new equivalent is roughly £700 (£600 for the unit, £100 labour). This is pricey, but gives me a lovely powerful shower "now".
Replacing it with a simple bar-style shower, without a pump, is coming in at around £800-900 including making good tilework and rerouting the pipes to be in the correct locations on the wall. This doesn't guarantee any real improvement to the pressure and I may still need an in-line pump.
Once I replace the boiler (£3,500 - £4000 most likely, including removing tanks in the loft and airing cupboard) this would also boost pressure, but there's no guarantee the failed power-shower system would notice this as the water needs to go through all the pump gubbins before coming out the head and I'm likely to still be left with a mediocre flow. In this situation, replacing the shower with the pumped version seems wasteful as I'd have to turn off the shower pump once the boiler is changed because a combi wouldn't keep up with the hot water demands from it/wouldn't need the extra boost. This means the £700 new shower is worthless, but the alternative is to still spent £700+ on a new bar shower to work with the combi.
My current thoughts are just to go for the new Aqualisa for £700 and see if the boiler will carry on for another few years before I replace it, and perhaps then combine the new boiler with changing the Aqualisa for an unpumped unit (or just seeing how well it works with the pump turned off).
However a friend has suggested I just bite the bullet and go for the new boiler this year on a 0% deal to soften the blow, and then consider whether the shower needs doing.
I open the floor to suggestions, advice, and general musings on boilers and showers to help me make a decision
Alongside this, the property has a roughly 20 year old regular boiler which probably needs to be replaced in the medium term with a combi (3 bedrooms, just 1 bathroom, only 6 radiators, I live alone... yadda yadda, combi is the best choice).
Replacing the Aquastream with a new equivalent is roughly £700 (£600 for the unit, £100 labour). This is pricey, but gives me a lovely powerful shower "now".
Replacing it with a simple bar-style shower, without a pump, is coming in at around £800-900 including making good tilework and rerouting the pipes to be in the correct locations on the wall. This doesn't guarantee any real improvement to the pressure and I may still need an in-line pump.
Once I replace the boiler (£3,500 - £4000 most likely, including removing tanks in the loft and airing cupboard) this would also boost pressure, but there's no guarantee the failed power-shower system would notice this as the water needs to go through all the pump gubbins before coming out the head and I'm likely to still be left with a mediocre flow. In this situation, replacing the shower with the pumped version seems wasteful as I'd have to turn off the shower pump once the boiler is changed because a combi wouldn't keep up with the hot water demands from it/wouldn't need the extra boost. This means the £700 new shower is worthless, but the alternative is to still spent £700+ on a new bar shower to work with the combi.
My current thoughts are just to go for the new Aqualisa for £700 and see if the boiler will carry on for another few years before I replace it, and perhaps then combine the new boiler with changing the Aqualisa for an unpumped unit (or just seeing how well it works with the pump turned off).
However a friend has suggested I just bite the bullet and go for the new boiler this year on a 0% deal to soften the blow, and then consider whether the shower needs doing.
I open the floor to suggestions, advice, and general musings on boilers and showers to help me make a decision
Serious mission creep going on there. Just because a small part of the shower has failed it doesn't mean you should start replacing the boiler!
Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
Cold said:
Serious mission creep going on there. Just because a small part of the shower has failed it doesn't mean you should start replacing the boiler!
Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
I've already spoken with Aqualisa and given them model/serial number details. The unit is over 20 years old and parts haven't been made for it for several years, so sadly that's not an option.Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
romeogolf said:
it just whirrs/buzzes but never kicks in
Sounds like the start capacitor has failed. If you can get the unit apart, it should be a simple fix to replace the capacitor. Whilst I appreciate this link is about a bread machine - it is a motor at the end of the day so the principle is the same. https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/panasonic-bread...
Can you not get a seperate pump fitted for the shower?
I have a 3.2bar pump on my shower and it is fantastic, I also had a new boiler fitted a couple years ago and kept with the heat only boiler and tank in the cupboard for hot water, I'm in a 3 bed (on my own) and fitted a 12kw boiler, to gain any sensible shower pressure from a combi I would have needed to go overkill and fitted a 32kw or higher
I have a 3.2bar pump on my shower and it is fantastic, I also had a new boiler fitted a couple years ago and kept with the heat only boiler and tank in the cupboard for hot water, I'm in a 3 bed (on my own) and fitted a 12kw boiler, to gain any sensible shower pressure from a combi I would have needed to go overkill and fitted a 32kw or higher
romeogolf said:
Cold said:
Serious mission creep going on there. Just because a small part of the shower has failed it doesn't mean you should start replacing the boiler!
Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
I've already spoken with Aqualisa and given them model/serial number details. The unit is over 20 years old and parts haven't been made for it for several years, so sadly that's not an option.Have a look online and find a replacement pump for your shower unit. They are eminently repairable without having to replace the whole thing.
