Electric Shower Relplacement - Cold Water Tank in Loft Airing Cupboard

chelt_Robin

I am looking to replace my Mira Electric Shower as it has developed an intermittent fault.

I am in an older house so have a traditional central heating system with a hot water tank in the airing cupboard and cold water tank in the loft.

When I look at electric showers they all seem to say they will not work with this type of system, is this correct as I am confused as I have an electric shower?

Is there a particular type I should be looking for?

CliveOfIndia

If you're looking to replace the shower with another electric one then it shouldn't be a problem - it's basically a like-for-like swap.  Pretty easy to do yourself if you're reasonably competent at DIY.  Turn off the water and electricity at the mains, remove the old one, fit the new one, connect it up and off you go.

You may find you need to tweak the routing of the incoming water feed slightly, depending on the layout of the new one compared to the old one, but that's usually not too difficult.

More importantly, check the power rating of the existing and the new shower.  If the new one is the same (or lower) power rating then no problem.  If the new one is a higher rating, it's probably worth asking an electrician to advise whether the existing cable (and circuit breaker) is correctly rated for the new one.

Electric showers take in a cold water feed only (not hot water), and they're usually plumbed directly into the mains (rather than drawing off a tank in the loft).  Given that the existing shower has worked OK up until now, I'd be inclined to think it was being fed from a mains pipe anyway, so you should be OK to go ahead and swap it.  Even if it's being fed from the storage tank, if it's worked OK then that would suggest it's getting sufficient pressure.  Actually, you can easily check this - run the shower, get someone to have a look in the loft as you're doing so, is the storage tank level dropping and being refilled as the float valve drops?

Obviously, consult a professional if you're in any doubt!  As I say, things like this are reasonably straightforward, but it's not worth risking if you're not sure.  It's a simple job for a professional (assuming a straight like-for-like swap), so shouldn't cost an awful lot.

ThisIsWeird

Hi Robin.
Some clarification, please; when you say 'electric', do you mean an 'instant' heat electric shower, or a 'pumped' one? In short, when you turn it on, does it make a noise?
If what you have is really an instant electric shower, then I suspect it's supplied from the cold mains, and not the tank in the loft. 
Photo of shower unit, please?

chelt_Robin

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Robin.
Some clarification, please; when you say 'electric', do you mean an 'instant' heat electric shower, or a 'pumped' one? In short, when you turn it on, does it make a noise?
If what you have is really an instant electric shower, then I suspect it's supplied from the cold mains, and not the tank in the loft. 
Photo of shower unit, please?

Thanks it is an 

MIRA Elate Plus 9.8 KW Electric Shower 

Ectophile

If you trace back the plumbing, you will most likely find that it has been teed off the mains cold water pipe that goes to the tank.  So it will be running at mains water pressure.

grumbler

chelt_Robin said:

I am in an older house so have a traditional central heating system with a hot water tank in the airing cupboard and cold water tank in the loft.

When I look at electric showers they all seem to say they will not work with this type of system, is this correct as I am confused as I have an electric shower?

chelt_Robin said:

ThisIsWeird said:

Hi Robin.
Some clarification, please; when you say 'electric', do you mean an 'instant' heat electric shower, or a 'pumped' one? In short, when you turn it on, does it make a noise?
If what you have is really an instant electric shower, then I suspect it's supplied from the cold mains, and not the tank in the loft. 
Photo of shower unit, please?

Thanks it is an 

MIRA Elate Plus 9.8 KW Electric Shower 

Your shower is connected to mains water, not to the tank.

 I don't see exactly the same shower available, but it can be replaced with pretty much any electric shower with the same or smaller power, although some small alterations may be needed for the pipe connection.

ThisIsWeird

Ok, it's an electric instant shower, so as said by Ecto and Grumb, almost certainly coming from the cold rising mains.

You can demonstrate this easily by turning off your incoming mains stopcock - the shower will not work.

For its replacement, look for a model that has the pipe and cable supply in similar locations. I'd start by asking Mira if they do a new model that's a near straight swap.

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said: I'd start by asking Mira if they do a new model that's a near straight swap.

Looks like the Mira Sport is the current replacement. Not particularly cheap though....

I replaced my old shower with a Triton T80 Thermostatic - Nice little shower for the price, and wouldn't be without the thermostatic control.

ThisIsWeird

Do you know if the Sport is a similar layout, FB? If the plumbing needs to be rerouted, it could cost a fair bit more, as well as potentially needing more tiles to be cut. So I'd still ask Mira if there's a near-swap.
Failing finding one that is, I understand some models - by Triton? - have optional back-boxes that can be used to cover surface rerouting, but they'll add physical bulk to the unit.

FreeBear

ThisIsWeird said:

Do you know if the Sport is a similar layout, FB? If the plumbing needs to be rerouted, it could cost a fair bit more, as well as potentially needing more tiles to be cut. So I'd still ask Mira if there's a near-swap.

Absolutely no idea if the Sport is a direct replacement (and that is FreeBear if you don't mind).

Either compare the installation documents for both the Sport and the Elate, or as you suggest, ask Mira.

ThisIsWeird

Thanks FreeBaer.

(Grabs coat...)

Sorry sorry sorry - I don't want to fall out with you. I shall use FreeBear in future.

TwW