Our shower has stopped working: did switching our thermostat off while away affect it?

MothballsWallet

Le_Kirk said:

Not sure if this question has been asked; is there a pull cord to switch off the shower and if so, is there a red neon light showing when the cord is pulled.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.

Yes, we have a pull string switch on the bathroom ceiling and the red light does come on when the cord is pulled, it's the red neon light on the shower that's not switching on when we try to use it at night - could that be because there's not enough water coming into it so the heating element's kept off?

WIAWSNB

MothballsWallet said:

Le_Kirk said:

Not sure if this question has been asked; is there a pull cord to switch off the shower and if so, is there a red neon light showing when the cord is pulled.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.

Yes, we have a pull string switch on the bathroom ceiling and the red light does come on when the cord is pulled, it's the red neon light on the shower that's not switching on when we try to use it at night - could that be because there's not enough water coming into it so the heating element's kept off?

Could you post a clear pic of your shower, please, so we can determine what exact version it is? Thanks.

WIAWSNB

MothballsWallet said:

We'll definitely replacing the shower but we want to be sure that we won't see the same problem with the water flow from the new one because it's working fine in the day time, it's just we see a drop at night, and that's when my wife has her shower.

My wife has ran 2 other tests with filling a 1 litre jug today:

• 1:30 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 47 seconds
• 10:50 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 16 seconds

We'll try another test with our plastic basin in the kitchen again tonight  as it works best if both of us are doing it, we should be doing that after 11 pm.

1:30am test - shoorly not! 1 litre every 47 seconds is 1.3 litres per minute. That's a trickle. Can you confirm?

10:50am (10 to noon?) 3.75lpm - still utterly pitiful.

Could you stick with the previous method, please - run the kitchen cold tap full on for 10 seconds. The timing is not critical - a good half second either way is just not an issue.

grumpy_codger

MothballsWallet said:

Le_Kirk said:

Not sure if this question has been asked; is there a pull cord to switch off the shower and if so, is there a red neon light showing when the cord is pulled.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.

Yes, we have a pull string switch on the bathroom ceiling and the red light does come on when the cord is pulled, it's the red neon light on the shower that's not switching on when we try to use it at night - could that be because there's not enough water coming into it so the heating element's kept off?

https://argos-support.co.uk/instruction-manual/8508690-triton-t80-easi-fit-elec-shower-95kw.pdf
p.11
The neon light on the shower has to be permanently on if there is mains voltage supply (pull cord switch is on). 

If the light on the switch is on, but the light on the shower is permanently off, this means that either

• thermal cut-off was tripped or is faulty (it trips when the heating element overheats because of low flow rate or build-up of scale inside)

Or

• there is some fault between the switch and the shower.

FreeBear

MothballsWallet said:

Exodi said:

MothballsWallet said:

Okay, so we've now run a basic flow test as suggested by @WIAWSNB using a plastic washing up basin and jug:

• Day (4:40 pm): 3.5 litres in 10 seconds = 21 litres per minute
• Night (10:40 pm): 3.3 litres in 10 seconds = 19.8 litres per minute

One thing we can't rule out for the difference is that we were better coordinated on the night test than on the day test - we put the basin in the sink and my wife ran the cold tap while I ran the stopwatch.

I'm going to contact our water company (Severn Trent Water) and see if there's a pressure issue in our area: we asked one of our neighbours and they did have a pressure issue with their bathroom sink tap but not their shower from what they remember, but they're going to check for us and let us know.

We've got the video clips for day and night flow tests which I'll edit together and share via my YouTube account later - hopefully those can help answer many of the questions.

It appears you're doing anything and everything except replacing your 30 year old shower!

Your flow rates are impressive, I certainly wouldn't be wasting your own time, and the waterboards time launching an inquiry into why your flow rate decreased by ~5% one night. Either are over double what might be considered low pressure - many would envy these flow rates.

Get off the phone to Severn Trent Water, stop the uploads of your edited flow tests to YouTube and get the shower replaced 

We'll definitely replacing the shower but we want to be sure that we won't see the same problem with the water flow from the new one because it's working fine in the day time, it's just we see a drop at night, and that's when my wife has her shower.

My wife has ran 2 other tests with filling a 1 litre jug today:

• 1:30 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 47 seconds
• 10:50 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 16 seconds

We'll try another test with our plastic basin in the kitchen again tonight  as it works best if both of us are doing it, we should be doing that after 11 pm.

Be mindful that most kitchen taps, especially the monoblock variety, have very small bore pipes underneath and an aerator on the spout. Both will restrict the flow of water.

I get 10l/min out of a single full bore tap in the bathroom, but can only get 7l/min out of the mixer tap in the kitchen.

1l in 16 seconds equates to 3.75l/min, and 1l in 47 seconds, 1.28l/min - Well short of the ~20l you said you were getting yesterday.

MothballsWallet

WIAWSNB said:

MothballsWallet said:

We'll definitely replacing the shower but we want to be sure that we won't see the same problem with the water flow from the new one because it's working fine in the day time, it's just we see a drop at night, and that's when my wife has her shower.

My wife has ran 2 other tests with filling a 1 litre jug today:

• 1:30 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 47 seconds
• 10:50 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 16 seconds

We'll try another test with our plastic basin in the kitchen again tonight  as it works best if both of us are doing it, we should be doing that after 11 pm.

