Silver Saints cover a massive range of plumbing jobs. One of our more specialist jobs is the repairing of faulty thermostatic showers and electric showers.
In fact we have repaired and fitted hundreds of showers. We recently had two showers at separate properties within a week which proved to have the same unique fault. Both showers appeared to only be getting hot water. On the lowest temperature setting no water would flow at all. We originally thought that there must be an airlock in the cold supply as both showers were been supplied by a tank in the loft. But after a bit of investigation we found that the non-return valves fitted to the cold supply within the shower valves had become stuck and were preventing the cold water from entering the shower valve.
The solution was to remove the non-return valves completely. As the cold water was tank fed there was no risk of contamination to mains water so these valves were not needed. Of-course if the cold was been fed by mains we would have replaced the faulty non-return valves.
On reflection we suspect that the problem with the non-return valves were caused because the cold water was tank fed while the hot supply was fed off a shower pump. Because the pump ran on for a few seconds after the shower flow was shut off, the hot water putting trying to flow into the cold supply, allot of pressure onto the non-return valve on the cold supply every time the shower was turned off. Eventually it just jammed closed.
In eight years of working with showers we have seen this exact problem only 3 times. So not exactly a common cause for failure, but an interesting problem none the less.
Showing posts with label Electric shower repairs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Electric shower repairs. Show all posts
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
Lessons from Electric Showers
Just one of the more specialist jobs Silver Saints undertakes is the repair and replacement of faulty electric showers. Many people have electric showers and when they fail they are not sure whether they should call an electrician or a plumber. (In fact most plumbing firms themselves will tell you to call an electrician). But since all our London handymen are experts in both plumbing and electrical repairs, fixing electric showers is right up our street.
Recently however all our knowledge and skills have been put to the test by a customer who had a 25 year old electric shower which had completely died. On inspection we found that it had developed an internal leak which had shorted out a number of electrical components. Given the age of the shower it was definitely time for an upgrade.
The handyman checked the electrical set up and decided that a 9.5kW or 10.5KW shower would be most suitable. Our normal procedure is to order a replacement shower from our own suppliers and return on another day to fit it. However the customer was desperate to get a working shower installed that day and asked if he would just go down to the closest Homebase and buy the cheapest suitable shower they had. The handyman agreed and set off.
On his return from Homebase our handyman fitted the replacement shower, a Triton Opal II 10.5KW shower. He commissioned it and tested it. All appeared to be working perfectly.
The following morning we received an email from the customer to say that the new shower was not working properly. It was not maintaining a steady temperature and was cycling between scolding hot and freezing cold. We were a bit flummoxed as we have never had a new shower we had fitted malfunction before. We immediately assumed that the unit must be faulty. After a number of conversations with Tritons own technical team we managed to narrow the possible fault down to two options. Either a filter within the shower was blocked or the water inlet pressure was high enough for the shower to operate correctly.
As the customer lived on the top floor of a very large block of flats we suspected that it was indeed a problem with the water pressure in her flat. As we had fitted the shower in the afternoon, not many people were probably using the buildings water, which was mains and not coming from a communal storage tank, so when we tested it we were getting enough flow and pressure for it to operate correctly. However when the customer had a shower that evening, most of the other occupants of the building were home from work and her pressure and flow were reduced below the required operating pressure as others drew off water.
A bit of further investigation revealed that the minimum operating pressure for a Triton Opal II 10.5 kw shower was 1.5 BAR. However other brands and more expensive models can operate on a minimum pressure of less than half of this, 0.6 BAR. We therefore returned to the property the following day armed with a Mira Sport 9.8KW shower, a more expensive model which could operate at a much lower inlet pressure.
We fitted the replacement shower and tested it, the customer has been using it for two weeks now and reports that it works perfectly.
The two lessons we learnt on this job were:
1.) Always check that the inlet water pressure before specifying a shower
2.) Buy cheap buy twice!
Recently however all our knowledge and skills have been put to the test by a customer who had a 25 year old electric shower which had completely died. On inspection we found that it had developed an internal leak which had shorted out a number of electrical components. Given the age of the shower it was definitely time for an upgrade.
The handyman checked the electrical set up and decided that a 9.5kW or 10.5KW shower would be most suitable. Our normal procedure is to order a replacement shower from our own suppliers and return on another day to fit it. However the customer was desperate to get a working shower installed that day and asked if he would just go down to the closest Homebase and buy the cheapest suitable shower they had. The handyman agreed and set off.
