shower bar mixer not producing hot water

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Discuss shower bar mixer not producing hot water in the Bathrooms, Showers and Wetrooms area at PlumbersForums.net

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finest1

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hello all, happy new year!

i hope i have posted this in the right section

i have a shower bar mixer. the shower runs luke warm. a quick google search showed some ideas on how to adjust it. i tried adjusting it and it didn't change the temp. when i adjusted it the other way to test the cold, it was freezing cold. i wanted to find out how to get it hot. as an FYI, all other water facilities run piping hot, from kitchen sink to hand basins. this is the only one that doesn't. also i felt the inlet pipe of the bar mixer and that was hot. so it must be the bar mixer. any ideas on how to adjust

thanks
 
Last edited:
New bar mixer or if you know the make a new thermostatic cartridge
 
combi boiler ?
 
ShaunCorbs said:
Run the shower and run a basin tap just flowing does the boiler stay fired and shower hot ?
Click to expand...
hello Shaun, yes the boiler stays fired but no temp change with the shower. i ran the shower on it own and the boiler fires up, just while i was checking. my boiler pressure gauge on the boiler is just above 1bar and the hot water dial is in the middle (number 3 out of 7)
 
finest1 said:
hello Shaun, yes the boiler stays fired but no temp change with the shower. i ran the shower on it own and the boiler fires up, just while i was checking. my boiler pressure gauge on the boiler is just above 1bar and the hot water dial is in the middle (number 3 out of 7)
Click to expand...

Sounds definitely like a shower issue might be best to buy a whole new unit and swap it eg bristan zing
 
Hi all update:
I got a refund from Victoria plumbing and I bought another shower. I just unpacked the box to check the contents. I noticed the shower bar mixer has the opposite orientation to the old one. It clearly indicates hot on left and cold on right, Which is fine. However the flow control is on the left side (hot) and the temp control is on the right side (cold) Is this correct? My previous one above was the other way around

Thanks
 
That’s the standard layout could be the old vp one was from a different country
 
thanks Shaun, UPDATE: new shower installed! no issues. heat of shower water definitely improved compared to the previous. however, still not piping hot like the rest of the house. don't get me wrong, i'm not talking about scalding hot! and this shower does produce hot water, but for me, just missing that little bit. funny enough the hand held shower comes hot hotter! i tried to adjust the thermostat on the bar mixer, but it didn't do much. However, maybe that's the best it will be.
 
Are the flow rates the same as the other taps I only ask as you say the hand held is hotter so it could be down to the boiler max flow rate(and temp rise) now in winter etc
 
finest1 said:
how can i determine this? i have a Worcester bosch greenstar 30 CDI
Click to expand...

Test the flow out of each eg known capacity container eg 5 litres

Let’s say it takes 30 seconds to fill that 5 litre container up so that’s 0.1667 litres per second times by 60 gives you 10 litres per min
 
ShaunCorbs said:
Test the flow out of each eg known capacity container eg 5 litres

Let’s say it takes 30 seconds to fill that 5 litre container up so that’s 0.1667 litres per second times by 60 gives you 10 litres per min
Click to expand...
Hello Shaun, i did it slightly different. i measured the amount of water in 6 seconds and x by 10

i did one downstairs and one upstairs. i got 0.9-0.95 in six seconds (just under a litre) which makes 9-9.5 litres a minute
 
And out the rain head ?
 
