Can a pump be fitted to a bath/shower mixer?
Question:I'm planning to re-fit a bathroom and would like to keep cost down by having a bath/shower mixer (like a telephone cradle over the taps with a fitting on the wall to place shower head for a stand-up shower). Can I fit some kind of pump to this, to increase the shower pressure?
Answers:
Yes you can, but be warned. Bath shower mixer taps always have (for want of a better word) cheap and nasty shower heads. They do not take well to boosted supplies, having been designed for low pressure operation, they do not perform as well as specific shower heads. If bath has mains pressure to cold tap, pumps CANNOT be fitted. Shower pumps are designed for gravity (tank fed) supplies. There is available a purpose designed thermostatic bath/shower mixer, it is NOT cheap,but is the absolute best when fitted correctly. Finally, bath shower mixers of the type you propose ,have no facility for hot/cold balance, many are simply on or off, giving erratic temp: control. All in all, purpose designed units are VASTLY superior. If you MUST fit pump to basic bath shower mixer, use the lowest head rating, (often called `bar rating`), you can find. Pumps are rated in `bars`, 0.75 up to 3, 4, 5 bar. 5 bar will take the skin off a rhino !
a little dual pump will work
yes but you will need a plumber and electrician to ensure that it is fitted safely. The electrician should issue you with an Electrical Installation Certificate.
Remember water and electricity don't mix and the concequences can be fatal.
How strange is that, we are fitting one now. As long as the shower mixer states on the box that it can handle a pump then your well away. We have exactly the same and had hoped that the pressure was enough. Sadly it wasnt, so a pump it is! Good Luck!
Sure you can, Stephen.
I have one on the boat to make the shower fuction, as a tank of water up aheight on the roof would not fit under bridges !
OK it a 12V DC jobby, another one for the galley sink, but naturally one has to have a proper fix when putting domestic mains devices into a bathroom environment, but choosing a double insulated pump of suitable size is not against the regs, as long as it designed for the job, and not some garden centre fountain pump !
I am no plumber, only the sparks, but there seems to a fine array of power-shower units about.
A good idea, mon ami, so all the best with it.
Bob the Boat.
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