UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi Guys,

Just after some advice as I can't decide what to do.

Got my first buy to let and currently installing a new bathroom. Having to put a shower over the bath and not sure how to feed it. Should I install an electric shower or one fed from the combi boiler.

Electric shower pros/cons
P - If boiler breaks tenant can still get a hot shower
C - They have a crap flow rate. and i'm worried the first comment will be nice bathroom shame about the cheap shower. Can we pay to get a better one??? (Which then means redoing some tiling etc to fit one)

Fed from combi boiler pros/cons
P - Very good flow rate
C - If boiler breaks not hot water anywhere.

Advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Joe

Electric one, biggest KW you can afford. All the same size.

I would always go for 10 kw plus, 12 if your consumer box can handle it... It's the power which dictate how much water goes through it hot, normally.

Don't forget a boiler driven one needs a pump in the system, and these go wrong, nearly as often as the showers, and need electrics etc anyway.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

The shower fed from the boiler though would not require a pump, it would be fine from mains water pressure.

And I can only get a 8.5kW electric shower in due to cable size.

Thanks, Joe

Oh dear.

Your wrong with your spec on both.

The boiler one will not be good enough without a pump.

An 8.5kw shower is not good enough.

So pick either, both will be crap.

Honestly, the shower will be barely fit for purpose, and run like the shower at the municipal baths in Sheffield in the 1980's

Hmmmm, I know the electric one will be crap but the boiler without a pump will be or should be as good as mine at home, which is a lot better than an electric one.

Could put both in and then they would be half as crap if used at the same time!!!

You don't always need shower pump if your mains pressure is good enough.

I suppose another way of looking at it would be how much do tenants of 4 bed family homes demand a good shower? Does anyone have any input on this? Are electric acceptable or do tenants demand more?

Hey! Leave Sheffield out of this!

Quote from: jmarsh20 on September 03, 2015, 03:42:38 PM
I suppose another way of looking at it would be how much do tenants of 4 bed family homes demand a good shower? Does anyone have any input on this? Are electric acceptable or do tenants demand more?

You do realize that the term "tenant" isn't a term for an amorphous group of identical people?

When you leave a group of friends do you say "bye Guys?"

I hope not, I hate that!

You do have a choice, do it right now ( put in a bigger cable, fit a pump) or risk what you have ( if you choose this choice the one from the boiler not the electric) and if it's an issue you'll have to come back again and sort it out at probably double the cost and inconvenience.

Its a risk, as a newbie, and maybe even now if I'm feeling a bit NAFAI ( No ambition F all interest) I would put in the boiler one, but I do understand what is at risk, if you do, crack on my good man. 

So I put in a bigger cable, haven't dealt with the pump yet.

But bloody good job I did as I nearly fitted a shower fed from the boiler, but after getting the bath taps working I realised the pressure upstairs was drastically less than the pressure downstairs.

One thing I never considered though was that when everyone else on the street gets up and takes a shower, the water pressure also drops. Good job I tested it at 8am and again at 3pm, what a difference in pressure.

So just a pump left to source and fit and all should be well with the shower.

Thanks for the reply's!!!

You are a star.

Seriously, good job!

Sorry. coming late to the party - but also remember that hot water from a combi is not necessarily instantaneous either.  Can easily take 45s or so.  These together with low pressure means there is only one option. Electric. Which you did :-)