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Electric showers

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:48am
9 replies357 views5 members subscribed
patricia62

patricia62

Helpful member

Posts: 217

81 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Nov 2018

Hello, looking for advice, 

We are thinking of installing an electric shower as we are having too many problems with the showers that run from the gas boiler eg: too cold, wasting a lot of water waiting on it to heat, ect, we are having the water heater services tomorrow, but need to consider plan b if this doesent help.

My question is, can we buy an electric shower here? And can they be installed easily enough in a villa, we are in Arboleas. 

Thank you for any help.

Patricia

mark2cv

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:57pm

Posts: 115

48 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 7 Oct 2017

Posted: Mon Feb 24, 2020 11:57pm

Hi Patricia

You can get electric showers here but they are power hungry. I think they start at around 8kW, but have you got the supply to handle that?

Most properties won't as standard, but could be uprated no doubt...

Mark.

beauly

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:44am

beauly

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Posts: 206

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Location: La Alfoquia

Joined: 2 Apr 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 8:44am

Hi there.  We asked iberdrola about increasing our power as it keeps tripping when our ducted air con is on.  We can’t even use the microwave when the air con is on heat.  We asked Iberdrola - we are on the standard 5.8 (think that is the standard power rating, it is with 5.4 or 5.8 kw).  It was going to cost us €150 per increase of a kw to do it, so not worth it.  You can get an electrician to put in a larger fuse, but nit sure if this is legal!!!!  Hope this helps.

Iberdrola Office is in Albox, Avenida Lepanto, further up from Mercadona but on the other side of the road.  They speak English.

patricia62

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:32pm

patricia62

Original Poster

Helpful member

Posts: 217

81 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Nov 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:32pm

Thank you Mark and beauly, 

That is very helpful and something we can look into. The water heater has just been serviced, we will see how this goes while we research the kW, of the place all I know is that it is 3 phase because it was a show house, so we've been told, it has lots of inside and outside wall sockets. I have a feeling that we may have to invest in an electric shower. 

Thank you again

 patricia 

Crancrank

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:02pm

Crancrank

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Posts: 549

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Location: Mojacar

Joined: 8 Feb 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:02pm

patricia62 wrote on Tue Feb 25, 2020 1:32pm:

Thank you Mark and beauly, 

That is very helpful and something we can look into. The water heater has just been serviced, we will see how this goes while we research the kW, of the place all I know is that it is 3 phase because it was a show house, so we've been told, it has lots of inside and outside wall sockets. I have a...

... feeling that we may have to invest in an electric shower. 

Thank you again

 patricia 

Hi Patricia,

If you are in Arboleas you are in a very hard water area and from experience of living there for 2 years with the same problems you are having, your water boiler and tour pipework will be full of limescale which (a) reduces the flow of water through your boiler and through your pipework and (b) scales up all of your shower heads and tap filters. My guess will be that when your boiler is serviced they will run an acid solution through it to remove the scale. This will help the problem for a few months until it scales up again. We had our done 3 times including the pipework until we we decided to get the boiler replaced and water softener/filter installed on the water main. This cured the problem for good.

Regarding electric showers, the comments above regarding the power required to run them are all correct.

Finally I would very much doubt that your villa has a 3 phase supply regardless of whether it was a show house or not as domestic properties are always supplied with single phase.

Even if you can find one in this area of Spain I would avoid it for all the reasons stated by previous replies.

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patricia62

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:56pm

patricia62

Original Poster

Helpful member

Posts: 217

81 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Nov 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:56pm

Crancrank wrote on Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:02pm:

Hi Patricia,

If you are in Arboleas you are in a very hard water area and from experience of living there for 2 years with the same problems you are having, your water boiler and tour pipework will be full of limescale which (a) reduces the flow of water through your boiler and through your pipework and (b) s...

...cales up all of your shower heads and tap filters. My guess will be that when your boiler is serviced they will run an acid solution through it to remove the scale. This will help the problem for a few months until it scales up again. We had our done 3 times including the pipework until we we decided to get the boiler replaced and water softener/filter installed on the water main. This cured the problem for good.

Regarding electric showers, the comments above regarding the power required to run them are all correct.

Finally I would very much doubt that your villa has a 3 phase supply regardless of whether it was a show house or not as domestic properties are always supplied with single phase.

Even if you can find one in this area of Spain I would avoid it for all the reasons stated by previous replies.

Hi there, thank you for your advice, we are in the process of installing a water filter, have sourced a guy and got a cost so this will be happening end of the week thankfully! We have had to empty the pool and had that acid washed too as the calc was everywhere in it and we were afraid of damage happening with the pump, I'm afraid the house is 3 phase as we had the electric people out already because of high electric bills, and believe me we would have avoided it if we'd have known! 

Thanks again 

Crancrank

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:09pm

Crancrank

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Posts: 549

363 helpful points

Location: Mojacar

Joined: 8 Feb 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:09pm

patricia62 wrote on Tue Feb 25, 2020 6:56pm:

Hi there, thank you for your advice, we are in the process of installing a water filter, have sourced a guy and got a cost so this will be happening end of the week thankfully! We have had to empty the pool and had that acid washed too as the calc was everywhere in it and we were afraid of damage...

... happening with the pump, I'm afraid the house is 3 phase as we had the electric people out already because of high electric bills, and believe me we would have avoided it if we'd have known! 

Thanks again 

I'm guessing that the 3 phase was a builders supply for the development installed during the construction which would usually be removed at completion of the development and reduced to a domestic single phase supply.

However this is Spain and nothing surpriseses me now.

patricia62

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:16pm

patricia62

Original Poster

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Posts: 217

81 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Nov 2018

Posted: Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:16pm

Crancrank wrote on Tue Feb 25, 2020 7:09pm:

I'm guessing that the 3 phase was a builders supply for the development installed during the construction which would usually be removed at completion of the development and reduced to a domestic single phase supply.

However this is Spain and nothing surpriseses me now.

Yes, 

We are not surprised at all, although at least we have electricity! We lived in a cortijo in the mountains of Málaga before we moved here and had so much trouble with power out ages, we were more times off than on, 

Anyway, we still love Spain, problems and all 

Ursula

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:53am

Posts: 31

11 helpful points

Joined: 21 Aug 2018

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:53am

Hi,

Maybe you can think of a solar water heating system . We have that and if at all we need maybe 30 days of the year to give it some extra heat with the gas boiler. 

So the water is already pre heated by the solar like around having 30 degrees it is easy to give it the rest by the gas boiler.

Saves you from high billls.

There are also possibilities to directly combine a electric heater within the solar system ,but I have no details about that , have a look at the internet.

regards

Ursula

patricia62

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:57am

patricia62

Original Poster

Helpful member

Posts: 217

81 helpful points

Location: Arboleas

Joined: 2 Nov 2018

Posted: Wed Feb 26, 2020 10:57am

Thank you for your help, 

We will be considering all options so that can be added to our list. 

Patricia 

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