Renting - Water pressure commonly too low for electric shower

DrScotsman

In my flat I have an electric shower. When the water pressure in the flat goes too low, the shower will refuse to heat up the water and will become freezing (and if the pressure is in between "OK" and "too low", the shower will become very very hot). The problem is not the shower; when this happens the pressure in ALL taps will have dropped (the combi boiler will still happily heat up the hot tap though btw). And yes, the stop tap is fully open.

The pressure will usually go too low about peak times, making it a gamble to have a shower before uni, but lately it's happened at 11am on a Saturday or Sunday! It's very unpleasant when the shower turns stone cold when you're in the middle of one, or where the 15 minute average wait for the pressure to get back to normal will make you late.

My flat is above a shop, and as far as I know there is a shared water meter for both (the landlord owns both and pays the water bills). While the shop using water would cause our pressure to drop, since we get the problem when the shop is definitely empty, this isn't the only reason why it drops.

Now I think I'm stuck here. If the bad water pressure was due to bad plumbing in the flat/shop or was because the shop was using water, I can see I might have rights from the landlord. But it's not that, and I assume he isn't liable for the water company not providing enough pressure. However I can't really complain to the water company since I'd then have to get the shop involved, and I assume I can't force the landlord to complain on my behalf.

Not to mention, even if the water company did admit fault, would they really even bother to fix anything? And how are you even supposed to prove that you're eligible for a compensation payment?

Any advice as to how to solve this will be much appreciated

Fire_Fox

Are you able to have a proper wash with the water pressure as it is - is there a bath? If you were let the flat on the basis of it having a shower in place then arguably this should function correctly (and safely - it's not if the water scalds you). There are such things as pressurised systems - I have one (block of flats) and it's very effective. I'd write to your landlord and explain that, on a regular basis, there isn't sufficient pressure for you to have a shower and ask for him to send an plumber out to inspect.

BitterAndTwisted

Don't over-complicate things, it could just mean that the system may need some form of online pump to maintain the correct pressure for the shower to work properly. Talk to your landlord.

googler

I'm puzzled by your description - an electric shower works from mains pressure cold water, and the water is heated in a tank in the shower as it passes through. You change the temperature by changing the flow rate through the tank - slow down the flow rate and the water spends longer in the tank and gets hotter - increase the flow rate and the water spends less time being heated and comes through colder.

A decrease in presssure would therefore result in the water getting hotter.

If the shower is passing cold water through, that suggests to me a fault in the shower. However, I freely admit I'm not a qualified plumber, and you may want to enquire further at

www showerdoctor co uk or the plumbing and central heating forum at
www diynot co uk

I'm sure a plumber will stop by and discuss this with you at either of these places.

Tuscan

a electric shower needs a minimum amount of water pressure to work (bar rate), if the pressure is too low then it wont kick in and heat the water as would be to hot and burn you, although cold water will still flow through the unit.

it may need an inline pump fitted to boost the flow rate, or it could be that its not connected to the mains supply but as you have a combi boiler it will all be on the mains..

mikey72

The water companies are hopeless, if water comes out of the tap they will say it is within their specification. Ask the landlord to change the electric shower to a mixer, and use the combi. If you have a bath he'll need to put a shower mixer tap on, or a thermostatically controllled unit on the wall if you haven't.

DrScotsman

Update:

I brought the issue to the landlord asking him to install a water pump in February. He told me that a pump cannot be fitted to the existing plumbing as "they cannot be fitted to a mains feed" - I know nothing about plumbing but my Dad assured me this made sense. He offered to install a shower off of the Combi (i.e. follow your advice mikey), which we accepted (without prejudice ).

The shower has been a huge improvement for the most part - obviously the pressure isn't improved but it's happy to heat up the water at lower pressures, and at the same temperature as higher pressures. However the water pressure problem has been getting even worse. It used to go too low for the electric shower to heat up the water, now if you decide to take a shower there's a good chance the water will go too low for the combi to heat up the water! It also means that the shower is not the only problem, and filling up a bowl with hot water to do the washing up requires the kettle and a lot of patience, as even the cold tap will be dead slow. Occasionally the cold tap will refuse to give out anything from between 30 seconds and a few minutes.

So again, I'd be really grateful if I could have answers to the questions: What are my rights? and (if different to perusing rights) What should I do?

(Late response: No I don't have a bath Fire Fox, so the shower is my only means of getting clean)

N79

Report the new problem to the LL so that they can get their plumber to investigate. If there is a fault or blockage in the house plumbing then it can be sorted.

If the mains pressure is rubbish entering the house then I really can't see what the LL can do, other than joining you in harassing the water company. As has been indicated above, water companies can get away with a really rubbish supply and still claim to be meeting their requirements.