Shower not operating

R

robbie mcpaul

New Member
Hi, I'm looking for some advice on a plumbed shower not working in our main bathroom. When we turn the shower on in the ensuite bathroom which is near the main bathroom then the shower does work. The former owner mentioned, when we asked about it, that there is an air lock and by running the other shower first enables the main bathroom shower to work.

Is there an easy DIY way for me to resolve this to get the main bathroom shower working without having to operate the other one first?

Thanks in advance
Robbie
 
Thanks terrymac, please see attached pictures. The main shower is not working. The grundfos pump/tank is next door to this shower. The ensuite shower that does work is across the hall from the tank/pump cupboard. I'm assuming this pump works for all our hotwater and heating. It has two valves - one for each.
 

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The pump in your pic is a circulator for radiators and hot water cylinder. It's not a pump for increasing shower water pressure.
If you take the showerhead with flexible hose off the riser rail ,and lower it towards the floor ,does the shower turn on ( without the en suite shower having to be turned on ).
 
Sorry i've failed to mention we have two tanks as the house had been extended. Might this be the pump on the floor of the other cupboard? i've included some pics.
 

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Yes ,that's a shower pump.
Does no water flow whatsoever from main shower valve ,or does some water flow ,but not very much ( not enough to trigger the pump)?
 
My guess would be that there is not enough flow from the shower to trigger the pump - could be due to length of run, diameter of pipe, minor constriction &c. Does teh pump power BOTH showers?

Assuming it does, that pump may not trigger on low flow rates and the solution may be to go to a 3-bar Monsoon Universal which triggers on loss of pressure rather than flow.


At 20 years old - that pump does show the quality of Stuart Turner.
 
Sounds like there is not enough pressure to open the showers non return valves ,or there is an air lock issue.
Where is the main shower located , in terms of vertical height distance,in relation to the cold water storage cistern (CWC )that feeds the hot water cylinder that the shower pump is connected to.?
For instance,is the CWC in a loft above the main shower ,or elsewhere ?
Even without the pump running there should be at least some water coming out under gravity pressure alone.
 
Thanks Flybynight - i don't seem to have any other pumps that i'm aware of so i'm guessing it serves both - is there any way to prove it? The shower that doesn't work is about 3 metres from this pump. The one that is working is about 12+ metres. Would that have an impact as it's so much closer?
 
thanks terrymac, i've drawn a rough diag (pic attached) and added some approx measurements. The CW tank is in the loft directly above tank 2 which has the shower pump on the floor. so the shower would be approx 2 metres lower and 4 metres to the right of the CW tank.
 

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It is the vertical distance ,from the bottom of the CWC to the shower head that determines the gravity pressure. The distance left to right doesn't matter.
For instance,if the shower head is 500mm below the ceiling ,and the CWC is sat above the ceiling by another 500mm ,there would be 1000mm ( one metre) vertical distance between them. If the CWC was two metres to the left ,there would still be the same vertical height difference. In this example there would be 0.1 bar of pressure. If there is 10 metres height difference there would be 1.0 bar pressure.
Comparing your two shower locations height ,relative to the CWC , are they at different floor levels for instance ?
 
Are you sure that the non working shower is coming off that pump and not on a separate one in the loft? Can you trace the pipework back to the pump shown for both showers?
 
hi dray i'll need to check the loft and confirm if there is perhaps another one there, i havent poked around up there so will confirm - but the shower does come on when the other shower is operated.
 
hi dray indeed there is a similar pump in the loft - see pics. This pump is above the shower with the issue. Is there a way for me to test if this is at fault - given the shower works when the other one is operated?
 

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First establish that you have the loft pump turned on and power is going to the pump, you might need to unplug and test the socket, the fuse and so forth to establish this.

If the pump is working ,check what happens at the loft pump when you turn the other one on, is it actually pumping or simply allowing the water to flow through from the other pump supply?
How is the pipework connected between the two pumps and work out how water flowing to one also comes out of the other? Could it even be double pumped ?
 
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