Power Shower just died

[colintdi]

I've got a showerforce turbo power shower unit which has just givin up. Some times it would play up by going from hot to cold and when you turned off any hot water tap in the house you could hear the unit start for a few seconds. Then tonight when i went to get a shower the was no power the unit wasn't working

Don't really know a lot about the system but just wondering if anyone had any advise,

should i have a look at the power shower unit (strip it and see if anything is broke?)
Ring a plumber (any numbers for north down area)
Just replace the unit?​

 

[ALPINE]

what a random thread on a car forum! lol

 

[colintdi]

Yeah well it is in the general chat forum and mybe there's some plumbers/DIYers could help a fellow audi owner

 

[Nilz]

Might be worth doing a google search on the make/model of the unit and see if there are any known issues with it or if anyone knows of a fix for it.

 

[jojo]

Sounds like it's broke mate, I'd invest in a new one to save a headache. Quite simple to replace like for like if you are confident with holding a spanner and screwdriver.

 

[consilio]

I picked up a 3.5 bar pump off ebay for about £70 a few years ago so they are not expensive to replace and pretty easy to do yourself. I have this one hooked it up to the shower in the main bathroom and the shower in the en-suite, and it is powerful enough to drive both at the same time if needed. You can get 1.5 bar pumps for less

Do you get any flow of water at all? Sometimes the flow sensors play up and there isn't enough flow to trigger the unit to turn on.

 

[sidibear]

If there is no power check the fuse.
If its had the intermittant problem for sometime then I would hazard a guess at the impeller has seized and shorted out the motor. Power shower pumps need a good water flow to help lube the impeller, none or low flow can give it harder time that it is designed for.
Basically the pump works by detecting no water pressure, so starts up to increase the pressure. When you close off the tap it presurizes the system and the pump shuts off, open the tap and the pressure is released so the pump starts.
I would say to get it checked out by a professional if you are at all uncertain, water and electrics don't mix well together.

I don't know any plumbers your way unfortunately, but anyone in the Midlands needs a plumber give me a shout, I know a fantastic, reliable, excellent and cheap (works for cash) plumber.

 

[sidibear]

Here is a quick one to try, remove the shower head and try it again.
When you get a lime build up it blocks the jets, this can cause pressure to remain in the system and so the pump doesn't turn on.
If removing the shower head works, clean the jets out, put it back together and try it again.

 

[colintdi]

Thanks for the advise, when i finsihed work i started looking at it and changed the fuse it worked. A few hours later i got a shower(still working) turned it off for a few minutes and back on but this time with no power!

Tryed a few fuses didn't seem to work again and it's not blowing the fuses! Could it be a losse wire?? Need to look at it agian tomo!

Jojo, You mabe be right just replace it, not worth it getting a plumber to look at it by the time he does i could have got a new one

consilie, seen a few on ebay and new and yes i'm getting flow out of the head but very poor

Sidibear, impeller shorted motor would that mean new pump or could i replace these or is it even worth it?

seen same pump on ebay 2nd hand starts at £30, new £70 buy it now or a few other plumbing supplies for about £100 not really worth getting it looked at by anyone else

 

[jonny87]

when we moved into our new house the shower was playing up no end, cutting out mid wash and smoking and smelt funny

im no expert and have no idea if this is how your shower works etc but i had a quick butchers and found the bushes for the electrical contact were fubar'b spent days looking for replacements to no avail, ended buying ones which i knew were too big and cutting them down to size, never put a foot wrong since

couple of screws to whip the cover off the unit see if you can see anything obvious, but be careful, as previously said water and electricity dont mix too well lol

 

[NHN]

Open her up & check if has any any microswitches, if so, check these if circuits arent working, as these over time can fail, ideally you need an electrical screwdriver tester, so you can switch things on to check circuits are switching ok inside shower, of course be very ****** careful as you're fully aware water & electricity dont bode well huh lmfao.

 

[sidibear]

@Colin, yes, it would mean a new pump. Not worth it to buy a second hand one, you could end up in the same position, buy new.

 

[colintdi]

Think where heading out in the morning to get new pump, just one last thing to check in morning before i buy new pump, it's getting power and water so just think the pumps gone, that for the advice and helpful idea's. I thought it would be this but didn't really want to spend a lot with the house up for sale

 

[sidibear]

Like I said earlier, if the impeller has sisezed the pum will still try and turn it, and in doing so demands more power, hence the fuse blows.
Without seeing it that's my best guess based on the info you have provided.

Salmander pumps are really really good with great after service.:icon_thumright:

 

[colintdi]

thanks sidibear, but it doesn't seem to be blowing fuses don't really know why it worked for a while once i changed the fuse. I bypassed the power to it to make sure it wasn't an electrical fault and still didn't work. Think the pumps fecked, going to get a new pump, to be honest don'e really care what pump it is as house is up for still and just don't what to spend a lot on it. I'll let yous know if the new pump fixes it

 

[colintdi]

ok got new pump and fitted today, when you turn the shower on it only seems to start pumping when the mixer tap is right round at cold and then fine straight after that. doesn't seem to start pump when mixer tap is at hot? is this normal?

 

[sidibear]

It might be a kinda safety thing so if you are under it and turn it on you don't get scalded.
It could also be that you have negative head pressure. Set it to hot and lower the shower head and see if it comes on.

 

[colintdi]

Cheers sidibear think it is negative head pressure! the lowering of the shower head worked! Will it do the pump any harm if i just put it to cold turn on to get pump going each time? All i've done was swap the pump with the old one, could the last pump have a negative head switch build in?? What would be a quick fix to this? I've open up the value from the hot tank fully where as before it was just open full would this make any difference?? less flow more presser going to pump??

New baby due very soon and house up for sale so don't what to spend a lot of time on this or money. If it not going to do the pump any harm i'm happy to leave it.

 

[sidibear]

It wont do the pump any harm. All it is, is that the water tank is below the height of the shower head, lowering the shower head acts as a syphon to get the water flowing, after that, gravity and the pump take over.
A negative head pump has a smallish water tank fitted to it, about the size of a ball valve, you would notice it.

 

[colintdi]

Thanks alot for the quick replys and the advice sid. Don't really under stand it as the water tank is in the loft and the other pump worked fine. awell it works and that all i'm worred about

 

[sidibear]

Water tank is in the loft? Hmm, then I am confused as well. But hey, if it works it works.