1:30am test - shoorly not! 1 litre every 47 seconds is 1.3 litres per minute. That's a trickle. Can you confirm?

10:50am (10 to noon?) 3.75lpm - still utterly pitiful.

Could you stick with the previous method, please - run the kitchen cold tap full on for 10 seconds. The timing is not critical - a good half second either way is just not an issue.

My wife has now run additional flow tests using the kitchen cold water tap on full with an empty 6 pint milk container that she filled to the top each time:

• 12:05 pm - 8 seconds
• 11:50 pm - 13 seconds
• 01:00 am - 14 seconds

She repeated each of these tests 3 times and these timings stayed consistent on each try. I think the 6 pint containers are about 3.408 litres to the top marker line, but she filled it right to the top, which is maybe another 500 ml (I think), so nearly 4 litres in total?

Also, the 1 litre in 47 seconds at 01:30 am and 1 litre in 16 seconds at 10:50 am tests were done with the shower itself and not the kitchen tap.

I asked on the Hive forum about whether what I did would affect the shower and someone there suggested that there may be extra debris inside the shower unit and the filter's not handling it properly?

We're moving back towards replacing the shower - my wife doesn't want us to spend the money to replace the shower if we're still going to have the same problem with the water flow/pressure (I think I've just managed to convince her that the Hive only turns the boiler on and off to heat the house or hot water, so turning its schedules off while we were away shouldn't have done this).

Exodi

Please can you confirm whether the shower is hot during the day, or if it is always running cold.

MothballsWallet

WIAWSNB said:

MothballsWallet said:

Le_Kirk said:

Not sure if this question has been asked; is there a pull cord to switch off the shower and if so, is there a red neon light showing when the cord is pulled.  Sometimes the simplest solutions are best.

Yes, we have a pull string switch on the bathroom ceiling and the red light does come on when the cord is pulled, it's the red neon light on the shower that's not switching on when we try to use it at night - could that be because there's not enough water coming into it so the heating element's kept off?

Could you post a clear pic of your shower, please, so we can determine what exact version it is? Thanks.

This might be better - I'd already recorded a short (1 minute 36 second) video clip showing the shower unit and I've uploaded it to my YouTube channel as an unlisted video: https://youtube.com/shorts/vN_DUZ3FLbY?feature=share

FreeBear

MothballsWallet said: Also, the 1 litre in 47 seconds at 01:30 am and 1 litre in 16 seconds at 10:50 am tests were done with the shower itself and not the kitchen tap.

I asked on the Hive forum about whether what I did would affect the shower and someone there suggested that there may be extra debris inside the shower unit and the filter's not handling it properly?

The shower head could be restricting flow, especially if you are in a hard water area and there is a build up of scale. Some heads can be dismantled to allow for a thorough clean.

Most (all ?) showers will have a gauze filter on the inlet - It is possible that this is partially blocked. The manual will tell you how to get to the filter - But do make sure that both the water AND electricity is turned off first.

There should be an isolator valve in the pipe feeding the shower - Worth checking that it is fully open.

If you are in a hard water area, there is a possibility that the heating canister inside the shower is clogged up with scale. If you like really hot showers, this would cause scale to be deposited at a higher rate.

WIAWSNB

MothballsWallet said:

WIAWSNB said:

MothballsWallet said:

We'll definitely replacing the shower but we want to be sure that we won't see the same problem with the water flow from the new one because it's working fine in the day time, it's just we see a drop at night, and that's when my wife has her shower.

My wife has ran 2 other tests with filling a 1 litre jug today:

• 1:30 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 47 seconds
• 10:50 am test: the 1 litre jug was filled in 16 seconds

We'll try another test with our plastic basin in the kitchen again tonight  as it works best if both of us are doing it, we should be doing that after 11 pm.

1:30am test - shoorly not! 1 litre every 47 seconds is 1.3 litres per minute. That's a trickle. Can you confirm?

10:50am (10 to noon?) 3.75lpm - still utterly pitiful.

Could you stick with the previous method, please - run the kitchen cold tap full on for 10 seconds. The timing is not critical - a good half second either way is just not an issue.

My wife has now run additional flow tests using the kitchen cold water tap on full with an empty 6 pint milk container that she filled to the top each time:

• 12:05 pm - 8 seconds
• 11:50 pm - 13 seconds
• 01:00 am - 14 seconds

She repeated each of these tests 3 times and these timings stayed consistent on each try. I think the 6 pint containers are about 3.408 litres to the top marker line, but she filled it right to the top, which is maybe another 500 ml (I think), so nearly 4 litres in total?

Also, the 1 litre in 47 seconds at 01:30 am and 1 litre in 16 seconds at 10:50 am tests were done with the shower itself and not the kitchen tap.

I asked on the Hive forum about whether what I did would affect the shower and someone there suggested that there may be extra debris inside the shower unit and the filter's not handling it properly?

We're moving back towards replacing the shower - my wife doesn't want us to spend the money to replace the shower if we're still going to have the same problem with the water flow/pressure (I think I've just managed to convince her that the Hive only turns the boiler on and off to heat the house or hot water, so turning its schedules off while we were away shouldn't have done this).

I'm still confused. Could you and your wife repeat this once more using bushels per momenta? Thanks.