Anyone got an Aqualisa Digital shower?

aliasojo

This one in particular.....



If so, roughly how long does it take to reach a steady temp and for the light to stop flashing?

We were shown this model in a showroom and it was electrically connected but not plumbed. The light stopped flashing in 3 seconds and we commented how quick it was. The saleman agreed the shower was a very quick model.

We have it installed now and it can take anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute to stabilise. It also makes a droning noise for a few seconds when it's switched off and although the flow rate is ok, it's not as good as I was expecting.

So, we're now wondering if it was only so quick in the showroom because it wasn't plumbed and it didn't make the droning noise for the same reason or if we have a faulty one.

The black box is sited in the loft, if the noise is normal, can we build some sort of large insulated box around it to deaden the noise or does it need to have an airflow?

I was really looking forward to this shower being installed but I have a vague sense of unease and slight disappointment. I've always had electric showers previously, this is the first one that's linked to the combi boiler so I'm not sure how reasonable my expectations were/are.

alared

We had one installed a couple of months ago.
I would say on average the blue light stays constant after about 20 seconds.
I guess it depends how much hot water is available in the tank.
The black box is sited in the loft and it automatically mixes hot and cold to get the required temperature.
The main noise I hear is our hot tank filling up and wouldn`t say the actual shower is noisey.
I would say it seems noisier because the black box is directly above your head.
I don`t think it would be a good idea to try to encase it in the loft.
On normal it uses 13 litres a minute but if you press the "boost" button (bottom one) it increases to 18 litres a minute.
Don`t really use the boost as normal is good enough.

Model number QZ.A1.EV.05
http://www.aqualisa.co.uk/Our-products/Browse-showers-by-range/Quartz-Collection/Quartz-Digital/Exposed-with-adjustable-head/?area=189

Brilliant shower but expensive although does have a 5 year guarantee!

aliasojo

Thanks for the reply alared. We dont have a tank anymore, just the combi. I'm a little concerned about the droning noise at switch off so I think I'll give Aqualisa a call tomorrow.

CKdesigner

Hi

We had one of these showers in our previous house on a combi boiler - oh how we wish we had one in the house we have now!

The time it takes to stabalise the temperature really has little to do with the Aqualisa shower, it is to do with the boiler (how quickly it heats the hot water) and the distance the shower is from the boiler. The water pressure from the shower is also to do with the boiler and not the shower, if you had a more powerful boiler it could heat more water more quickly therefore you would have a higher flowrate.

The noise - I think I can remember something like this, never really took much notice. To be sure though it might be best to contact Aqualisa.

Good luck.

Canucklehead

CKdesigner wrote: »

Hi

We had one of these showers in our previous house on a combi boiler - oh how we wish we had one in the house we have now!

The time it takes to stabalise the temperature really has little to do with the Aqualisa shower, it is to do with the boiler (how quickly it heats the hot water) and the distance the shower is from the boiler. The water pressure from the shower is also to do with the boiler and not the shower, if you had a more powerful boiler it could heat more water more quickly therefore you would have a higher flowrate.

The noise - I think I can remember something like this, never really took much notice. To be sure though it might be best to contact Aqualisa.

Good luck.

Good afternoon: good advice! The OH installs the Quartz (all versions)... he fit the combi version for his mum in the summer..she has a 30 kW combi with good mains/flow rates in her flat with a short run to the shower. Check the installation guide on the Aqualisa site to see if the processor has been installed in the correct orientation as this can cause problems.

HTH

Canucklehead

aliasojo

CKdesigner wrote: »

..............and the distance the shower is from the boiler. The water pressure from the shower is also to do with the boiler and not the shower, if you had a more powerful boiler it could heat more water more quickly therefore you would have a higher flowrate.

The noise - I think I can remember something like this, never really took much notice. To be sure though it might be best to contact Aqualisa.

The boiler is a WB Greenstar 35 HE plus and the shower is directly above it (albeit higher than just the floor above, as it is in the loft).

Canucklehead, I will check if the box is as depicted in the instructions.

Thanks both.

cally1_2

We have this one and yes it does make a noise but I thought this was normal. It is quieter than a separate pump we had in our last house to get the water up into our loft conversion shower room - now that was loud! We wait about 30 seconds for the flashing light to stabilise. Again I was told by the plumber all of this was normal.

sloth

I know you have said you are going to, but definitely speak to aqualisa in the morning. their customer service/service dept are extremely helpful!

aliasojo

Well I called this morning and chap thought that air may have been trapped since it was a new installation. He advised me to disconnect the shower hose and run the shower from cold, turning it up a notch every few seconds until it reached hot.

Hasn't made any difference unfortunately.

Also this morning, the light started flashing and the shower went from cold to very hot. Bit of a rude awakening I can tell you, lol. Anyway, it seems that is the norm and will happen if someone else turns on a tap or if the washing machine etc is on at the same time.

Clearly my fault for not understanding that this digital shower is not a thermostatic model. So I've paid in the region of £600 for a shower that is noisy and will make me hot and cold all within the space of a few seconds. To say I'm disappointed is now an understatement.

But hey, I've got a wireless remote. :rolleyes:

WestonDave

We had one in our last house and would have one again.

A few tips - you will get a few funny noises even when its off until it settles down and gets all the air out - ours stopped after a week or so I think.

After that you may get a noise while the motor is running - we were advised that this is due to the unit sitting directly on the floor. The advice was to slide a cork tile under it to deaden the vibration - we never did as after a short while we stopped noticing it, and it was quite useful to be able to tell when someone was finished in the shower!

To be fair it is thermostatic but if someone flushes the toilet and takes all the cold water it can't chill the hot water! We found it was far less senstive to someone running a tap elsewhere than a normal instant electric shower.

aliasojo

I've just called them back to say the air clearing exercise didn't work and been told the noise at switch off is is normal. I expected some noise, just not the loud drone. It sounds a bit like the noise from one of those long, hollowed out horns the aborigines have.

Been told to put a rubber mat under it and that's pretty much it. This one seems to be very sensitive as it flashes and fluctuates if the tap is only turned on a little and then off straightaway again. If I'd known the noise was going to be as intrusive I'd have put solid acoustic slab insulation across the joists under the boards it sits on but it's too late to do that now as the pipework wont allow it to be raised 30mm without alteration.

I daresay we'll get used to it all but I think I could have got a more user friendly shower for my money tbh. Even if I did have to give up the remote control.