Mira Elite QT Shower

Sleeper12

The Satanist wrote: »

Hi all, I've had this shower fitted about 18 months ago with no issues. Until yesterday... cold water is trickling out of the filter thing when in use, it's not loose or damaged, any suggestions what might be causing this?

It's one of the many known issues with this model. The pump elbow sits above the filter. This is leaking onto & through the filter

https://www.dublinshowerrepair.com/product/mira-elite-qt-pump-elbow/

The Satanist

Sleeper12 wrote: »

It's one of the many known issues with this model. The pump elbow sits above the filter. This is leaking onto & through the filter

https://www.dublinshowerrepair.com/product/mira-elite-qt-pump-elbow/

Thanks, would that be an easy DIY job or would I need a pro?

Sleeper12

The Satanist wrote: »

Thanks, would that be an easy DIY job or would I need a pro?

Turn the power off & remove the 4 screws holding the cover on. Have a look at the elbow on the left, between the filter & motor. It's held in by two clips. Not the hardest port to replace. You'll pay 100 euro for someone to supply & fit the part.

The Satanist

Does the motor need to come out to get to it? Looks a bit complicated for me

Sleeper12

Motor needs to come out. Yes

stephgle

Me Again, so yesterday our Mira Elite QT no longer heats the water. Pure cold. Done all the usual checks and full flow both in and out of the shower, just always freezing. Am assuming its probably the heater tank? As i had said about 2 years ago, was sorry had bought it in the first place based on the early days reports, and had to learn my lesson the hard way when the pump had failed within only a few months. Had to get shower doctors out and it ran away for last 2 years. However, ridiculous that it only lasted this long. We had the Mira Elite 2 model before this for 14 years!

Sleeper, in your opinion, is the SE worth taking a risk on, or should i just go with the Triton T90?

Sleeper12

Most likely the TCO needs replacing on the Mira Elite Qt. This part isn't expensive (around 25 euros) and I think I linked to it in a recent post on this thread

stephgle wrote:

Sleeper, in your opinion, is the SE worth taking a risk on, or should i just go with the Triton T90?

Here's the thing, for the most part I think they have sorted the main issues inside the Mira Elite SE but it's still cheap brittle plastic & their aftercare service has been horrible. Having to deal with the Shower Doctors is reason
enough for me not to buy a Mira product.

There is a new Mira Elite SE Dual. It's a regular Mira Elite SE shower but the shower pole has a diverter. You have a regular shower head & a rain head. They sent one out to me the other day to test. I haven't had the time to look at it yet but if the idea of a rain head appeals to you then it might be worth looking at rather than the Triton. The Triton is still better imo but they don't do a rain head yet. I don't know how successful a rain head will be with an electric shower putting out 3 to 5 litres of water per minute. I've a rain head mixer set on a 3 bar pump and it puts out 23 litres of water per minute. I haven't gotten firm prices yet as the Dual SE hasn't been launched yet but you could be looking at 125 to 150 euros extra compared to the regular Mira Elite SE

John.G

You mentioned commonality of shower parts between Triton/Mira, does, IYO, the same apply to the TCOs as this now seems to be rearing its head with the Mira as well as the Triton.

Sleeper12

John.G wrote:

You mentioned commonality of shower parts between Triton/Mira, does, IYO, the same apply to the TCOs as this now seems to be rearing its head with the Mira as well as the Triton.

TCOs & solenoids fail on all showers. We sell a lot of mira elite qt TCOs and solenoids but I'm not sure they fail any more or less than Triton ones. They are just parts that fail & at least they aren't expensive parts. The biggest problem with the Qt was that the motor failed so often. This is expensive. Over 120 to buy the part from the shower doctors and over 200 supplied & fitted. You'll get a new replacement shower supplied & fitted for 350 ish in Dublin. Rule of thumb is if repair costs more than half the cost of a new shower then the new shower is better value. If the motor fails a day out of the 2 years warranty then its better to bin the 2 year old shower. I find it shocking at the dozens upon dozens of two & three year old Miras we replaced in the two years. The average lifespan of an electric shower is 10 years not 2 years.

