Electric Shower - Leaking in Cavity

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apple1

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Folks,

Just noticed last night that an electric shower that we had installed in the main bathroom must be leaking & water running down the cavity. When we powered the shower, no water came from the head, then a few moments later we noticed water running down the wall from the ceiling at the front of the hall. I presume the shower is leaking in the cavity, running along the ceiling between the joists, then down the wall. I'd appreciate if anyone may have an indication of what my problem is. The shower enclosure is fully tiled and I don't want to have to start ripping tiles off the wall to unearth the problem if its something relatively simple.

Thanks, apple1
 
Hey.

If this is an electric shower (with pump + heater inside the unit on the wall), then it is strange that it only leaks when it is turned on. It could indicate a blockage inside the unit - or maybe the pressure of the incoming water is too high. To check blockage you can remove the front of the unit and check. But I would recommend that you get whoever fitted the shower to do this (you would need to turn off the trip switch to look at it, but then the test could involve turning the shower on with the trip switch reset and the cover off, and obviously this is dangerous so think safety and get a qualified person to check).

If it is a pumped shower (mixer on wall, separate pump in hot press or attic) then it sounds like it is a problem with the connection at the back of the mixer. Which may or may not involve removing tiles, depending on how the mixer is fitted. Depending on where your pump is, the problem could also be there - check for leaks here if your setup has an external pump.

To be honest, if you had the work done by somebody else, then they should fix this for you free of charge.
 
Thanks dragOn. If its a water pressure problem, what could I possibly do to rectify it? Thanks, apple1
 
Hi.
If it is an electric shower unit, (mounted on the wall, outside the tiles) then it is unlikely to be a pressure problem. But it's always possible. I doubt it is this because judging by your post, the shower is upstairs and (if electric) is fed from the tank. Which won't be a huge height above the shower (probably 8-12 feet). The recommended max would be about 30 feet I think. And never mains. A fix might be to use a pressure-reducing valve - but like I said I think it is unlikely to be a pressure problem if your shower is as described above.

If however your shower is pumped (external pump) and mixed (at the shower end) then maybe you can adjust your pump or add a pressure reducing valve there.

But I recommend having a plumber look at it - and whoever installed it should fix it for you, probably their fault, either with the pressure problem or bad connections. One thing I have noticed with electric showers is that the connections are metric. So using half-inch fittings or even the metric equivalent to a half inch is not right (although you would think the metric equivalent should be right). There are special fittings for these. So not using the right fitting causes some leaks. Get someone to check it out.
 
15mm fittings will do on 1/2 inch pipe (14.7mm) because it will compress. the bigger the pipe the more differance there is, anyhow this can't be the problem in this case as it would leak all the time. If its an electric shower pop off the case and have a look for a black rubber type hose with a calipier connection, it could be that this has come apart and is spraying water through the hole in the tile where the pipe comes through.
If it only happens when you run the shower the problem has to be after the built in pump and stop valve and should therefore found within the unit.
 
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