what type of shower to fit (advice please)

lionel_hutz

i am having a bit of a dilemma and am looking for some rational advice.

basically i need a new shower installing, my old mixer shower was fed from a hot water tank / mains but as i am planning on replacing my boiler with a combi boiler in the next few years there is no point in putting another mixer shower in. i was therefore thinking of having an electric shower fitted as this will work independantly from which ever boiler i have and also it should be more efficient as i'll only be heating the water i need. downside is ive had a quote from an electrician for £325 just to alter my fuse board and do the wiring to the required standard and thats before i buy the shower and a plumber fits it.

any advice on my best / most cost efficient route greatly apreciated.

Owain_Moneysaver

If you are having a combi boiler then you need a thermostatic mixer shower that will work with combi boilers. (There are different types, and some will play nice with combi boilers and some won't. The ones that won't try to reduce the hot flow to reduce the temperature, but as the hot flow reduces the boiler heats the water hotter).

In the meantime you also need one that will work with unequal pressures (hot = tank, cold = mains). Hopefully a good plumber will be able to recommend a model that will work in both combi and tank/mains scenarios.

An electric shower costs more to run than a combi, and a combi will give much better shower performance as long as your mains water pressure is okay.

lionel_hutz

thanks for that, think i'm going to skip an electric shower! does anyone have any reccomendations for a mixer shower that will work with my current hot water tank system as well when i replace my boiler with a combi boiler?

a.w.buildingservices

as long as your hot water pressure is ok then most will work ok i just fitted a one for a customer the got from tool station for less than £50 and works spot on and looks great

Tucker

My thermostatic mixer was about £20 from Lidl and it's worked excellent off my combi for past 2 years.

If they sell them again, I'll be buying a spare.

waynehayes

My Mira Coda thermostatic mixer shower works great off the combi-boiler, much better than an electric shower which won't heat the water as fast as a good combi will.