gainsborough shower 9.5kw

[dchristie86]

The PRESSURE RELEASE DEVICE activated on my Gainsborough Shower(allegedly by the hose being "kinked, or the shower head being blocked) neither of which happened, causing water to pour from the rear of the unit. I contacted Gainsborough as the shower was guaranteed to be informed that the device is not covered causing me to buy a new PRD. DO NOT,NOT,NOT, BUY A NEW PRD. Remove the 2 screws, remove the PRD and by using a pencil end push back the plastic valve, job done.

 

[PlumbBobBob]

thanks for the tip and welcome to the forums

 

[Best]

Thanks for that info. One thing I would add is, don't buy Gainsborough electric showers, - they are rubbish IMO, & also note that behind the cover of an Aqualisa shower is basically a Gainsborough!
I came across a Gainsborough shower that had a faulty on off switch. I rang Gainsborough in England, & they said it needed a whole " engine ", which I assume meant entire shower works, just because of switch! Oddly, they could supply whole new shower Inc postage, cheaper!

 

[Dolph1983]

I replaced the "engine" in my Gainsborough 10.5kW BC last year, it packed up again last week. WON'T be buying anymore drainsborough.

next will be a shower mixer tap from combi, simple and low cost.

 

[thereisawizza]

The PRESSURE RELEASE DEVICE activated on my Gainsborough Shower(allegedly by the hose being "kinked, or the shower head being blocked) neither of which happened, causing water to pour from the rear of the unit. I contacted Gainsborough as the shower was guaranteed to be informed that the device is not covered causing me to buy a new PRD. DO NOT,NOT,NOT, BUY A NEW PRD. Remove the 2 screws, remove the PRD and by using a pencil end push back the plastic valve, job done.

Swines! I've just paid 7 quid for one on a triton!!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

i fitted a new triton swapped for an old one and the prd went straight away, not happy neither was custard, phoned triton to be told not a part covered by guarantee grrrrrrrr. any way they sent out a replacement as a one off goodwill gesture. custard didn't want to wait so i thought maybe the old one will do, and it did and it's still in working afaik. and i've got a spare lol

 

[thereisawizza]

A lot of warranties now aren't worth shizzle!Has that with Triton myself, also just fitted 2 x Bristan Ruby mixer taps, both leaking after one month and Bristan want £135 to come out!!!!

 

[folwlerg68]

hi. hope im wrong but ive got a feeling once the they've blown they have a tendancy to blow again, only it does'nt take as much pressure for them to go next time.

 

[Airster]

The PRESSURE RELEASE DEVICE activated on my Gainsborough Shower(allegedly by the hose being "kinked, or the shower head being blocked) neither of which happened, causing water to pour from the rear of the unit. I contacted Gainsborough as the shower was guaranteed to be informed that the device is not covered causing me to buy a new PRD. DO NOT,NOT,NOT, BUY A NEW PRD. Remove the 2 screws, remove the PRD and by using a pencil end push back the plastic valve, job done.

Thank you! You just saved me a lot of headache and cost by mentioning the plastic valve. For others here, the valve is a small, translucent plastic ball, about 8-10mm in diameter. We found ours in the plug mechanism but would never have known to look for it without this post. Without the ball the water flows fine until the shower head is raised about the height of the valve, and then water escapes through the hole where the valve was. This really confused me until I read this post.

So, in a word, thanks!:bandana:

 

[Phillip_wilson]

Thank you so much. Fixed mine in a few minutes after struggling with the screws.
And then I discovered there was an EASIER WAY to reset the PRD.


There is no need to remove the PRD assembly.

On the tube of the assembly, near the bottom. There is a sort of T piece that faces the wall. At first glance this appears to stabalise the tube against the wall, but it never gets near the wall.

Take a 4mm flat screwdriver and offer it up behind the pipe towards the T piece. You will find a channel near the back where the blade will go into the T piece.