I recently considered replacing my 40 year old standard oil fired boiler, only to be advised by my local plumber boiler installer, that I should not change to a combi boiler, but retain a standard type boiler. The advice being that due to the size of my home, five beds and two bathrooms, that any use of downstairs taps with a combi boiler, would affect the temperature of the bath and/or shower water if being used at the same time.
Due to retaining the standard oil fired boiler, and totally refurbishing the upstairs two bath/shower rooms, for increase shower pressure I had to install a Grundfoss SSN. 30 shower pump for £380.
Due to retaining the standard oil fired boiler, and totally refurbishing the upstairs two bath/shower rooms, for increase shower pressure I had to install a Grundfoss SSN. 30 shower pump for £380.
romeogolf said:
Once I replace the boiler (£3,500 - £4000 most likely, including removing tanks in the loft and airing cupboard) this would also boost pressure, but there's no guarantee the failed power-shower system would notice this as the water needs to go through all the pump gubbins before coming out the head and I'm likely to still be left with a mediocre flow.
When you do the boiler, can't you get the pipework rejigged to bypass all this nonsense. A combi boiler would give mains pressure in the shower, wouldn't it? Saleen836 said:
Can you not get a seperate pump fitted for the shower?
I have a 3.2bar pump on my shower and it is fantastic, I also had a new boiler fitted a couple years ago and kept with the heat only boiler and tank in the cupboard for hot water, I'm in a 3 bed (on my own) and fitted a 12kw boiler, to gain any sensible shower pressure from a combi I would have needed to go overkill and fitted a 32kw or higher
kw has nothing to do with pressure!!!!!I have a 3.2bar pump on my shower and it is fantastic, I also had a new boiler fitted a couple years ago and kept with the heat only boiler and tank in the cupboard for hot water, I'm in a 3 bed (on my own) and fitted a 12kw boiler, to gain any sensible shower pressure from a combi I would have needed to go overkill and fitted a 32kw or higher
people always get this wrong, pressure of a combi is the pressure provided by your mains supply.
flow rate is kind of related to boiler output but some boilers are better.
and fitting a 32kw combi vs a 20kw combi would save you maybe £200 as they are largely the same device
TwigtheWonderkid said:
When you do the boiler, can't you get the pipework rejigged to bypass all this nonsense. A combi boiler would give mains pressure in the shower, wouldn't it?
indeed a combi runs at mains pressure you dont need a pump and should remove the power shower for a compatible high pressure shower TwigtheWonderkid said:
When you do the boiler, can't you get the pipework rejigged to bypass all this nonsense. A combi boiler would give mains pressure in the shower, wouldn't it?
Getting the pipework rejigged is what's costing a fortune in replacing the Aqualisa shower with a standard bar shower. (The current one has the pump in the box on the wall in the shower cubicle, almost like an electric shower except it's just a pump, not a heater.)If it is the pump that's failed (and you'd obviously want to confirm that before spending any money), it looks like there are still some available, eg
https://www.fixthebog.uk/aqualisa-genuine-128501-a...
(I assumed it was the earlier version, there's a post-2003 model too)
If that's not something you fancy getting into, I'd look closely at what Aqualisa have available, as you might find the pipework, mountings etc are identical on a newer model. I did exactly that with an old Mira electric shower that failed, replaced with a brand-new version without changing any electrics, plumbing or even drilling new holes.
https://www.fixthebog.uk/aqualisa-genuine-128501-a...
(I assumed it was the earlier version, there's a post-2003 model too)
If that's not something you fancy getting into, I'd look closely at what Aqualisa have available, as you might find the pipework, mountings etc are identical on a newer model. I did exactly that with an old Mira electric shower that failed, replaced with a brand-new version without changing any electrics, plumbing or even drilling new holes.
My newly installed shower pump started to intermittently starting up, even at 2 a.m in the morning when there was no demand for water. Whilst troubleshooting the pump's installation manual, it mentioned that if the pump's filters were blocked, then that would reduce the shower's water pressure.
With my upstairs shower pump, it was a dripping downstairs tap, that caused the pump to start up, now all sorted hopefully
With my upstairs shower pump, it was a dripping downstairs tap, that caused the pump to start up, now all sorted hopefully
romeogolf said:
TwigtheWonderkid said:
When you do the boiler, can't you get the pipework rejigged to bypass all this nonsense. A combi boiler would give mains pressure in the shower, wouldn't it?
Getting the pipework rejigged is what's costing a fortune in replacing the Aqualisa shower with a standard bar shower. (The current one has the pump in the box on the wall in the shower cubicle, almost like an electric shower except it's just a pump, not a heater.)Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff