Power shower

[johnnyb]

Inherited a job here boys and girls, scenario is a plumber has fitted a mira power shower in this old dears bungalow near me, and i havent been in the loft but before install the plumber fitted 2x small header tanks in the loft for head water, apparently could,nt fit 1x big one due to lack of space, alas when she turns the shower on , which is of the mixer type, it comes on you can hear pump kick in for around 5-10 secs then it just shuts off, as if say to stop you getting scolded or something, can anyone possibly point me in the right direction at all.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

Are the valves on the water supply to the pump all open?

 

[Yooj]

When you say power-shower, do you mean it has a separate shower-pump located somewhere?

If so, where is the pump located, i.e. on the floor of the airing cupboard, in the loft, etc.

Is there a hot water tank?

Do you have the instructions of the pump as this will indicate the minimum head pressure required to actuate the pressure switch in the pump, and also the literage/minute that the pump can pump at....If the cold water tank is too small, after the pump runs for a time, the cold water tank might not be filling up quick enough, i.e. the pump is draining the tank before the tank can refill...This could then reduce the head enough to stop the pump.

Need these answers first.

Yooj

 

[johnnyb]

Are the valves on the water supply to the pump all open?

They must be my mate cause it runs perfect for around 5-10 secs then knocks off, just been talkin to a plumber and he says there are strainer like filters on the hot and cold outlet side of the pump and 1x may be blocked or something, i will have to go up in loft and have a look.

When you say power-shower, do you mean it has a separate shower-pump located somewhere?

If so, where is the pump located, i.e. on the floor of the airing cupboard, in the loft, etc.

Is there a hot water tank?

Do you have the instructions of the pump as this will indicate the minimum head pressure required to actuate the pressure switch in the pump, and also the literage/minute that the pump can pump at....If the cold water tank is too small, after the pump runs for a time, the cold water tank might not be filling up quick enough, i.e. the pump is draining the tank before the tank can refill...This could then reduce the head enough to stop the pump.

Need these answers first.

Yooj

no i don,t have anything at minute, but there must be a cylinder as thats the only means of hot water in the bungalow, and it actually runs for 5-10 secs then shuts off, i,m goin back tomoz and i think i am goin to look for a blockage in one of the pipes which must be restricting the flow then shuttin down, plumbers job really but shes 83 so what can yer do.

 

[Yooj]

It could just be a thermostatic valve on the mixer...And when the hot water tank starts to go down in level, then this reduces the available hot-water head for the shower, which could then stop the entire shower maybe if there is not enough hot water.

Yooj

JohhnyB, I had another thought...if it is only 5 to 10 seconds, then this could be due to an airlock somewhere in the shower pipework.

Yooj

 

[empress]

so if this is a gravity system with a hot water tank sounds like an airlock problem to me due to poor pipe runs.
fills up slowly when off but airlocks on demand
power shower pump needs balanced hot & cold so cold needs to be fed from same header tank that feeds the hot water tank.
usually the feeds from the water tank are taken from opposite ends.
worth looking to see there's nothing dead floating about in the tank that could block takeoff.
blocked filters on the power pump can also happen after draining down and refilling the header tank which stirrs up all the sediment in the bottom which then gets dragged thru .
l
elfyn
doooooooooo .yooj beat me to it