Mains or tank fed electric shower ?

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cronley

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Im looking for the strongest flowing electric shower. Which electric shower gives the stronger water flow - mains or tank fed. Or, is there any difference - i.e. if they are both 8.5Kw heating elements, will they both only heat the same volume of water per second to the same temperature.
Is one 8.5Kw make of shower stronger flowing than another e.g. Triton V Mira etc. I know that different sprayhead settings make a difference to the flow strength, but is there any difference in flow strength between Triton & Mira sprayheads at the same settings.
Am I right in thinking that in Ireland, the most powerful shower you can get is 8.5 Kw, because our voltage is 220.
 
1. 8.5kw shower which feeds off mains (reasonable if mains pressure is good)
2. 8.5kw shower with internal pump which feeds off your cold storage tank (poor in most cases)
 
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The manufacturers all seem to recommend the mains option where the supply is reliable and of good pressure due to the increased pressure. So if you meet those criteria, that looks like the way to go.

In these times of mains restrictions, I'd think the tank fed option is the best choice. Since the start of the freeze where I am in Dublin, the mains has been off for most of the day every day, and when it's on, is running at reduced pressure. My shower is tank fed, so thankfully I can still shower when I want. If you have the facilities to have a tank fed backup to a mains-fed shower, that might be the way to go.

Another thing to bear in mind is mains water will be colder than that in a tank, so will take more energy to heat it. 8.5kW is at the lower end of the power scale available. 9.5 & 10.5kW are commonly available, and you can get up to 11kW. You just need to ensure the cabling you have is sufficient to handle the load.

Voltage here is 230V.
Leo
 
Leo
Thanks for reply. You say mains with good pressure should give stronger flow than tank fed shower. This does not make sense to me - if both mains fed & tank fed showers have the same wattage heating element, the stronger pressure mains, means that the water is going thro the heating element faster , & will not heat the water to the same temperature as the slower flowing tank fed shower - so you might have stronger flow with mains feed, but the water will not be as warm as tank fed unit.
In comparing two showers with the same wattage heater, the logic seems to me, that same wattage heaters will only heat the same volume of water to the same temperature in the same space of time, & consequently there is no difference in flow strength. Is there a flaw in this logic.
 
cronley said:
Leo
Thanks for reply. You say mains with good pressure should give stronger flow than tank fed shower. This does not make sense to me - if both mains fed & tank fed showers have the same wattage heating element, the stronger pressure mains, means that the water is going thro the heating element faster , & will not heat the water to the same temperature as the slower flowing tank fed shower - so you might have stronger flow with mains feed, but the water will not be as warm as tank fed unit.
In comparing two showers with the same wattage heater, the logic seems to me, that same wattage heaters will only heat the same volume of water to the same temperature in the same space of time, & consequently there is no difference in flow strength. Is there a flaw in this logic.
Click to expand...

No really a flaw, but to be more accurate when you say
cronley said:
In comparing two showers with the same wattage heater, the logic seems to me, that same wattage heaters will only heat the same volume of water to the same temperature in the same space of time,
Click to expand...
this will be true only when the input water is at a constant temperature and that temperature is the same across mains and header fed systems.

My personal preference is for header fed (pumped) systems, much easier to control, due to constant pressure and obliviously not dependent on mains fluctuations.
 
+1 on all SparkRite has said there.

Chances are, the majority of the time, either option will be capable of heating the water to beyond temperature you need. It's only during the really cold weather that the mains temperature will be low enough that the mains powered option might struggle.

My parents have a pumped system like SparkRite mentions, and the pressure is excellent, way better than a direct mains fed shower will ever manage.
Leo
 
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