The best mixer showers are not the ones that just look nice but they are the ones that look nice and give you a good shower. You are best to ask the right questions before you buy a mixer or tap. The only shower mixers you need to avoid state that they need 0.4 bars or more (but even these can give a good shower but never a brilliant shower when boosted with a SPB).
Many people buy beautiful looking showers that give acceptable results with the minimum of pressure, but many customers are sold ‘lemons’, and often this is not because they did not ask the right questions but because they were misled, wrongly directed, or just plain lied to.
I fitted a Mira Apt Shower Mixer which is designed to work at a minimum of 1 metre head in September 2017. It cost me £100 from Screwfix and the performance with a single SPB on the hot is very good, with a a second SPB on the hot is is brilliant. The Mira Apt is good looking, well built, and was the perfect choice for a budget shower mixer.
Mira Apt £99.99
As a general guide I have found customers buying shower mixers claiming to need O.1 bars often work best with a pump on the hot and cold (SP22S). Stating a minimum flow at 0.1 bars can mean the manufacturer is selling a product that will not be happy if you just boost the hot. Those that state 0.2 bars or 0.3 bars tend to be better at balancing uneven pressures but flows before boosting are a bit less. If for any reason you prefer cold or cool showers then boosting hot and cold is essential.
Some manufacturers appear to quote flows based on open discharge without the shower head which is a poor guide to the flow with a shower head on. I do wish manufacturers would give flow rates with shower heads on rather than water flow from a shower mixer without shower head or hose.
RESEARCH BEFORE BUYING IS VITAL
Avoid showers that are sold purely on the statement ‘suitable for gravity systems’. Avoid any shower mixer which does not state in writing what the minimum pressure requirement is, because that’s when they slip in a lemon and then argue the toss when you find with 5 metres head you get a weak pathetic shower. Time and time again the manufacturers will weedle out of their responsibility by arguing that it is ‘suitable for gravity systems’ but it is not ‘suitable for all gravity systems’. It is not their fault that you do not live in a three storey house and want a shower in the basement. Some argue it is suitable for gravity systems but…… only if you pump up the pressure with a ShowerPowerBooster.
For an upstairs shower which has only 1 metre head and your mixer manufacture states that 1 metre is the minimum, a shower power booster is all you need to quadruple the pressure and double the flow and turn your minimum shower into a great shower.
Buying a Lemon – Misleading Advertising
Some manufacturers sell what I regard as lemons and their marketing team big them up. Suitable for low pressure and stating a minimum pressure 0.5 bars required is nonsense. Common sense should tell you that 0.5 bars is not low pressure .
An upstairs shower with a gravity system has a pressure at 0.1 bars.
A first floor shower with a gravity system has 0.5 bars
A SHOWER POWER BOOSTER WILL SOLVE PRESSURE PROBLEMS FOR ALL SHOWERS.
Detailed drawings and instructions are in the booklet sent with the pumps but you can download the online version of this guide using the orange link on the bottom right hand side of this page.