Remembering that there are 5 to 7 triton t90 showers installed in Ireland compared to the Mira Elite, the biggest selling part of the last 12 months in my store has been the mira Elite Qt pump elbow. The biggest by a country mile.

fergiesfolly

stephgle wrote: »

Me Again, so yesterday our Mira Elite QT no longer heats the water. Pure cold. Done all the usual checks and full flow both in and out of the shower, just always freezing. Am assuming its probably the heater tank? As i had said about 2 years ago, was sorry had bought it in the first place based on the early days reports, and had to learn my lesson the hard way when the pump had failed within only a few months. Had to get shower doctors out and it ran away for last 2 years. However, ridiculous that it only lasted this long. We had the Mira Elite 2 model before this for 14 years!

Sleeper, in your opinion, is the SE worth taking a risk on, or should i just go with the Triton T90?

I posted about this a few days ago.
It's not a difficult fix.
A Philips and Torc screwdriver are the only tools needed.
Once the front cover is off, there are two torc screws that will loosen the right side of the internal, making it easier to access the TCO. One screw to remove it from it's housing and two more to undo the wires. It's a little finicky getting it back in its place. Honestly, this isn't a difficult job.
Take loads of photos to ensure you reattach the wires correctly and put it back in the correct position.
There's a very good YouTube video on it( sorry, can't link from phone)
Good luck

stephgle

Yup already done:-) Followed Sleepers advice and so went and tested continuity and he's spot on, its dead. Am ordering a new one now. Thanks Sleeper.

Agree Fergiesfolly, once the 3 screws were undone it slips out, thankfully no screw at the back (just slots into the mount there).

Ordering new spare now. Was so close to going tomorrow and buying the Triton!

@Sleeper: checked online and saw the new SE model as well as the Dual Model in the UK, a lot more expensive and also agree, not sure the pressure would be worth the expense on a pumped system as can't see how it would match up. Then again, hopefully I'll get another 3-5 years from this piece of junk and then fork out for a new unit:-)

BB_1983

Hi, I have the elite qt, the elbow failed on it so I replaced this today. It was still running when failed but leaking water out the bottom. After replacing I'm getting no water out. Have tried everything I can see online around bleeding, primed at filter, head of, hose on deck, but still nothing comes out the hose.
When I push back the elbow there seems to be water at this point, how difficult are these normally to bleed? How long would you have to run it, and how long is OK to run without causing damage? Thanks for any advice

John.G

I bled a neighbours a few months due to head tank running dry, I just removed the filter (no need to isolate water) and pushed up the poppet valve and let water run out for a few minutes before releasing it but I presume you have done this.

Sleeper12

If you aren't even getting a drip through the shower then the solenoid coil might need replacing. With an airlock you'll usually get a dribble. If it's bone dry coming out then most likely solenoid

BB_1983

Sleeper12 wrote: »

If you aren't even getting a drip through the shower then the solenoid coil might need replacing. With an airlock you'll usually get a dribble. If it's bone dry coming out then most likely solenoid

Thanks for replies, there's is nothing at all coming out. I thought it strange as it was running before I went at it, just leaking. I did wonder if it could be solenoid as there seems to be water pressure up to there just didn't think I could have done anything in repair to cause that to fail.

Sleeper12

BB_1983 wrote:

Thanks for replies, there's is nothing at all coming out. I thought it strange as it was running before I went at it, just leaking. I did wonder if it could be solenoid as there seems to be water pressure up to there just didn't think I could have done anything in repair to cause that to fail.

The Mira Elite Qt & Mira Elite SE can be difficult to get water through on installation. I've often had to syphon them to get the flow started

cuculainn

Apologies if this has been posted before. We have a Mira elite Qt installed just under 2 years. Has been working on ok, but recently have been needing to turn it up higher to get hot water to the point that it now needs to be in the red in the high setting to have a warm shower. For the previous two years it would have been on the eco setting. Now the eco setting barely warms the water at all.
Any ideas of the potential problem?

thanks in advance

Sleeper12

cuculainn wrote:

Apologies if this has been posted before. We have a Mira elite Qt installed just under 2 years. Has been working on ok, but recently have been needing to turn it up higher to get hot water to the point that it now needs to be in the red in the high setting to have a warm shower. For the previous two years it would have been on the eco setting. Now the eco setting barely warms the water at all. Any ideas of the potential problem?

