Not happy with with new unvented system, although it works fine. Shower pressure issue

[kash]

Old setup.
Vented system - indirect
x2 Cold water tank in the loft. x2 80L Hot water tanks, regular boiler and stuart turner 4bar twin shower pump for the master bedroom shower. Worked pretty good, although the tanks were manky and old. The shower though was epic and used to blast water out. The house was gutted for refurbishment so plumber advised to change the set up for a new unvented system, that would deliver mains water pressure throughout the house. which it does.

New set up
Kingspan 300L horizontal tank. No shower pump and just the regular boiler. It’s all installed correctly, signed off and actually works quite well. All the taps and showers get mains water pressure.

Problem
I got too used to the shower pump pressure. The showerhead we have is an XL rainwater shower head and used to love the water blasting out. Whilst the showers still ok, it's just ok and not amazing anymore. If the shower in the family bathroom is run, there's a slight drop in pressure which i was expecting, but this makes the shower experience even less enjoyable.

Is there a solution?
We can’t install the same shower pump on the mains as it would draw too much water from the rest of the house and stop the other taps working - and probably mess with neighbours too. Assume this would also stop things like toilets refilling and draw air once water supply is exhausted.

So my questions are..... What is the solution for me to have a dedicated water supply for the shower again, so that I can use the pump?
Can I install a smaller vented system in addition to the unvented system that I have? The plumbers going to have a think on the best way of achieving this and let me know a price, but thought I’d ask on here too.

I know it’s potentially an expensive addition... but it just depends on cost. The shower is absolutely ok as it is, but i know how good it was and just wanted to make it awesome again.

Are there any other solutions that can be used with the new unvented tank I have?

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Water Softeners | Culligan Harvey

UK's #1 water softener! Easy to install at home ➤ 90-day money back ➤ Reduce water bills with our water softeners. Check our softeners line

www.harveywatersofteners.co.uk

High flow rate up to 55lpm

 

[kash]

Water Softeners | Culligan Harvey

UK's #1 water softener! Easy to install at home ➤ 90-day money back ➤ Reduce water bills with our water softeners. Check our softeners line

www.harveywatersofteners.co.uk

High flow rate up to 55lpm

Sorry - not sure what you mean?

 

[SJB060685]

Sorry - not sure what you mean?

I assume hes posted a link to a water softener that provides better flow rates than your existing

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Sorry - not sure what you mean?

I’m recommending harvys if you do change your water softener later on

 

[EvilDrPorkChop]

That plumbing certainly looks interesting......glad it all works!

But from what you've said your flow rates entering the house are fine. If it had been fitted with a 22mm main up to the cylinder and a better softener then i'm sure you wouldn't have had any issues with the standard set up.

 

[Scott_D]

does the plumber know about this thread?

 

[gmartine]

Blimey, didn't anybody suggest changing the shower head?

 

[kash]

I assume hes posted a link to a water softener that provides better flow rates than your existing

Ah I missed that, as i was looking quickly on my phone.

I’m recommending harvys if you do change your water softener later on

I did actually have a quote from them - but it was over £800 for their system. However, I never new about or considered the flow rate problems. I assume it was whatever went in, is what came out. The water2buy one didn't mention anything about this on the product page or in the spec's as far as I am aware. Also, I purchased the kit in september so its way past its return period. Not that I need to now, but I will defo look at this factor for a future unit when required.

That plumbing certainly looks interesting....glad it all works!

But from what you've said your flow rates entering the house are fine. If it had been fitted with a 22mm main up to the cylinder and a better softener then i'm sure you wouldn't have had any issues with the standard set up.

Haha - interesting in a good or bad way? In the plumbers defence, we was working in a pretty restricted area with hardly any head room so running the pipework couldn't have been easy for anyone. I agree with your statement about the pipe size and softener though. Thus said, it was too late to do any of that, and digging up the road and driveway at this stage wasn't an option, or was it before. I now know for next time. Lesson learned the hard way i guess. But hey, at least i now have the output that I wanted (thanks to you all tbh, especially shaun).

does the plumber know about this thread?

He knows i've been researching online - but not this particular thread. I am disappointed that he didn't propose these solutions himself, or warn me of the possible issues before we had everything installed. It seems to have been a case of 'curing' issue rather then preventing them.

Whilst we didn't want to lose the water softer, if he had proved to me that it was the cause of the issue, BEFORE we agreed to do all the additional work, i would have felt less bitter about it.

He quoted towards the end - "you've got all the answers, i'm just the muscle". Almost felt like i've had to tell him how to do his job in some ways. And he wasn't particularly cheap either.

Blimey, didn't anybody suggest changing the shower head?

Ha - I wish is was that simple. It's not just a simple hand held shower head. It's a large rainhead and waterfall outlet shower from porcelanosa which cost me just over a grand. I think I added some pic's in a previous post.

I've had a shower this evening and it's probably the best shower i've had yet - feels slightly better than what it was with the stuart turner monsoon pump (or maybe it's just in my head - but an amazing shower experience either way).

 

[kash]

Kingspan came out this morning to inspect the installation and they said the installation had been done to a good standard and there were no problems with the new set up. They would be happy to honour the warranty and commence the service plan.

Only question I have is.... the hot water thermostat was set at 65degrees before. The engineer said this was probably be a bit over kill the water would be quite hot to be able to touch and not so energy efficient. He set this to 55degrees. assume this is ok to do?

 

[SJB060685]

Kingspan came out this morning to inspect the installation and they said the installation had been done to a good standard and there were no problems with the new set up. They would be happy to honour the warranty and commence the service plan.

Only question I have is.. the hot water thermostat was set at 65degrees before. The engineer said this was probably be a bit over kill the water would be quite hot to be able to touch and not so energy efficient. He set this to 55degrees. assume this is ok to do?

Stored HW should be heated to 60°c to kill off any legionnella bacteria.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

As above needs to be coming out of the taps / stored at 60dc

 

[Chuck]

Only question I have is.. the hot water thermostat was set at 65degrees before. The engineer said this was probably be a bit over kill the water would be quite hot to be able to touch and not so energy efficient. He set this to 55degrees. assume this is ok to do?

Like every decision that trades off risks (salmonella vs scalding) there is no right answer. The consensus in the UK seems to be that 60°C is the sweet spot. The heat losses from a modern tank are so low anyway the savings are barely worth considering.

 

[kash]

Like every decision that trades off risks (salmonella vs scalding) there is no right answer. The consensus in the UK seems to be that 60°C is the sweet spot. The heat losses from a modern tank are so low anyway the savings are barely worth considering.

He did say this too. He said as the water is constanly flowing and in use the risk is super low. It would be more of an issue in static/stagnent water for long periods of time with no use.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Happy with your shower experience now and that’s good of Kingspan

 

[kash]

Temp now adjusted to 60 degrees as per recommendations. Thanks all

@ShaunCorbs yes- shower is back to being amazing. Water has solid powerful output and plentiful. I’m back to taking longer showers 😀

Good of Kingspan yes- naturally there’s cost involved but it’s all within the service plan.

I’ll let them service it for the next two years at least as they cover all parts and labour within that time... then after that I’ll see how much a service is from an independent.

If it’s similar or not much more will just let Kingspan do the service as I get to spread the cost