What shower is best with a Combi Boiler

doddsey73

Hi,

Can somebody please help me as I'm very confused......

We have a combi boiler downstairs in our kitchen and then a shower room upstairs. There is just no pressure at all with this shower and we would like to change it but don't know what to get. When anyone runs cold water what we have at the moment heats up and the non existent pressure drops even more....please help.....what can I do to get a shower that works like a power shower please and not a soggy weekend!!!

jimmy_81

How good is your mains water pressure? Run the kitchen cold tap on full power - is it a good powerful stream, or a feeble trickle?

If your mains pressure ain't up to much, then the only option is fitting a stored hot water system. Can be done with electric water heating = much higher leccy bills or by replacing the gas boiler. In either case - it's a big and expensive job.

It's just possible that your mains water pressure is OK... But your combi boiler isn't powerful enough to heat the water for a good shower. What boiler is it?

Unfortunately the only solution for this would also be a new boiler = £££££.

Sorry that probably isn't the answer you wanted to hear...

doddsey73

Thanks Jimmy.

It's a Baxi duo-tec combi.

Am I right in thinking that having a boiler in the loft would be the best way of getting good pressure and then having the show heat it?? Sorry if these are silly questions but I really don't have a clue but am guessing pressure down is more powerful than pressure up??!

Thanks for any advice....

jimmy_81

Doddsey, honestly, moving the boiler to the loft won't make any difference.

Re-reading your second post I've realised it's not clear - is your current shower a mixer fed from the boiler, or an electric shower?

macman

If it's a shower fed from the combi, then the flow is dependent on what the combi can output-not where it's positioned. The flow the combi can output is in turn determined by your mains water pressure and flow rate-it won't reach it's rated output if the mains flow and pressure are inadequate.
You can't fit a power shower (by which I assume you mean a pumped shower?) to a combi, so an electric shower may be the better option.
Shower temp increasing when cold water is draw off elsewhere indicates either a non-thermostatic shower unit, or a failed thermostat cartridge.
Combis are not generally powerful enough to supply two hot water outlets at once, such as a shower and a bathroom. So avoid opening another tap when the shower is in use.

mttylad

Have you tried opening your stopcock fully?

Both the one inside the house and the one in the street (if you have one there) ?

martinclukey

There are also universal mixer showers that are designed to work with any hot water system. Combination boilers, frequently referred to as combi boilers, are now one of the most popular types of new boiler installations in the UK. Thanks..

roddydogs

My combi is more than adequate for a shower as its mains pressure, its hardly a problem to make sure that obviously there is no other water being used ie washing machine, loo, etc, that will cause pressure drop. "What boiler is??" well mine is, its a small W/B junior, more than adequate even in winter.

C_Mababejive

Another reason why not to have a combi. Your solution is to try to improve mains pressure or get a small unvented cylinder to supply the bathroom(s)

daveyjp

If the shower pressure is low it suggests either the mains water pressure is too low, or the combi isn't powerful enough to supply hot water to meet the mains pressure.

Both issues should be picked up by an RGI when they undertake the initial inspection and survey of the property, but too many see a 24kw combi as being suitable for everyone, they aren't.

katejo

I have a combi boiler and a mixer shower (straight off the bath taps) the water pressure is very good and the temperature is well maintained during the shower. Maybe that is because the boiler and shower are on the same level (1st floor ). The only problem comes if someone turns on the hot water in the kitchen.