ShaunCorbs said:
And out the rain head ?
Click to expand...
hello Shaun please see my findings:

hand basin next to the shower : 4L a min
hand held shower attachment: 5L a min
rainfall shower: 1L a min!

note: even though the hand basin is lower than the rest of house it can run piping hot, and as its a smaller basin, i like the flow as otherwise it will just splash everywhere when you put your hand under.

thanks
 
Would say your method is off as 1lpm through the rain head is wrong
 
If you restrict the rain head does it get hotter eg don’t open it fully 3/4 etc
 
ShaunCorbs said:
If you restrict the rain head does it get hotter eg don’t open it fully 3/4 etc
Click to expand...
Hi Shaun well this is strange:
1/4 turn shower gets hot for about 20 secs then backs off slightly. it feels like its just about to get hotter to piping but backs itself off
1/2 turn: same
3/4 turn: same
full on: gets hot for about 20 seconds, but backs off to warm!

so it seems that the shower is "regulating" the temp itself?
 
finest1 said:
Hi Shaun well this is strange:
1/4 turn shower gets hot for about 20 secs then backs off slightly. it feels like its just about to get hotter to piping but backs itself off
1/2 turn: same
3/4 turn: same
full on: gets hot for about 20 seconds, but backs off to warm!

so it seems that the shower is "regulating" the temp itself?
Click to expand...


Can you advise make and model you’ve bought ?
 
Have you got a thermometer ? That you could check the temp ?
 
hi Shaun, i had a thought. has boiler pressure got anything to do with it? when i got the loft extension in 2020/21 i think my boiler was set to 1.5bar. then i had some radiator work done, including a power flush and it was set at 1.2. i remember the plumber saying that 1.2-1.5 is fine. however, then the shower was out of action and i just kept it at 1.2 ever since. now shower is back, i'm wondering if bar pressure needs reviewing. it's around 1.1 at the moment
 
No above 1 bar is fine either way
 
Your shower is limited to 48dc with tolerance so about 10dc higher than body temp does that feel about right ?
 
Degrees c
 
ShaunCorbs said:
Degrees c
Click to expand...
hello Shaun, i found one of those thermometers you use in your mouth when are ill. here are my findings:

when i turn on the rainfall shower and keep the thermo dial central, it measures 34 degrees. when i turn the thermo dial up, i get 40.2d when the shower is left running for a minimum 3 minutes. however, when i tested the hand shower, it went off the scale, which confirms that the handheld is hotter than rainfall, but it could be by a degree, so it could be 41 or 42. hope this helps
 
It definitely sounds like the shower is regulating or it’s lost a few degrees c in the riser to the rain head etc
 
ShaunCorbs said:
It definitely sounds like the shower is regulating or it’s lost a few degrees c in the riser to the rain head etc
Click to expand...
hi Shaun, i think i worked it out. something in the back of my mind went PING! and i went back to the shower to try something. when i let the shower run, like above, i placed the thermometer at the top of the shower head to get that reading. it reached 41d + and then the thermometer went off the scale! just like the hand held. the operative word in this is "rainfall!" as the water is falling its losing temperature. I was measuring it around lower chest height. the shower head is around 6ft, and i'm 5 8". so my lower chest is roughly 5ft. as the rainfall shower is not a "jet" like a handheld it is not going to be piping hot and has a distance to fall. i know it sounds "out there" but it must be that. so shower is correct, temperature is correct. How does that sound?
 
Yep sounds like it’s cooling and the added effect of it being winter (cooler cold water) it’s making it even more of a drastic difference
 
finest1 said:
hi Shaun, i think i worked it out. something in the back of my mind went PING! and i went back to the shower to try something. when i let the shower run, like above, i placed the thermometer at the top of the shower head to get that reading. it reached 41d + and then the thermometer went off the scale! just like the hand held. the operative word in this is "rainfall!" as the water is falling its losing temperature. I was measuring it around lower chest height. the shower head is around 6ft, and i'm 5 8". so my lower chest is roughly 5ft. as the rainfall shower is not a "jet" like a handheld it is not going to be piping hot and has a distance to fall. i know it sounds "out there" but it must be that. so shower is correct, temperature is correct. How does that sound?
Click to expand...
I've just read your thread. Most decent quality thermostatic shower valves can have the hot temperature increased slightly, normally by removing a handle and moving it on the splines, there should be details in the fitting instructions or online. Victorian or Victoria plumbing are terrible quality, cheap Chinese that looks good in an advert!
 

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