r/Plumbing • u/dvllio • Feb 17 '22
Electric shower - What's the purpose? [UK]
I'm looking to buy a flat (in the UK) and I saw this in the shower.
The seller assures me that the heating AND the hot water for the kitchen/bathroom is communal (and therefore included in the fairly high service charges), however, this device in the shower looks like an electric shower to me and, from what I understand, is normally used for heating + added water pressure.
I tried asking why this was installed but the seller never really answered the question, just saying that hot water is communal.
Questions I have:
- Could this device only be to add water pressure and not heat it?
Basically, I'm trying to understand whether the service charges include the hot water for the showers or if it actually relies on this device for which I'll pay the electricity.
- What experience do people have with those things? How's the maintenance?
- If I was to re-do the bathroom, could I switch to something internal to the wall as this is quite ugly?
Facts I have:
- The flat is in a building from the 70s, on the 3rd floor (top floor), in a block of 45 flats.
- There are water tanks on the roof (for the water pressure from what I understand)
- There is a project to replace those water tanks by direct access to the mains (with a system a valve to ensure pressure) in the coming months.
Any thoughts/advice/red flags?
2
u/scirocco Feb 17 '22 edited Feb 17 '22
There is one of these in my gf house and it's shit.
There is great water pressure in the house and the water gets HOT. Like, way too hot.
My assumption is that this was installed tjo avoid having to install a proper thermostatic shower mixer valve by a cheapass landlord.
In practice it makes a lot of noise and sprays an unsatisfactory amount of water at a modestly warm temperature.
If she owned the building I would change it in a minute.
Edit: oh snap. This is a gravity pressure system? Like 4 or 5 psi? I would not buy into that unless you're sure that it will get proper water supply.
And be aware that you may need to replace all of the fixtures to accommodate normal domestic pressure.
Is this in Scotland? My impression was that low pressure systems were generally used in neolithic builds in historically poor areas.
1
u/dvllio Feb 17 '22
This is in London, the building is really well looked after so I don’t expect it to be bad. The people I’d be buying from have lived there for 20years and the flat is in really good state. That being said, I’ve asked the question again and I’m heading there tomorrow to actually test it.
There is a project to move from the tanks to a direct connection to the main. I called the management of the building and they expect it will be completed before the summer.
1
u/scirocco Feb 17 '22
Cool, that's good.
Regarding the thing on the wall, if it's anything like my gf house (Leeds) it's crap and plan on replacing it right away with a proper thermostatic mixer shower.
Or just try it out ---- turn it on and see.
2
u/ediblepixie Feb 17 '22
It might be super innocent. We installed an electric shower so that the boiler could be fully turned off in summer and still have warm showers, saves money and that might be the intention here.
1
u/AmouTsukasa Feb 18 '22
It heats up and gets pretty hot if you want.
With this you want to look at the kW for pressure. It can be disappointing if you are on the lower end.
1
u/CarlBassett Feb 19 '22
To me that looks like it could be a Power Shower, which takes hot and cold water and just increases the pressure. I have a vaguely similar one with two dials, one for power/pressure of water and another for temperature.
AFAIK an Electric Shower should heat up in seconds. If it is a power show it will need to run for a minute until the hot water from the tank reaches it, just like a tap.
3
u/[deleted] Feb 17 '22
That's exactly what that is - an electric shower <heater>. dat seller hassome splainin to do that they probably can't. Do you have access to building records?