Shower systems which have a hydro massage often require water pressures well in excess of typical UK mains pressures. If you live in the UK you can expect around 1.5 bars of mains pressure and a typical shower cubical needs 3 to 6 bars pressure and a high volume of water. Most UK pipes and fittings are tested to 4 bars pressure. The minimum pressure supplied in the UK is 1 bar.
The highest rated domestic shower booster pump is 4.5 bars. You cannot maximise the performance of your shower system by boosting a gravity system with a 6.0 bar pump because you cannot buy a 6.0 bar pump in the UK. It is illegal and impractical to boost mains water pressure with a pump beyond 12 litres a a minute.
You could get away with a 4.5 bar shower booster pump but the noise and running cost will be significant. In November 2017 I visited a customer in Northampton who wanted to replace his 4.5 bar pump boosting a shower system, multiple shower jets at different heights because it was noisy and gave him a poor shower. The noise was due to Cavitation.
Many showers in the UK are made and designed to work with pressures as little as 0.1 bar, and with one of my boosters, gives a fabulous shower, using just a 15 watt boost.
I am writing this blog simply to alert potential customers of the ShowerPowerBooster that the choice of a Hydro Massage in a home is impractical unless you install a pumped gravity system but should you decide to fit a shower designed for the UK market then please consider the SPB for its simplicity:-
Click on the link below to see the latest ShowerPowerBooster Fitting Guide.
