Morning,

You will have to excuse my complete lack of plumbing knowledge but I will do my best to explain so hopefully someone might be able to help.

Just before christmas our gas valve in our boiler stopped stopped so we had no heating. We then had it replaced with a new Vaillant boiler. The heating is now working but we can not have a hot shower. It is not even warm. I spoke to the fella who fitted the boiler and he said it might be my Salamander booster pump. I then called Pumpwise who said that if I turned round the pump and I had the opposite problem i.e Hot shower only then iy would be the pump. Unfortunately it is still cold. We can only have a hot shower if we put the Emerger on. The hot pipe that goes down into the pump is hot and the pipe that leaves the pump is also hot. I was think that maybe when I had the system flushed maybe something has got stuck in a bend or something? I was considering getting the system flushed again? A replacement pump is about £150 so as you can imagine I am unwilling to buy a new pump unless I'm sure that is the problem.

We get hot water in our sinks, just not the shower unfortunately

Just wondering if anyone has had a similar problem who has fixed a similar problem and may be able to point us in the right direction

Cheers
Ricky

If the shower's the only fixture that doesn't get hot water the problem's in the valve. The solution would be to shut the water off to the valve and open it up to remove the cartridge. Check the cartridge inlet ports for debris or blockage. Now, with the valve still open , turn the water back on to flush out the supplies. You should see a strong stream. If not tell me about it. If you get a strong stream reassemble the valve and test. Better now? Good luck, Tom

Tom,

Thanks a lot for your quick reply. Its really appreciated.

Right, I this disconnected the booster pump from the four pipes connected to it after I turned off all four valves. With the hot water one I could see the silver filter so I took that off and couldn't see any debris on it. I then turned the hot water valve that runs horizontally into the booster pump and I had a steady stream of very hot water coming out of it. The hot water pipe that runs vertically out of the pump had no water coming at all so ill assume that might be the waste pipe? I will now put the silver filter back on and see how it goes when its all connected up.

Thanks again

Ricky

Hi Ricky...

Tom wasn't talking about the pump. Tom was talking about you shutting off the water supply to the shower valve itself and then removing the cartridge from the shower valve and then turning the water back on to clear the lines of any sediment/blockage that could be in the lines.

While the shower valve cartridge is out, of course, you'll want to check it for issues... could be damaged and may need to be repaired/replaced.

Anyway, check your shower valve... the most likely culprit since it is the only fixture that has the issue!

MARK

Hi Mark

Thanks for your reply. Like I said I have no idea about plumbing! I have taken my shower apart and I could not find a cartridge. All that was left on the way was two silver tubes that my mixer and controls fix onto I turn the water on and let it run for a while and it was very hot water. I tried to clean everything I could see so hopefully it might work when I put it all back together. I have taken pictures of everything so if it does not work maybe I can send them to either of you and you might be able to see where I am going wrong.

Thanks again for your help

Ricky

It certainly sounds like the shower. With any luck, you're all set!

Keep us posted Ricky... glad to help.

Bad news... Its still cold! I can only have a hot shower if I turn off the booster pump obviously no power but at least it is hot. No problem with hot water from my bath tap so that leads me to think that it might be the pump but I have called pumpwise and they said that when I turn the pump around I should have the opposite problem but I just got cold water again!


Rather than pay £150 for a replacement pump I think I will get someone round to have a look first.

I don't think it's your pump. Sounds more like a cross connection to me. I'd have it checked before I replaced anything. Good luck, Tom

Good news. We now can have a hot shower... for five minutes. If I turn the shower on, the water will be cold. Unplug the pump leaving the water still running and plug the pump back in and then we have hot water for about five minutes. Not ideal but better than it was. Does this mean that it could be the pump?

... for five minutes. If I turn the shower on, the water will be cold. Unplug the pump leaving the water still running and plug the pump back in and then we have hot water for about five minutes. Not ideal but better than it was. Does this mean that it could be the pump? Your pump's pulling coild water from somewhere and from what you say I would suspect a cross connection in the pump system. Get that fixed and we'll discuss why you only have 5 minutes of hot water.
Thanks for the PM but if you wish to thank a expert Click on the "Agree/ Disagree" button, click agree and make your comment. Regards, tom