On his return from Homebase our handyman fitted the replacement shower, a Triton Opal II 10.5KW shower. He commissioned it and tested it. All appeared to be working perfectly.
The following morning we received an email from the customer to say that the new shower was not working properly. It was not maintaining a steady temperature and was cycling between scolding hot and freezing cold. We were a bit flummoxed as we have never had a new shower we had fitted malfunction before. We immediately assumed that the unit must be faulty. After a number of conversations with Tritons own technical team we managed to narrow the possible fault down to two options. Either a filter within the shower was blocked or the water inlet pressure was high enough for the shower to operate correctly.
As the customer lived on the top floor of a very large block of flats we suspected that it was indeed a problem with the water pressure in her flat. As we had fitted the shower in the afternoon, not many people were probably using the buildings water, which was mains and not coming from a communal storage tank, so when we tested it we were getting enough flow and pressure for it to operate correctly. However when the customer had a shower that evening, most of the other occupants of the building were home from work and her pressure and flow were reduced below the required operating pressure as others drew off water.
A bit of further investigation revealed that the minimum operating pressure for a Triton Opal II 10.5 kw shower was 1.5 BAR. However other brands and more expensive models can operate on a minimum pressure of less than half of this, 0.6 BAR. We therefore returned to the property the following day armed with a Mira Sport 9.8KW shower, a more expensive model which could operate at a much lower inlet pressure.
We fitted the replacement shower and tested it, the customer has been using it for two weeks now and reports that it works perfectly.
The two lessons we learnt on this job were:
1.) Always check that the inlet water pressure before specifying a shower
2.) Buy cheap buy twice!
Saturday, 1 November 2008
Electric Shower Repairs
Electric Shower Repairs - London
Repairs to Triton, New Team, Mira, Redring, MX, Aqualisa, Gainsborough, Heatrae Sadia ... pretty much all electric showers.
Has your electric shower stopped working?
Silver Saints can get your electric shower working again. We carry out repairs to all makes and models of electric showers.
We offer a fixed labour price of £80+VAT to get you showering again.
How our service works
1.) Give us a call or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk letting us know the manufacturer, model and symptoms of your electric shower fault. We can help you to identify the model if you email us a photo of your electric shower
2.) Based on the symptoms you describe we will be able to diagnose the most likely fault and we’ll schedule an appointment for repair.
3.) On arrival we will run diagnostic tests on your electric shower. These tests will reveal the actual fault with the shower and we will undertake the repair. It is sometimes necessary for us to order in replacement parts for the shower. This will mean we will have to return for a follow up visit in order to fit the new parts. This does not affect the labour price, we charge £80+VAT whether the repair is carried out in one or two visits.
4.) It is important to note that all parts we supply for your shower are in addition to the £80+VAT fixed labour price.
London Handyman : London Handyman Service : Handyman London : Home Maintenance
Repairs to Triton, New Team, Mira, Redring, MX, Aqualisa, Gainsborough, Heatrae Sadia ... pretty much all electric showers.
Has your electric shower stopped working?
Silver Saints can get your electric shower working again. We carry out repairs to all makes and models of electric showers.
We offer a fixed labour price of £80+VAT to get you showering again.
How our service works
1.) Give us a call or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk letting us know the manufacturer, model and symptoms of your electric shower fault. We can help you to identify the model if you email us a photo of your electric shower
2.) Based on the symptoms you describe we will be able to diagnose the most likely fault and we’ll schedule an appointment for repair.
3.) On arrival we will run diagnostic tests on your electric shower. These tests will reveal the actual fault with the shower and we will undertake the repair. It is sometimes necessary for us to order in replacement parts for the shower. This will mean we will have to return for a follow up visit in order to fit the new parts. This does not affect the labour price, we charge £80+VAT whether the repair is carried out in one or two visits.
4.) It is important to note that all parts we supply for your shower are in addition to the £80+VAT fixed labour price.
London Handyman : London Handyman Service : Handyman London : Home Maintenance
Tuesday, 21 October 2008
Electric Shower Repairs
We've had another flurry of electric shower repair jobs last week. It must have been something in the water, but they all seemed to be Triton electric showers and they all had solenoids which had failed.
