Aqualisa Shower Pricing

[bainbrig]

Aqualisa shower. Alright, pretty expensive to start with, but we thought it'd last, which largely, it has.

Just under two years ago we had a new 'charger' unit fitted, by Aqualisa, total cost £169 (!) but included a 2 year warranty.

Lately, dodgy showers (going cold, not coming on, etc), so asked Aqualisa to come and check out their charger. They will come, under warranty, but if it is a 'no-fault' call (how the heck are we to know until they've been!) there is a £96 charge for coming!

Bit of a loss, really. We've checked water pressure - not great, 15 litres per minute at the taps, 10 litres a minute from the shower hose - but it seems 'within limits'.

We're thinking of cancelling the Aqualisa visit and shouting at the water board instead...

Why doesn't life get easier when you get old?

BB

[The Builder]

First off, BB, I guess you are referring to the "cartridge"?

If so, you are now entering the twilight zone of fault-finding. Yes, it does sound like a thermostatic cartridge problem again.
However ............
There may be other components which could cause this. I don't know which model you have, but there may be electrical sensors affecting the flow rate on either the hot or cold sides.......... maybe

I imagine your original warranty has run out, so any repair to components other than the cartridge shall be chargeable. At least that would go some way to justifying paying a call-out charge.

If it is another faulty cartridge, then your newer warranty would take care of that.

Either way, I think you have little choice but to accept the call-out.

Your flow rate is not high, but has been sufficient in the past. I wouldn't suspect it to be the problem.

As for getting old, I always maintain that getting older is inevitable. It has its advantages. We do though, have the choice not to be "old". It's a very different matter.
Just consider the bulk of the inhabitants of this Answerbank parish ;o)

[bainbrig]

Thanks Builder, comprehensive as usual.

But, the other day I was sitting in the bathroom sorting out my leg (a longish process) and for one reason or another the bath was running, tap wide open. And the flow wasn't a 'gush', in fact it wasn't even consistent, but sometimes slowed considerably. Thus, I was wondering whether it was water pressure (over which we have little control I suppose). Do water companies deliberately keep their pressures low?

Anyway, the shower is ok at certain times of day, so I'm inclined to think it's pressure (variable) rather than cartridge (fairly fixed).

Of course it might be that £96 colouring my thoughts...

Yes, the old/not old question - I do remind myself when I get too low, wondering what my various mates who have died, far too young, would say to my moaning.

Any thoughts on my fluctuating water pressures? Is there in fact anything a house (flat) holder can do about it?

BB

[The Builder]

Fair enough, BB, you may be right.
Water pressure in flats... another can of worms. ;o)

Newish flats: often individual supplies to each flat from the main in the road.
Older flats: not uncommon for one main incomer which is then split and metered separately for each flat.

Older systems may experience problems, not with pressure, but with "flow" ie actual amount of water available. Everyone runs a bath at the same time may equal severe drop in flow rate.

Anyway... why should this all start happening now?

Is there a management company for the flats?
Are they local authority?

[bainbrig]

Nah, freehold maisonettes, so no-one else to have a go at, just us! 1930s, so one incoming water supply, one stop-cock, split upstairs/downstairs. We might put the £96 callout on hold and talk to neighbours to see if it’s a shared problem.

[The Builder]

Good idea BB.

Also, check neighbours, particularly single house supplies. Should tell us something about the main in the road. Suppliers often reduce pressure after a spell of dry weather.

[bainbrig]

Well, neighbours have all sorts of differing systems (gravity-fed, old-fashioned hot-water tanks, etc), so not a great help. One says he had to have a pump fitted as his gravity-fed shower wasn't doing the job, but with the electric pump it was okay.

Having had my shower today at 0800 (i.e. peak time for showering round here, I would guess), and having had to 'use' the bath-tap trick to activate the shower, I'm still mighty suspicious of the water-pressure.

Solution could be to get up very early and miss the rush, or wait till later, same reason.

When we measure the flow, it's right on 15 lpm through the other taps, and right on 10 lpm for the shower, so I imagine that if it drops a little, say down to 8 or 9 litres per minute, it just won't make the boiler kick in.

Anything non-drastic we could do? It's a very small London flat, so we haven't got room for big water tanks/hot-water storage/etc, so I don't see where we could put a pump into the system to increase the flow.

Is replacing the cartridge very tricky? That, along with the hose and head, are the only parts we can get at.

BB

[The Builder]

A question I should have asked at the start is: what sort of system do you have?

1 combi boiler? (mains pressure hot)
2 conventional boiler with gravity fed immersion cylinder? (cold water tank in the roof)
3 unvented immersion cylinder? (mains pressure hot)
4 electric shower? (with or without built-in pump)

[bainbrig]

Combi. This afternoon we did another flow test, and the shower was running at 6 litres per minute, the bath at 13. Water Board, I fear, turning it down when (3pm) they think there's less demand.

Oh, and no, at 6 litres per minute the shower did NOT kick in!

BB

[The Builder]

BB, you should get around 9l/min from even a small(ish) 24kw combi.
10l/min at a tap suggests that the combi is Ok
It would also suggest to me that the mains supply is alright (as long as it's not intermittent.)

Silly things first ...... blocked shower head/hose. Unscrew the head (leaving the hose connected to the shower), then try your flow test.

Failing that, the easiest way to explain a cartridge replacement is for you to go to Youtube and enter "replacing Aqualisa shower cartridge."
Choice of several videos.

I know this is all guesswork. There are various flow sensors and valves within the boiler that may be faulty, but since your taps are fine, I would have to stick my neck out and suspect the cartridge.

[bainbrig]

1) Baxi the boiler man coming next week for annual service (under contract).

2) We’ve bitten the bullet and replaced the shower head with a genuine Aqualisa one (silly price), also a new hose (similar).

Thus, by next week we should be able to blame the cartridge OR the mains pressure, all else having been eliminated.

Thanks v much for the guidance; I’ll report back.

BillB