9.5kw or 10.5kw shower?

vikkic

Can anyone tell me whether it's worth paying the extra money for a 10.5kw electric shower, or will a 9.5kw be OK - I've got an 8.5kw at the moment which needs replacing and don't know whether the extra money is worth spending.

Thanks
Vikki

Browntoa

the cabling + fuses for the existing one may not support the higher rated shower anyway

Sooler

As a 8.5 KW one had been sufficient we replaced ours with a 9.5 KW.

We did have to have the wiring upgraded as the existing electrical cable (4mm) was too small for current requirements (8mm I think) and you also have to have a RCD circuit breaker device if you don't have a RCD fusebox.

mercurystar999

No electric shower is that good. I wouldn't of thought you would notice a difference. Depending on what kind of plunbing system you have havr you thought of a power shower?

mr_fishbulb

What's the difference between an electric shower and a power shower?

caveat_emptor

mr_fishbulb wrote:

What's the difference between an electric shower and a power shower?

Electric uses the pressure in the supply pipe, which if from loft tank can be low and power shower is pump assisted.

jennifernil

What type of hot water system do you have? These electric showers are not that great, get it changed to run off "proper" hot water if you can. If you have a combi boiler you cannot have a "power shower", but usually the pressure is so good you would not need one. We recently replaced our daughter's electric shower with a thermostatic one through the bath mixer, it is so powerful the water bounces out of the bath!!!!! ( she has a combi boiler)

Doonhamer

Easiest and cheapest thing for you to do is to replace it with another electric one, though a thermostatic one off the hot water is much better.

If you go for 10.5kW I would think that you will need 10mm² cable and I doubt that you will have this, I would be almost certain that you have 6mm².

If you were happy with the 8.5kW one just go for the 9.5kW.

vikkic

My cold water comes straight from the mains rather than stored in a tank.

I'm sorry to be thick, but other than a 10kw shower heating the water quicker(??) what are the benefits? ie. what does it do that a 8.5kw or 9.5kw doesn't?

Cheers
Vikki

Browntoa

does nothing apart from heat the water quicker like you say

I've got a 7kw one downstairs and an 8.5kw upstairs abd I don't really notice the difference once you have set the temperature to how you like it

if it's a Triton shower they have a guide that shows you the equivalent modern model on their web site, my new one went straight back on the old plumbing, just had to re-align the cable slightly

dadrock

An electric shower should always be from the Mains pipe and not gravity-fed from a tank in the attic.

Upgrade your cable to 10mm and consider a 9.8kw one?