Money-saving pressure for the shower

TMSG

We have a water supply with a big cold-water tank in the loft and hot-water storage in the airing cupboard, like many. Now my wife is thoroughly fed up with this gravity-fed system and wants a more powerful shower, like those she has had on the continent. I am fine with the thing as it is and worry more about the additional water usage... but hey, I also want domestic peace :-)

So... can I (or probably rather a plumber, given my two left thumbs) put in a simple pump with a sort of flow trigger next to the water outlet of the loft tank that gives some more pressure but not too much? (My wife is also not that happy if our water usage goes through the roof, so she is happy to compromise.) Or does it need something more substantial?

Section62

TMSG said:

We have a water supply with a big cold-water tank in the loft and hot-water storage in the airing cupboard, like many. Now my wife is thoroughly fed up with this gravity-fed system and wants a more powerful shower, like those she has had on the continent. I am fine with the thing as it is and worry more about the additional water usage... but hey, I also want domestic peace :-)

So... can I (or probably rather a plumber, given my two left thumbs) put in a simple pump with a sort of flow trigger next to the water outlet of the loft tank that gives some more pressure but not too much? (My wife is also not that happy if our water usage goes through the roof, so she is happy to compromise.) Or does it need something more substantial?

Something like this can be fitted in a suitable location (often an airing cupboard) to boost both the hot and cold water supply to the shower.
https://www.toolstation.com/bathrooms/shower-pumps/c327

They have a built-in flow sensor which starts the pump as soon as it detects water flow in the pipe when the shower is turned on.

Exactly which kind of pump you need (and where it needs to go) will depend on the current plumbing arrangements.

Find a local plumber and ask them to advise and quote.

(you can also obtain water meters to attach to the pipes feeding the shower.    )

BUFF

https://www.salamanderpumps.co.uk/pump-selector.php

High pressure doesn't necessarily mean high water usage with careful selection of shower head.

Belenus

BUFF said:

https://www.salamanderpumps.co.uk/pump-selector.php

High pressure doesn't necessarily mean high water usage with careful selection of shower head.

Yes, a shower varies according to Pressure and Flow. You can have high pressure but little flow if there are restrictions in the pipework or shower head. Conversely you can have low pressure but still get a decent shower if the flow rate is high.

TMSG, what does your wife mean by 'a more powerful shower'?

Does she want a much stronger jet of water or does she want a higher flow rate?

As far as I know, showers in the continent are usually mains pressure fed rather than the gravity systems that are common here so that probably explains the difference she has experienced.

Ten years ago was moved from a house with a gravity fed shower to a house that was mains fed. We had a shower pump installed in the previous house but certainly do not need one in the current house.

EssexExile

The pump goes in the airing cupboard so it can pump from the hot cylinder as well as the cold tank in the loft. They're great but quite noisy, even the supposedly silent ones.

If you don't want to use too much water, turn the shower down a bit!

TMSG

Thanks all for the answers. Looked into the links and looked into my airing cupboard... where there are two pipes next to each other for cold and hot water supply to showers... so this looks eminently doable. Not sure whether a single pump for the hot water would actually suffice as we use very little cold water in the shower.

As to the meaning of "continental" showers... I think for the wife it's not so much the pressure as such, more the flow and the feeling of a warm tropical rain shower (Malaysia is great for that sort of thing )

Bendy_House

Both the H&C are being supplied by the tank in the loft, so at the same pressure. You therefore need to pump both in order to maintain that equality.

nofoollikeold

1. Shower pumps require dedicated pipes from both cold water storage cistern (CWSC) (loft) and hot water cylinder (airing cupboard).  You can't just use existing pipes unless they are already fitted in accordance with the shower pump manufacturer's instructions and serve only the shower(s)
2. As above, you need to pump hot and cold to equalise pressure.
3. You need to check the distance from the base of the CWSC to the shower outlet (spray head).  It needs to be a certain minimum, dependent on manufacturer, to get enough flow going to start the pump.  If you haven't got it you may need a negative head pump.
4. If you can, fit a Stuart Turner Monsoon brass bodied pump.  They last well (mine's 34 years old) and you can get spares for them.  Salamander are also a well respected name, but I've no experience of their products.  

ispookie666

+1 for Stuart Turner monsoon - have a 3bar pump and is a lot quieter than salamander or Grundfos.