- Thread starter grim_d
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Wedg1e
They call me Mr. Bodge-angles
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I've had two houses with showers running from combi boilers via thermostatic mixers. Neither had (have) any problems with reduced flow due to other taps being turned on. Here at Wedg1e Villas I run a pressure reducer (<4 Bar) because the original Baxi [spit] combi kept popping exchanger seals; the current Halstead (Wickes) has been on the go for nearly 12 years without issue. Thinking about it, although the flow is 'adequate' it doesn't exactly pin you to the opposite wall, maybe I need to turn the pressure back up!
Nursy's place has a thermostatic mixer fed from a pump that drains the hot and cold storage tanks via dedicated tappings so again no flow issues (I forget what the fitting is in the hot water tank, something like a 'Surrey' connector? Gives separate outlets for shower and taps). Biggest problem there is when we have visitors, the oil-fired boiler can't keep pace with the demand for consecutive showers...
Nursy's place has a thermostatic mixer fed from a pump that drains the hot and cold storage tanks via dedicated tappings so again no flow issues (I forget what the fitting is in the hot water tank, something like a 'Surrey' connector? Gives separate outlets for shower and taps). Biggest problem there is when we have visitors, the oil-fired boiler can't keep pace with the demand for consecutive showers...
grim_d
Unlikeable idiot.
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Went with a mira mixer, came with a nice 4 mode head on it, some of them cheap out and only come with a single mode!
Water is soft here so no worries there.
I have a similar scenario, original piping was 22mm copper to the bathroom. When the new boiler went in the hot and cold supplies were replumbed in 15mm plastic, which must go down to about 10mm ID with an insert.
I have to say I was concerned about reduced flow but its a non issue. Of course, all the new pipework I installed was copper. Push fit is great but ill never trust it behind a wall.
brightspark
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i wont use push fit and plastic full stop i wont use flexies niether .ive seen to many houses with leaks and damage . copper all th way. in the long run its not expensive
grim_d
Unlikeable idiot.
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It's not expensive at all. Anything new I install is copper but im not about to pull my central heating to bits just because its speedfit.
It's pretty good stuff despite our reservations, if a thin o-ring can hold thousands of psi in hydraulic systems im sure they can cope with domestic water pressure. Most leaks are the fault of the installer I suspect. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" as they say!
There's no doubt that it won't last as long as soldered copper though so that makes copper the clear winner for me.
It's pretty good stuff despite our reservations, if a thin o-ring can hold thousands of psi in hydraulic systems im sure they can cope with domestic water pressure. Most leaks are the fault of the installer I suspect. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail" as they say!
There's no doubt that it won't last as long as soldered copper though so that makes copper the clear winner for me.
brightspark
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any copper pipe in concrete or in plaster walls just wrap them in plastic tape or cover with duct tape and will last forever
brightspark
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specialy with heat
123hotchef
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i use petro tape its stickier than *****
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Rig Pig
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Hopefully the insulation will protect the plastic pipes, the $$$$$ who chucked unprotected copper pipe in a channel cut into the screed and filled it in with cement did me a favour - a healthy insurance payment to replace the worn-out hideous 1980s kitchen
I prefer them to blast at me, we have a gravity system and Aqualisa pumped shower, it's always a disappointment when I stay somewhere like a hotel and the shower is weak.
My wife always chuckles because I do old see how hot I can go thing and I often glow red when I get out. I can imagine those overhead drench would really nice when you have a hangover
brightspark
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get a karcher and get your lass to blast u down
Farside
Badly Welded Man
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Yep; and they're commonly supplied with a narrow-bore flexy pipe for the same reason (as well as being cheaper, I've no doubt). Every one I've replaced with a decent 12 or 13mm bore flexy has improved wonderfully.
Ho ho. There were conniptions and a great deal of finger-pointing and swearing over here a few years ago when a bad supplier was found to have flooded (hah) the market with cheap PEX piping. The problems arose about two or three years after installation, when hundreds of houses developed damp patches because of pin-holes in the pipes.
I nearly bought some of that stuff too, but I was getting good quality PEX from my usual supplier at a decent price, so stuck with that instead. Lucky me.
Years ago, I picked up a 6" diameter fixed stainless shower head at a boot sale. I intend to fit it to the Uber-shower when I finallly get around to it. I priced them up at some point and was intrigued to find them at HFM? level. I think this one came out of some institution or sports complex. Needless to say, it will require a decent head or pumped feed.
slim_boy_fat
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