Out of the eight electric showers we repaired last week, six were Triton showers, one was a New Team electric shower and one was a Mira electric shower. All six of the Triton showers needed replacement solenoids and three of them had internal leaks as well. It is quite often the case that the solenoid fails because water has been dripping onto it from a leaking joint somewhere else within the electric shower. As soon as we have replaced the solenoid and fired up the shower again the leak becomes evident. It is then just a case of repairing the leaking joints.
In the case of the Mira electric shower it was the PCB that had failed. The cost of which was almost the cost of a new shower. We gave the customer the option of just replacing the electric shower all together but he opted to go for the repair. In the end we had to take out almost every component to get the replacement PCB connected.
However with the New Team shower, the customer needed it repaired in a hurry as he had guests staying with him for the weekend. The quickest way to guarantee he would have a working shower was just to fit a like for like replacement electric shower. This only took 45 minutes in the end and the customer was very grateful even.
In fact it is often the case with things like electric showers and taps that the labour cost to repair them sometimes out weighs the replacement cost. Allot of electricians and plumbers therefore will only ever recommend replacing things. It's not that they are trying to rip customers off, they just think it is the most economical solution, because they can be sure at the end of their visit the customer will be left with a working shower that should last a few years before it needs any attention.
Out of the eight electric showers we repaired last week, six were Triton showers, one was a New Team electric shower and one was a Mira electric shower. All six of the Triton showers needed replacement solenoids and three of them had internal leaks as well. It is quite often the case that the solenoid fails because water has been dripping onto it from a leaking joint somewhere else within the electric shower. As soon as we have replaced the solenoid and fired up the shower again the leak becomes evident. It is then just a case of repairing the leaking joints.
In the case of the Mira electric shower it was the PCB that had failed. The cost of which was almost the cost of a new shower. We gave the customer the option of just replacing the electric shower all together but he opted to go for the repair. In the end we had to take out almost every component to get the replacement PCB connected.
However with the New Team shower, the customer needed it repaired in a hurry as he had guests staying with him for the weekend. The quickest way to guarantee he would have a working shower was just to fit a like for like replacement electric shower. This only took 45 minutes in the end and the customer was very grateful even.
In fact it is often the case with things like electric showers and taps that the labour cost to repair them sometimes out weighs the replacement cost. Allot of electricians and plumbers therefore will only ever recommend replacing things. It's not that they are trying to rip customers off, they just think it is the most economical solution, because they can be sure at the end of their visit the customer will be left with a working shower that should last a few years before it needs any attention.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Electric Shower Repairs
The steady stream of shower repairs has continued this week. Mostly it seems to be electric showers that are developing faults.
We often find that the fault in an electric shower is a solenoid that has failed. But recently we've discovered that a failed solenoid is a symptom of another fault. In two cases last week we replaced faulty solenoid valves on electric showers to discover that the original solenoid had actually failed because a leak had developed within the shower.
Given the cost of the replacement parts for electric showers compared the actual cost of the shower, it is often more economical to replace the shower with a similar unit. Often these days it's the labour cost that is the deciding factor between repair of replacement. A like for like shower replacement can normally be done in 60 minutes. Whereas fault finding, ordering parts and fitting them does often take allot longer than this.
If you have a shower that needs repairs, don't hesitate to contact us on 0207 0999 199 or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk
We often find that the fault in an electric shower is a solenoid that has failed. But recently we've discovered that a failed solenoid is a symptom of another fault. In two cases last week we replaced faulty solenoid valves on electric showers to discover that the original solenoid had actually failed because a leak had developed within the shower.
Given the cost of the replacement parts for electric showers compared the actual cost of the shower, it is often more economical to replace the shower with a similar unit. Often these days it's the labour cost that is the deciding factor between repair of replacement. A like for like shower replacement can normally be done in 60 minutes. Whereas fault finding, ordering parts and fitting them does often take allot longer than this.
If you have a shower that needs repairs, don't hesitate to contact us on 0207 0999 199 or send an email to fixit@silversaints.co.uk
Monday, 15 September 2008
Shower Repairs - London
I've had a theory for some time now that shower faults occur in batches. This is reflected in the fact that we will not have a shower repair job for weeks and then all of a sudden we'll get 6 faulty shower repairs in one week.
This week has been one of those weeks.
Yesterday we had a successfully completed the installation of a replacement thermostatic shower valve.
On Monday one of or handymen repaired an exotic shower divertor which two specialist plumbers had failed to repair.
On Tuesday we replaced an electric shower, replaced parts in another and did two estimates to supply and fit shower pumps to cure low pressure problems.
