Shower problems

ChloeB

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me, today I had my old backboiler taken out and a new gloworm boiler installed and all my old radiators changed to new ones.

The problem is we went to use the shower tonight for the first time and our water pressure has gone up so much compared to what we had that the shower has suddenly changed into a powershower type!! It was so fast and hard that it was actually hurting my son's head whilst he was in it and now it will not turn off, the dial turns to the off switch but water keeps coming, even when you are holding the hose upright the water is still flowing out.

Can a change in water pressure affect showers? it is a really old shower just two pipes that run down the wall into the dial that turns it on and off and adjusts the temperature. Or is it just the shower has broken at the same time we had the boiler change? Is there a cheap way of fixing the problem? Thanks

chilli_dog

this is normal.

When we had our central heating replaced with a combi we had the same, we actually were re fitting the bathroom later that year so we went with an electric shower.

Not sure if you can buy some kind of restricter to lower the flow rate

we also had to buy a new ballcock & valve for the loo as it wouldnt stop filling!!

Canucklehead

Good evening: Is your new boiler a combi?.If yes, you now have hot water at mains pressure (and the cold as well if your installer changed the cold from tank fed to mains supply). See more on shower controls and domestic water systems here and here

HTH


Canucklehead

andrew-b

When you have a combi boiler installed (which is what it sounds like you now have) hot water is being pushed through the pipework at a higher pressure than the gravity-fed hot water system i'm assuming you previously had (would have been fed by tanks in the loft before i expect). If it's a really old shower it's probably not designed to work at higher pressures which may explain your problems. Your boiler installer should really have made at least a visual assessment of the impact the combi boiler would have before work commenced. More than likely you need a new shower that is compatible with a combi boiler...so it's likely to be another raid on the piggy bank i'm afraid!


Andy

ormus

we had to change our shower to a combi compatible type.

ChloeB

Thanks for the replies, looks like we will be needing a new shower then, we are currently saving to have the bathroom changed into a wet room for my disabled son, I wish the fitters had looked at the shower first as we would have held off having it done until we was ready to make the changes to the bathroom.

ormus

those wonderful experienced skilled corgi fitters should have informed you, that the shower would probably needed, (have), to be changed.