Choosing an electric shower - what to look for

Tipster28

We're re-doing our bathroom in the new year so are going to keep an eye on the sales to see if we can get a bargain.
Looking to buy an electric shower, what should I look for when choosing? I know that the KW will dictate how powerful it is, but what else?

latecomer

I think you'll find the KW rating is just about the amount of heat it can provide, rather than directly relating to how powerful it is.

If you are not planning on upgrading the wiring, check the wiring you have and get something suitable.

Tipster28

Wiring isnt an issue, father in law is an electrician so will run a new cable direct from the board which is required now by building regs i believe.

latecomer

Fair enough. The only thing I would suggest is getting a decent make rather than a cheap one - I believe you get better flow through a decent quality shower (from personal experience).

themacster

Personally I would go for a fairly simple one, avoiding the fancy mirror finish / lots of chrome / glass fronts - you'll end up cleaning them more to try and keep them looking good, and mirrored ones just mist up anyway. The flow rate depends on the incoming water pressure - if you like a good flow rate, then you will want as high a Kw rating as you can get as the higher the flow rate the lower the temperature the water, so you need a high Kw one to compensate, particularly in winter. You will need chunkier wiring and fuse/mcb for a 10Kw than a 7 or 8 or 9, but i believe you should get the most powerful (in Kw terms) that you can. A nice handset helps.

Inactive

Tipster28 wrote: »

Wiring isnt an issue, father in law is an electrician so will run a new cable direct from the board which is required now by building regs i believe.

Surely he is the best person to advise you on this, he may well be able to get you one via his trade suppliers.

jafsie

We had a galaxy 10K shower installed a year ago and we are pleased with it, it does the job perfectly well:)

After having said that I am not recommending it because I don't know one electric shower from another.

All I'm saying is ours is powerful enough and easily adjustable- but we may have just got lucky.

Perhaps someone on this board would know about this particular model.

suisidevw

I have a 9,5kw Triton one, it's good. First impressions were bad as it was broken out the box but Wickes swapped after a fuss was made. I would go MIRA.......

themacster

We had a MIRA in our previous house and were very happy with it, although we were only there for a year after we had it installed. I had a Heatrae Sadia before that and that lasted 15 years before the flow control seized up. I would stick to a well-known brand.

zax47

If you really want the "dogs-danglies" then look at this, not cheap but £100 off at the moment. Fitted one today for a customer.

http://www.plumbworld.co.uk/mira-orbis-thermostatic-3307-17776