Shower Heater - No Pressure

[smilia]

Hi, I just moved and my shower has no pressure. Previously there was no hot water. The pressure was not enough to turn on the hot water box, does that make sense?

Then the landlord got the pump and the pressure is better but once the water goes through the hot water box it gets low. Do I just need a new box?

Trimond KHW 35e this is the one I have now.

Thank you

[lopburi3]

I take it you have a wall heater with the shower attached to it? Don't know the model you mention (most units are Japanese origin here). On the input side of heater there should be a screen filter that will highly restrict flow if dirty - you have to remove clean. They also have have an adjustment for vary flow so you might have to adjust that. There might also be a tap that has to be adjusted or have a screen filter making it dirty. There could also be a screen filter on input to the shower head itself. All need to be clean.

Not having enough flow to start heater is common as there should be a flow control so that water does not boil from low flow - cuts the electric off to the heating unit. Flow will always be reduced at heater and expect cheaper heaters do it more than the better ones. You will not normally get hotel type flow from these heaters unless you have a very strong pump pressure (most pumps are in the 20-30 psi range).

You might like the newer Panasonic heater with built in massage pump as it may give you a better feeling of water flow - but believe most people just get used to having lower flow and perhaps use a water saver shower head.

[longball53098]

I whole heartedly agree with Lopburi.

All points that control the flow of water need to be unrestricted up to the input of the heater. All screens and filters and flow restrictions need to be kept clean of dirt and sediment.

[smilia]

HI Thanks for the replies. I have already check the connection points with the hosing.. first from the faucet to the heater, and I must completely removed the little screen. It was easy to break it off. Then coming from the water heater I also check the hosing..no screens. Does the hole size in the washer make a difference? I would think if it is smaller then the pressure would be better?

I have seen the pressure comming out straight from the box, with out the shower and it is already low.. so that problem is in that box.

Could be I have the cheapest water heater in Thailand knowing my landlord.

I guess this is what I really wanted to knoW

''Flow will always be reduced at heater and expect cheaper heaters do it more than the better ones"

The water pimp I have now is a mitsubishi WP-85q2. Not sure how many PSI but its 80w. There are 2 squared numbers on the label. one is .9 and then the thai characters for SM with the 2 square root sign and then 1.8..

My point is shouldnt it be enough for water pressure that is strong enough to wash my hair?

The washing machine fills up much quicker. used to take an hour to do 1 load.

Where I lived before there was a small pump and extraordinary water pressure. Also here the water is coming from a tank much higher then the level of my shower. Sure it goes down first and then up to my shower but my last place this was not the case.

I will look into a new shower heater. When I first moved in and complained about the shower box my landlord replaced my box with the one in his shower. and took the original faulty one...

Thanks so much for taking the time to help me.

Edited August 22, 2008 by smilia

[lopburi3]

Does the hole size in the washer make a difference?

Yes that would further reduce the amount of water that can flow. You want the largest openings you can get up until the shower head (where you might want to restrict for water saving). If you take the hose off the input to heater is the pressure good? Is it too cold to attach the spray head directly there? (often if sun is on tank it can get quite warm and heater not be required in afternoon).

[marshbags]

Does the hole size in the washer make a difference?

Yes that would further reduce the amount of water that can flow. You want the largest openings you can get up until the shower head (where you might want to restrict for water saving). If you take the hose off the input to heater is the pressure good? Is it too cold to attach the spray head directly there? (often if sun is on tank it can get quite warm and heater not be required in afternoon).

I had this problem and the actual tap ( controlling the water flow ) turned out to be faulty.

A new tap was fitted and the flow was much stronger and no more problems since. **

Try disconnecting the tap to the actual feed going to the box and check if the flow is stronger, that is if you are not going directly to the shower unit.

** Apart from the water board reducing it on occassions and sometimes stopping it for an odd day or two as a water saving exercise ????

marshbags

[dotcom]

Those numbers on the pump are the cut in & cut out. They are pretty low.

80 watt?

That is your problem. Not enough pressure & flow. Just a guess as diagnosing problems over the internet is not an exact science..

If you take the cover off you will see what lopburi is talking about. Thye usually have about a 1/4 inch copper/brass pipe where the water is heated. That causes a restriction.

But they are dead right that the screens have to be clean.

[dotcom]

Try disconnecting the tap to the actual feed going to the box and check if the flow is stronger, that is if you are not going directly to the shower unit.

Should have a stop coc.k fitted anyway.

