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Plumbing

Cold water issue with new shower pump

Anonymous user 15/03/2024 - 2.47 PM

I am looking for some advice, We had a new bathroom fitted in November last year. where we had a Shower pump fitted to run a new shower. We have a gravity fed system. The hot water is getting to the pump fine no issues, But the Cold is not which is causing the pump to stop. Due to access in the loft were the Tank is the plumber has taken the cold feed off the pipe that goes into the hot water cylinder. Everything worked perfectly for the first 3 month no issues at all. The pump has been replaced once and we still have the same issue. He has recommended putting a new pump in which is a different type, a Universal Salamander which is £300 (I Don't know the differenced between the pumps) Rather than re-look at the pipe work. We do have another pipe that comes out the tank which feed the cold water in the bathroom, could the pump not come off the pipe as there is no issue with the water flow along that pipe. I'm worried that the pump will not solve the problem and maybe it is the pipe work or something else is wrong with the system. Any advice would be much appreciated.

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3 Answers

D & R Property and Plumbing Maintenance

Rating: 4.9 out of 5
New Romney
first change your plumber to one who knows what he is doing,regardless of any issues the cold must be fed separately from the cold tank,shower pumps have to be fitted to manufacturers instructions over wise guarantee is void, separate dedicated hot and cold services, hot not to exceed 60/65c ,when shower is on switched to cold do you get cold through valve or hot ?,or no water at all ?, have you checked filters on pump and shower cold sides,with pump turned on to provide a hot shower the hot water supply to cylinder may be starving what is now the cold to shower,as water will take the route of least resistance ,what size are pipes to shower pump ?,if it is 15mm from where it is taken off cylinder supply pipe does it fall away down to pump if it rises it may airlock,the universal pump is one that is used when you have a negative head situation,this means it works on drop of pressure in pipes rather than a flow switch,no qualified plumber would install it the way you have it done,if the cold supply to pump is 15mm it could be blocked but you will have to disconnect the cold supply from to check this, there should be valves on both supplies,close cold valve disconnect from pump hold supply over bucket and open valve this will show you if it is blocked,but like i said get a qualified plumber (nvq3 or advanced craft plumber ) check his qualifications first.
Answered8 May 2019
17

Anonymous user

Firstly the pump should have its own dedicated cold feed from the CWSC this should also be taken from a point on the cistern that is below the off take for the hot water cylinder for safety reasons. Secondly the hot water feed for the pump should be taken directly from the cylinder preferably using a salamander pump flange. Finally your CWSC must be a minimum of 600mm above the highest position of the shower head. Otherwise you will need a negative head pump. All this information is in the pump installation manual. There are other less preferred methods of connecting the pump but the above is best practice.
Answered8 May 2019
2

phil whitehead

Rating: 5 out of 5
Oldham
both answers good but also if the cold water storage tank is too small it will run out of water anyway.
Answered4 June 2019
0