Replace part or get new shower?

JustLikeThat

We have a Gainsborough 2000x 9.5kw electric shower that is perhaps 8+ years old. It's in our upstairs bathroom and as the power of the flow isn't great is used as a back-up when we have family staying.
Yesterday it started leaking and research indicates it is the water flow valve that seems to be the problem. I found a website that gave a replacement part as about £46 inc. and made replacement sound simple. However I am the world's worst DIY person - really hopeless.
my wife thinks the shower is quite old now and we should buy a new one rather than replace a part and hope it works out. The inside of the shower looks sparkling 'new' to me, apart from water that can pour out of the 'wheel'.
Any thoughts?

mehera

A shower with the same electrical rating can be installed fairly simply!

If you can get exactly the same model then great! Otherwise get a 9.5kw triton or similar.

If you already have a suitable replacement to hand a plumber should be able to do the swap in 1-2 hours (£80ish) for labour.

Sometimes the best economy is to get a brand new one - especially when you can get a Triton shower from Screwfix starting at about £60!

Just double check with the installer that the shower you are ordering is up to the job and get a couple of quotes in for the job.


Good luck!

macman

And remember that if you replace with a shower of a higher rating then the cabling and RCD protection may also need uprating.

Myser

macman wrote: »

And remember that if you replace with a shower of a higher rating then the cabling and RCD protection may also need uprating.

Why do you say RCD protection? Surely the same RCD would suffice? You would however need a higher current MCB as well as upgrade any isolation switches in addition to the wiring

plumb1_2

http://www.gainsboroughshowers.co.uk/

keystone

I only had to skim read read Gainsborough and 8 years old to know the answer without reading the rest of your post. Get a new one.

Cheers

JustLikeThat

Thanks for the responses, but most assumed I was wanting to fit a new shower when I was undecided. My wife now tells me the old shower is perhaps 13-15 years old, but looks newer as it has not been used much.
I see the suggested replacement from Gainsborough costs between £115 - £132 (Stanza) plus the suggestion it might cost £80 to have it fitted.
So my choice is between spending £200-ish or £46 if a replacement part is easy to fit and the shower is not going to expire with numerous other problems.
Still undecided until someone posts more specifically to help with final decision.

mehera

Are you certain that your £46 part is going to fix it? Presume nothing . . . .

If you get the same model shower then you could half the bill for installation (£40) and you will have a shower with a 1-2 year guarantee on it . . . .

Repairing can be a false economy. I have seen repairs done which have escalated from one part to another.

Old plumbing has a tendancy to fail when you drain and refill it as well!

http://http://www.screwfix.com/p/triton-enrich-electric-shower-9-5kw/74867

keystone

JustLikeThat wrote: »

Still undecided until someone posts more specifically to help with final decision.

As I was obviously a bit too subtle in my earlier post and you missed it - Gainsborough Showers are carp. Triton not much better although they have improved of late. Fit a Mira.

Cheers

phill99

Keystone is right. Gainsborough is a 'shed' brand. Built to a price to sell in large quantities via b & q etc.

Once one part has gone, the others will also fail in quick succession. It's false economy to repair a cheap product. Plus if you are not good at DIY then you may mess it up which will cost even more money.

For £200 for supply and fit, it's silly not to. If you get 10 years out of it, that's only £20 a year or 38p a week.

JustLikeThat

Thanks everyone - will buy new (actually because my wife said so!) Having had a Gainsborough shower then for perhaps 15 years and had no problems with it, I'm not sure how another brand would be superior. Unless I was just lucky. We shall never get a 'heavy' flow (that would be great!) from a shower in this bathroom because of the water pressure.