The eco setting isn't new. It was called low before they coloured it green. Originally it was known as summer setting and high was winter setting. Summer setting was never designed for this time of the year. On a cold morning it would dribble out around 2 litres of warm water per minute. Most people would only use summer setting on half a dozen hot days in the year. For the most part you should be using full power. What you are describing sounds like the shower is behaving exactly as I'd expect it to behave. It doesn't sound like you have a problem

John.G

Just do this very simple test and it will tell all, put it to its highest power setting and set the temperature (flow) to give your normal showering temperature. Get a bucket/dish and let the water flow into it for exactly 1 minute then measure this.
Just now the mains is 12C so assuming 40c as a reasonable showering temperature then you should be getting 4.6 LPM on high power setting or 2.3/2.5 LPM on its economy setting.
If you are inclined to do so, carry out the same exercise on Eco only mode.
I run mine (a Mira Sport) on its eco setting for about a month in the summer (not too much this summer) when the mains is close to 20C, this gives 3.3 LPM on economy setting and 6.5 LPM on high.,

cuculainn

Sleeper12 wrote: »

The eco setting isn't new. It was called low before they coloured it green. Originally it was known as summer setting and high was winter setting. Summer setting was never designed for this time of the year. On a cold morning it would dribble out around 2 litres of warm water per minute. Most people would only use summer setting on half a dozen hot days in the year. For the most part you should be using full power. What you are describing sounds like the shower is behaving exactly as I'd expect it to behave. It doesn't sound like you have a problem

Thanks Sleeper for the info. My only concern would be that it's not that cold yet (10 degree) yesterday. If the weather went down to wards freezing I don't know would there be enough left on the dial to heat it further as we are already in the red zone. On the previous Mira elite we would be roughly half way round the dial at this stage on the high setting.

John.G wrote: »

Just do this very simple test and it will tell all, put it to its highest power setting and set the temperature (flow) to give your normal showering temperature. Get a bucket/dish and let the water flow into it for exactly 1 minute then measure this.
Just now the mains is 12C so assuming 40c as a reasonable showering temperature then you should be getting 4.6 LPM on high power setting or 2.3/2.5 LPM on its economy setting.
If you are inclined to do so, carry out the same exercise on Eco only mode.
I run mine (a Mira Sport) on its eco setting for about a month in the summer (not too much this summer) when the mains is close to 20C, this gives 3.3 LPM on economy setting and 6.5 LPM on high.,

Thanks I'll give that a go at the weekend. One question should I put the temp dial to the very top to test the flow in eco mode? It won't be at 40 degrees though.it will be barely lukewarm

Thanks

Sleeper12

cuculainn wrote:

Thanks Sleeper for the info. My only concern would be that it's not that cold yet (10 degree) yesterday. If the weather went down to wards freezing I don't know would there be enough left on the dial to heat it further as we are already in the red zone. On the previous Mira elite we would be roughly half way round the dial at this stage on the high setting.

That's the point though. It's getting too cold to use the eco mode and high should be used at this time of the year. Eco would be used for a tiny proportion of the year. Ask friends & family. Most would never use eco /low at any time of the year

John.G

I would suggest setting it to whatever gives you even that lukewarm water but then measure it (do the eco mode first) as I suggested, I assume that you are sure that its lukewarm and not just cold?, Sleeper12 will well remember a similar post (re a Triton T90 SR) that was never solved so now is the big chance to get a handle on this with your co operation, I will post back my Eco flowrate in a few minutes for comparison purposes.

Edit: Getting 2.1 LPM on Eco mode & 4.3 LPM on full power.

cuculainn

Sleeper12 wrote: »

That's the point though. It's getting too cold to use the eco mode and high should be used at this time of the year. Eco would be used for a tiny proportion of the year. Ask friends & family. Most would never use eco /low at any time of the year

Hi sleeper sorry, my previous post was not very clear. Yesterday with 10 degree temp outside the temp dial needed to be just in the red zone on the high setting, not eco mode.