Our operations department have become experts at identifying shower valves and sourcing replacement parts for even the rarest of showers.
There aren't many shower faults that silver saints cannot solve.
This week has been one of those weeks.
Yesterday we had a successfully completed the installation of a replacement thermostatic shower valve.
On Monday one of or handymen repaired an exotic shower divertor which two specialist plumbers had failed to repair.
On Tuesday we replaced an electric shower, replaced parts in another and did two estimates to supply and fit shower pumps to cure low pressure problems.
Our operations department have become experts at identifying shower valves and sourcing replacement parts for even the rarest of showers.
There aren't many shower faults that silver saints cannot solve.
Monday, 16 June 2008
Upgrading Electric Showers
Many Londoners have a love hate relationship with electric showers. Landlords and property developers love them, because the allow an additional shower at relatively low cost. While tenants hate them, because of their mediocre performance (especially in Winter).
Electric showers are fed cold water directly from the mains. The shower then 'instantaneously' heats the the incoming water to the desired temperature set by the user. In fact what is happening is the shower slows the flow of water down to give it enough time to heat the cold water. That is why in winter, when the incoming mains water is very cold, all you get is a trickle from the shower head.
The more powerful the rating of the shower (7.5Kw, 8.5 Kw, 9.5Kw or 10.5 Kw) the quicker it can heat up the water and the less it has to slow the flow down.
A lot of people have picked up on this fact and have opted to upgrade their poorly performing 7.5KW showers with a more powerful 10.5KW shower. Unfortunately, DIYers don't always understand the electrical implications of changing the rating of an electrical appliance to the rest of their wiring and protective devices (fuses, miniature circuit breakers). Simply, the amount of current that a cable can carry without overheating is limited mainly by the cross sectional area of the cable. Fuses and MCB are in place to protect the cable from overheating and therefore are rated to blow or trip before the electrical current gets to the cables failure current.
A 7,5 KW shower will draw a maximum current of 30Amps - 32 Amps. An installer would thus get away with a using a 32amp MCB and a 6 mm2 cable. A 10.5Kw shower would draw a maximum of 40-43 Amps and therefore would require a cable thickness of at least 10 mm2 which should be protected by a 45amp MCB. So if a person wishes to install a 10.5KW shower in place of a 7.5KW shower they should be confident that the electrical supply is capable of coping with such a change.
With a bit of domestic electrical knowledge and plumbing knowledge, upgrading an electric shower is a straight forward job. But without knowing what one is doing it can lead to a dangerous situation, mainly a fire risk.
So my advice is if you are adamant on doing the work yourself, get a competent person to check your electrics for you. Otherwise hire a professional handyman to do the whole install for you.
Electric showers are fed cold water directly from the mains. The shower then 'instantaneously' heats the the incoming water to the desired temperature set by the user. In fact what is happening is the shower slows the flow of water down to give it enough time to heat the cold water. That is why in winter, when the incoming mains water is very cold, all you get is a trickle from the shower head.
The more powerful the rating of the shower (7.5Kw, 8.5 Kw, 9.5Kw or 10.5 Kw) the quicker it can heat up the water and the less it has to slow the flow down.
A lot of people have picked up on this fact and have opted to upgrade their poorly performing 7.5KW showers with a more powerful 10.5KW shower. Unfortunately, DIYers don't always understand the electrical implications of changing the rating of an electrical appliance to the rest of their wiring and protective devices (fuses, miniature circuit breakers). Simply, the amount of current that a cable can carry without overheating is limited mainly by the cross sectional area of the cable. Fuses and MCB are in place to protect the cable from overheating and therefore are rated to blow or trip before the electrical current gets to the cables failure current.
A 7,5 KW shower will draw a maximum current of 30Amps - 32 Amps. An installer would thus get away with a using a 32amp MCB and a 6 mm2 cable. A 10.5Kw shower would draw a maximum of 40-43 Amps and therefore would require a cable thickness of at least 10 mm2 which should be protected by a 45amp MCB. So if a person wishes to install a 10.5KW shower in place of a 7.5KW shower they should be confident that the electrical supply is capable of coping with such a change.
With a bit of domestic electrical knowledge and plumbing knowledge, upgrading an electric shower is a straight forward job. But without knowing what one is doing it can lead to a dangerous situation, mainly a fire risk.
So my advice is if you are adamant on doing the work yourself, get a competent person to check your electrics for you. Otherwise hire a professional handyman to do the whole install for you.
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