Plug and timer on shower pump?

RonnieL

Hi everyone.

My apartment has a central water pump in the hot press. It kicks in when the shower is on, which is fine, but it also kicks in when the toilets are filling. As the cistern is almost full, the rate of flow into it slows, and the pump stops and starts over and over again until the flow stops completely. The pump is noisy, and it's patricularly annoying when it's going on and off, especially during the night. The plumber explained to me that the pump is just very sensitive. We turned the pump off completely, and the toilet still refills fine, although slower. Which brings me to my question. The pump is currently wired directly into the wall i.e. there is no plug at the end of the power cable going into the pump. I assume this is standard. Anyway, my idea was to put a normal socker in there, and buy one of those timers, so the pump will have power at the times when the shower is likely to be used, but during the night, if someone needs to use the toilet, we won't have the annoying noise of the pump turning on and off.

So, I'm wondering if this is an ok idea? No safety issue or anything like that? I wouldn't attempt to do it myself, but I don't want to get an electrician out, only for him/her to tell me it can't be done because of some safety issue or whatever.

Thanks, and apologies for the long winded question!

Ronan

Max_Charger

I cant see any problem with it off the top of my head,but would it not be easier to just have a simple on/off switch outside the hot press or wherever it is besides having to mess around with annoying timers if you want a shower at an odd time?

aujopimur

A timer with a manual overide would do your job just fine whether plugged in or hardwired.
The nuisance night time pump running is the reason I never fed toilets thru' the pump when I did this type of installation, except when neccessary.

RonnieL

Max_Charger wrote: »

I cant see any problem with it off the top of my head,but would it not be easier to just have a simple on/off switch outside the hot press or wherever it is besides having to mess around with annoying timers if you want a shower at an odd time?

Thanks for the reply, but that wouldn't be easier. That would mean remembering to switch the pump off every night, and then going back out into the hall in the morning before having a shower. The shower is used around the same times 99% of the time, and for the other 1% it would be no hassle just flicking the switch on a timer.

sparcocars

RonnieL wrote: »

Hi everyone.

My apartment has a central water pump in the hot press. It kicks in when the shower is on, which is fine, but it also kicks in when the toilets are filling. As the cistern is almost full, the rate of flow into it slows, and the pump stops and starts over and over again until the flow stops completely. The pump is noisy, and it's patricularly annoying when it's going on and off, especially during the night. The plumber explained to me that the pump is just very sensitive. We turned the pump off completely, and the toilet still refills fine, although slower. Which brings me to my question. The pump is currently wired directly into the wall i.e. there is no plug at the end of the power cable going into the pump. I assume this is standard. Anyway, my idea was to put a normal socker in there, and buy one of those timers, so the pump will have power at the times when the shower is likely to be used, but during the night, if someone needs to use the toilet, we won't have the annoying noise of the pump turning on and off.

So, I'm wondering if this is an ok idea? No safety issue or anything like that? I wouldn't attempt to do it myself, but I don't want to get an electrician out, only for him/her to tell me it can't be done because of some safety issue or whatever.

Thanks, and apologies for the long winded question!

Ronan

The only issue with it would be if it was an electro-mechanical timer.(The one with the dial with pins you push in or pull out). They don't last very long when exposed to the temperatures in the hot press. A switch to turn on when having a shower might be better. Another option could be to get it wired in paralell with the load side of the shower pull cord switch so it could only come on when the shower is on. I don't think it would be a problem but would someone on here advise if it is. Just make sure the flow switch is left in circuit also.

RonnieL

aujopimur wrote: »

A timer with a manual overide would do your job just fine whether plugged in or hardwired.
The nuisance night time pump running is the reason I never fed toilets thru' the pump when I did this type of installation, except when neccessary.

Thanks aujopimur. Sounds like I can give a sparky a call anyway, and go from there. Think I'll go with a plug in timer, just because if a hard wired one becomes faulty, I'll need an electrician again to fix it.

RonnieL

sparcocars wrote: »

The only issue with it would be if it was an electro-mechanical timer.(The one with the dial with pins you push in or pull out). They don't last very long when exposed to the temperatures in the hot press. A switch to turn on when having a shower might be better. Another option could be to get it wired in paralell with the load side of the shower pull cord switch so it could only come on when the shower is on. I don't think it would be a problem but would someone on here advise if it is. Just make sure the flow switch is left in circuit also.

Cheers for the reply sparco. That's an interesting idea which I hadn't even considered, so I'm glad I asked the question. Sounds kindof complicated, but I can put it to the electrician and see what he says. Might be further complicated by the fact there's two showers running off the pump.

M cebee

these are just mixer showers right?
An accessible mechanical timer is prob the handiest ,if the plumber okays it

Bruthal

That sounds like the flow switch setup is not working very well on the pump.