[marshbags]

Try disconnecting the tap to the actual feed going to the box and check if the flow is stronger, that is if you are not going directly to the shower unit.

Should have a stop coc.k fitted anyway.

Thanks for this important advice D.C., which i wasn,t to sure about.

marshbags

[dotcom]

Actually you nailed it marshbags.

[smilia]

Hi, thanks again for the replies...

Yes I have checked the initial pressure before going to the box, it is good!!

And when I moved in I did take Cold showers and have decent pressure then got my landlord to buy the pump (well I paid for it) it was bigger then the one at my last place so seemed good enough to me and the pressure in the rest of the house is good now.

I dont want a cold shower . I have long hair and I need proper pressure just to wash it. not to mention now i have paid for the pump.

I did take the cover of the box and see that tiny little copper piple. Will a more expensive box then heat up more water?

What is a stop coc.k?

Will try changing the washers.

[dotcom]

Valve.

Yes a bigger (higher wattage unit) will flow more water up to a point.

Sanyo or Sharp or National make nice ones. Central dept store & Homework sell them. Minimun 3000 watt.

I think most people would want about a 250 watt pump as well. Americans would anyway.

Does your shower flow a good volume of water? If not remove the shower head (from the hose) & try again. If that is plugged with rust scale etc it will also cause the unit not to heat.

[lopburi3]

As said the Sanyo, Sharp and Panasonic (National name no longer used) are the leading brands and work well on low pressure feed. But there will still be a big difference in pressure before and after the heater so the more pressure you can feed the better. We had the largest Mitsubishi for many years (405w/model) and never really happy with shower pressure. It was usable but far less than a good hotel - or what you have in US.

[Naam]

Hi, I just moved and my shower has no pressure. Previously there was no hot water. The pressure was not enough to turn on the hot water box, does that make sense?

Then the landlord got the pump and the pressure is better but once the water goes through the hot water box it gets low. Do I just need a new box?

Trimond KHW 35e this is the one I have now.

Thank you

what capacity? for the shower only or for the whole house/apartment?

[Gary A]

Unscrew the hose going into the heater. Unscrew the shower head from the hose coming from the heater. Connect the shower head directly to the supply hose that you unscrewed from the heater. Test the pressure. If the pressure is good then the problem is in the heater itself.

[Crossy]

Yup, do everything above

You're not going to get a torrent of hot water from a 3.5kW heater, if I've done the sums right (it's been a while) you'll get about 2 gallons per minute heated by 10C.

The best way to use these showers is to set everything to maximum and control the temperature by adjusting the water flow, assuming you're getting a decent flow in the first place that is.

Manufacturers website (Thai only I'm afraid) http://www.tarad.com/_tarad/_templates/b/_...mltb25kLmNvLnRo

[wpcoe]

My three-year old multi-point water heater just bit the dust, so I'm in the market for a new one. I only use the heater for my shower. Are there 3.5kW multi-point heaters? My initial search at HomePro and Kanthong turned up only 6kW units. Is a 6kW unit overkill for just heating a single shower?

(I use a multi-point simply for asthetics within the shower stall itself.)

[edited to add:] Good grief, how did I miss Crossy's post right above this one? He seems to think a 3.5kW heater may be a bit weak for the job. So, now I get to choose from a couple dozen 6kW heaters.

Edited August 24, 2008 by wpcoe

[lopburi3]

Believe the only difference is the multi point is designed for flow control - open tap and turns on. Most are this type now as it also protects the heater. In Bangkok almost never need full 3.5k power (perhaps a dozen nights a year have to reduce water pressure a bit). I have four 3.2 - 3.5 units and never turn any of them off.

[dotcom]

6000 divided by 240 = 25 AMPS. That is pretty massive. Make sure you are running 4mm wire all the way back to the load center & it's on a 32 amp breaker.

[Crossy]

6000 divided by 240 = 25 AMPS. That is pretty massive. Make sure you are running 4mm wire all the way back to the load center & it's on a 32 amp breaker.

Don't forget Thailand is nominally 220V so your 6kW heater will be pulling 27A. 4mm² is marginal at this current particularly if it's buried in the wall and subject to the high ambient temperatures we get, 6mm² would be my recommendation still with a 32A breaker.

[Gary A]

We live in Loei and I can assure you that it can get quite cold during the winter. A 3,500 watt shower heater just wouldn't cut it here. I now have a 5,200 watt heater and when it is cold, it does NOT deliver scalding hot water but it is adequate.