On eco mode with the temp dial cranked all the way up it was barely lukewarm.

cuculainn

John.G wrote: »

I would suggest setting it to whatever gives you even that lukewarm water but then measure it (do the eco mode first) as I suggested, I assume that you are sure that its lukewarm and not just cold?, Sleeper12 will well remember a similar post (re a Triton T90 SR) that was never solved so now is the big chance to get a handle on this with your co operation, I will post back my Eco flowrate in a few minutes for comparison purposes.

Edit: Getting 2.1 LPM on Eco mode & 4.3 LPM on full power.

Thanks for doing that John.G it will be next weekend before I can check as I am away during the week. It will be interesting to see!!
What does it mean if the flow rate is significantly lower/higher than yours?

John.G

It means that you are (probably) only running on one heating element only but if this is the case then the Eco mode can't/shouldn't be lukewarm at the appropriate flow rate of ~ 2 LPM as you can't have "half a electrical element" or whatever working, this why I ask you to make absolutely sure when on Eco mode that it is actually lukewarm and measure your flow rate.
This is almost exactly the same problem that someone had with a Triton T90 SR a year or so ago, very easy to explain if he too wasn't getting lukewarm water on Eco mode, looking forward to your tests.

Looking at that again, its possibly some problem with the flow control and you can't get the flow rate low enough to get the required temperatures.
I presume the shower is fed from a tank and not from the mains.

cuculainn

John.G wrote: »

It means that you are (probably) only running on one heating element only but if this is the case then the Eco mode can't/shouldn't be lukewarm at the appropriate flow rate of ~ 2 LPM as you can't have "half a electrical element" or whatever working, this why I ask you to make absolutely sure when on Eco mode that it is actually lukewarm and measure your flow rate.
This is almost exactly the same problem that someone had with a Triton T90 SR a year or so ago, very easy to explain if he too wasn't getting lukewarm water on Eco mode, looking forward to your tests.

Looking at that again, its possibly some problem with the flow control and you can't get the flow rate low enough to get the required temperatures.
I presume the shower is fed from a tank and not from the mains.

Correct. It's tank fed.....I'll keep you posted!

John.G

cuculainn wrote: »

Correct. It's tank fed.....I'll keep you posted!

I know this is a bit subjective until you actually measure it at the weekend but on full power does the flowrate feel normal despite the position of temperature control switch?

cuculainn

John.G wrote: »

I know this is a bit subjective until you actually measure it at the weekend but on full power does the flowrate feel normal despite the position of temperature control switch?

If I was to take a guess I would say the flow rate is high for the position of the temperature control (just in the red). But this is based more off my experience with the previous Mira elite.

John.G

That would imply that you can get your required shower temperature at the required flow rate on full power, all showers normally achieve this with the temperature control at the 12 to 2 o'clock position and I presume the QT was the same when installed so it may be that there is some problem with the flow control that doesn't now allow a sufficiently reduced flow rate to give you the required temperature on the Eco setting, the weekend tests will reveal all.

cuculainn

John.G wrote: »

Just do this very simple test and it will tell all, put it to its highest power setting and set the temperature (flow) to give your normal showering temperature. Get a bucket/dish and let the water flow into it for exactly 1 minute then measure this.
Just now the mains is 12C so assuming 40c as a reasonable showering temperature then you should be getting 4.6 LPM on high power setting or 2.3/2.5 LPM on its economy setting.
If you are inclined to do so, carry out the same exercise on Eco only mode.
I run mine (a Mira Sport) on its eco setting for about a month in the summer (not too much this summer) when the mains is close to 20C, this gives 3.3 LPM on economy setting and 6.5 LPM on high.,

Ok. Just completed the test.
Test one was done at eco mode with temp control at max and was just getting lukewarm temp.
Did the test twice.
1st 3.2 litre
2nd 3.3 litre.

I then switched to high setting and a temp that would shower at (temp knob in red)

1st 3.4 litre
2nd 3.3 litre.


These numbers seem different to what you quoted, but doelnt know the significance!!!

All your help appreciated