Then you press the screwdrive blade tip towards you, this will push the ball back towards the main pipe.

And the fix is complete, just replace the cover and test.

 

[RayOfLemington]

Thanks for that info. One thing I would add is, don't buy Gainsborough electric showers, - they are rubbish IMO, & also note that behind the cover of an Aqualisa shower is basically a Gainsborough!
I came across a Gainsborough shower that had a faulty on off switch. I rang Gainsborough in England, & they said it needed a whole " engine ", which I assume meant entire shower works, just because of switch! Oddly, they could supply whole new shower Inc postage, cheaper!

Shower engine available from eBay for less than £50 inc delivery..
Personally I'd cut your losses and put something good in.
e.g
i fitted one in a house in 2010 as they'd been given it as a present.
They popped PRD many times until I fixed the ball in with heat glue gun.
Shower was used with no head and failed quickly. I had told them that this would happen!
After this they stopped taking the head off, so next one 'should' have lasted longer.
The second shower failed after 2 years with a split diaphragm in the water valve.
Fixed that and then it failed straight afterwards with another blown (o/c) heat element.
TOTAL waste of time and money.

whoever recommended smashing it to bits with hammer was talking sense.

I've seen less problems from triton.
Would also pick Mira - especially for landlords as it will save them money and hassle despite the initial cost.

 

[rpm]

Welcome along Ray, guessing you work a lot on showers to pick a post from last year as your opener. PS Wont ask where your from. lol

 

[RayOfLemington]

Welcome along Ray, guessing you work a lot on showers to pick a post from last year as your opener. PS Wont ask where your from. lol

I've developed a rather strong feeling about some shower manufacturers - therefore I was Googling to see if this kind of 'useful feedback' was easily available on the web.
I was quite surprised to find that it wasn't as easy to find as other guidance on which boilers to avoid or choosing HMO fire alarm systems etc. (I manage a handful of rental properties, and prefer to learn by other people's mistakes instead of my own).

Whether it's common problems with aftermarket Vauxhall engine crank speed sensors, which MIG welder to get for the shed projects, or what shower to choose, I recon that a growing number of people rely on customer feedback ratings and forums.

The problem with customer feedback ratings is that you only get to see if the product is faulty / poor quality when delivered, as that's when people give a rating. To learn about stuff that fails regularly but only after a couple of years, forums are an ideal source of info! As I like to use other people's knowledge, it's only fair to give some back for the next person to find via Google.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

Electric showers do suffer a lot from limescale. one of the main reasons only small guarantees are given on them (one to two years).

 

[Best]

.....
I've seen less problems from triton.
Would also pick Mira - especially for landlords as it will save them money and hassle despite the initial cost.

I don't know about Triton electric showers as I only fit them if customer chooses them, but they might be okay. Mira electric showers are far too expensive IMO and can still give trouble. The thermal cut out on top of heater tank fails due to corrosion, but no big deal as the corrosion just needs cleaned away & a new thermal cut out fitted. The cheaper Miras (some from the big warehouses) are a mixed bunch - cheap but some not great either. The Mira Spint has Mira Sport parts largely, but the valve can leak inside it. The Mira Jump is a nice basic made shower inside & has some parts that are universal, as do many. The Redring Expressions showers are decent but the small pcb that operates the phased shutdown was failing & you can get an updated board for them.

 

[gassafe]

I've always had tritons at home, get a good 7 years out of them, & just descaled the current one so hopefully get even longer out if this one!!

 

[Unregistered]

The information regarding to use a 4mm srewdiver worked a treat. Thank you so much 🙂

 

[kez]

please don't forget to put the plug in, or you may lose the little ball down the drain. lol

 

[rpm]

please don't forget to put the plug in, or you may lose the little ball down the drain. lol

May be good advise but after almost a year reckon you are a little late to the party kez lol.

Don`t forget to register as a member if your gonna post and if you do register then Welcome along to the forums.

 

[Plumbstar Tom]

as above

Thanks