Shower advice please! :)

Bes

Bes

Bes

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
7,318
Location
Melbourne
Hi

I am about to have a new bath with shower over the top installed. We don't have a shower cubicle or space for one.

We are going for a slide rail/ handset- style shower only for various reasons.

The thermostatic valve I will be fitting is a Crosswater Waldorf which is designed for systems starting at 0.2 bar. Hopefully this is a good choice.

This is my current cold water reading off the bath tap hand shower nozzle for pressure: (I got very similar readings from the garden hose tap)

Static: 1.7 bar
Dynamic: 1.0 bar (Measured with the sink tap running - hopefully I did this right)
Flow rate: 10-12 litres/ min (10 or a touch more at showering temp, 12 at cold).

All fed from a Valiant Ecotec24 Combi - this is a ground floor maisonette.

The one thing I can't decide on is a shower head. Obviously the pressure is 'OK' but not amazing by any stretch.
I was looking at the Grohe Raindance range, but I am a bit worried they all recommend min. 1 bar they might give a bit of a rubbish shower. Someone in a bathroom shop suggested the Crosswater Wisp which is supposed to give excellent flow at 0.2 bar, but it is only a 100mm head, and given we don't have a rainfall shower, I am worried it might be a bit rubbish as a daily shower?

I've heard/ read that Aqualisa shower heads with wide bore hoses are meant to give the best flows of anything out there?

Any advice most welcome!

Cheers
 
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Thanks, but the GF won't have it :) Needs to be something off the valve I have already picked.

Cheers
 
Do you have a link/pic of the valve, and whats the benefit of picking one separately then the shower on top?

Took me ages to pick the Mira and only ever looked at the complete units, or the ones which hide the pipes behind tiles which also came as complete units.


Ps, how do you check your water pressure?
 
Hi,

The benefit of picking your own valve for us is that we are using a 2 way diverter that lets us fill the bath too. In addition, I just think it looks a lot better. Also the valve will sit over the middle of the bath, with the shower over the end meaning you don't need to step in/ reach around the fixed portion of the screen to get at the controls (No cold water being sprayed at you). I also think a slide rail handset and a rain shower and taps and a valve all at the end of the bath is going to look quite cluttered. We will leave the elbow joint/ pipe in the middle so a future buyer can add a 2- way valve and have a hand shower/ rain shower option over the bath in the future if they so wish.

When we added up the cost of a valve + integrated filler/ waste (A 0.2 bar min. pressure system) + shower head it works out about £100 more than a kit like the Mira + good quality bath taps + buying a separate popup waste.

Here is the Crosswater valve

I checked the water pressure using a £7 gauge off Amazon. I am pretty sure it is accurate, as my boiler gives the same pressure reading when re-filling the CH loop, and tallies with what my neighbour said his plumber read their pressure at. I wouldn't start buying a shower without knowing my pressure and flow first.
 
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Do you have a link to the amazon gauge? Our hot water flies out so don't think a problem but for £7 i'll give it a check pre fitting!

Nice looking valve we were going to go with separate valve and head but the fitter said it would need the wall boxing out as they sit quite deep into the wall and don't want to lose any space with bigger shower cubicle and radiator location.
 
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