shower pumps

[lprenrut]

My water tank is in the airing cupboard on the same level as my bathroom and I have my shower pump sited on the floor in front of the immersion heater.Trouble is the pump is on it's way out but I was told the pump I have is a negative head pump as I have not got a water tank in the loft to give me a head of water for gravity fed. Question is will the power shower pumps they sell in B&Q for example be sufficient for what I need ?

[qapmoc]

Hi, If the pump is on the floor and the water tank is above it meaning that the water level in the tank will always be higher than the pump, then you do not need a negative head pump. A normal shower pump should be adequate for your purpose.

[LATECOMER]

If you need to operate a switch prior to using your shower then you have a negative head pump,if however the pump turns itself on when it senses running water then you have a positive head pump. hope that makes sense to you.

[qapmoc]

Hi Latecomer, sorry to disagree but your description is incorrect, Eddie51 had the correct function described but missed the correct type to use.
A negative head pump is to suck up water which is below the pump, A positive head pump is to pump water that is already above the pump. How it starts and stops has no relation to the type of pump needed.

[LATECOMER]

Hello qapmoc! The point i was trying to make and obviously i failed, is that a positive head pump only turns on when it senses water flowing in the system. Water

[LATECOMER]

I will finish my answer!!! Water on a negative system will never start to flow therefore the pump has to be started manually

[lprenrut]

Hi to everyone who have answered but i am still unclear ( forgive my ignorance ) at present like i've mentioned before the pump is sited on the floor in front of my immersion heater and is operated by power that is on a switched socket also there is another wire that runs from the pump to the control unit in the shower cubicle, it is only when i turn the control unit that the pump will work.As mentioned before the water tank is not in the loft like most conventional water tanks are but in the airing cupboard above the immersion heater which doesn't give me a head of water for my shower to be gravity fed!!!!!!!!!

[LATECOMER]

Hello iprenrut. You need a positive head pump. Negative head pumps are used when the store of water is below the level of the pump eg, being pumped up from a room below. The vast majority of pumps sold are positive head. From what you have described you would have a head of pressure but nowhere near sufficient to give you a good shower. Go to B and Q and ask the guy in charge of plumbing a lot of the older guys are ex tradesmen

[LATECOMER]

Just a thought, but have you tried speaking to a shower manufacturer? Give these people a bell ( 024 ) 7632 5491 or www.tritonshowers.co.uk they have got to now the correct answer. good luck!!!!

[soa]

Hi iprenrut

qapmoc is correct - and so are the others one way or another. A regular shower pump should suffice so long as you have a means of activating it. You do not need a negative head pump but if you used one it wouldnt hurt. If your shower rose is sufficinetly below the header tank level the little trickle would switch the pump on

without this you need a switch of some sort - usually hydraulic - if its also on the bath mixer then just turn on the mixer - get the pump running and then switch the mixer off - like I do. But do speak to the pump manufacturer.

Regards