Shower Advice Please All aspects of plumbing questions and answers, help, tips and information

[snaffler]

I am looking for a advice on a shower system, we really like this sytem (Google "homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=295884")

But I am not sure if this is the best option to go for as I read on the Mira website we need equal pressures when installing from a combi boiler.

We have mains fed cold water and the hot will be direct from the combi boiler about 1.5bar pressure, my father in law who is a little clued up on such things say I may need to install a header tank to feed the cold supply as this will help balance out the pressure (eg remove the power of mains pressure).

I would be interested to find out if we have any alternative options open to us please. Just to be clear we do not want to install a hotwater tank but happy to build in a header tank if need be as I have over a 1 meter rise and the space in the loft to do this.

But if there is a shower system that allows me to go direct from cold mains feed and direct from the hot water feed on the combi. Perhaps something that has indipendent controls for the hot and cold so varied pressures would not make any difference to the system requirements.

[Barry Bunsen]

Your advice seems a bit muddled. To get true equal pressure you would need tank(s) in the loft for a cold feed and hot feed via a hot water cylinder, unless you settle for a complicated system with pressure reducing valves.

You cannot balance the hot water side by installing a tank just for the cold feed.

i imagine the 1.5 bar pressure you refer to from the combi is the central heating pressure, which would be nothing to do with the hot water pressure. The hot water should come out at (almost) mains pressure from the combi as it goes in the combi at mains pressure before getting heated. In practice the hot water pressure can be a bit lower but many thermostatic showers deal with this.

However Mira showers are good but expensive so I would contact their customer helpline to get precise information for the shower that you want before you spend any money.