Triton shower heat a bit low

Drumpot

Just wondering if there is a relatively easy and safe way of increasing heat on a Triton /electrical shower?

We got a new one a few weeks ago and when it was installed the newer shower heat was much lower. Not a huge issue but just curious if anybody knows how to fix.

2011

Not sure if this applies to you but Tritons showers are available with different power ratings (in kW). So a 8.5 kW shower will not be able to heat as much as a 9.5 kW unit. This would be worth checking. Assuming your shower is installed correctly there is no simple way I can think of to increase the heat output.

Bruthal

You can get it as hot as you like, but at the expense of flow rate, assuming all is working in the shower, both elements working etc.

John.G

Drumpot wrote: »

Just wondering if there is a relatively easy and safe way of increasing heat on a Triton /electrical shower?

We got a new one a few weeks ago and when it was installed the newer shower heat was much lower. Not a huge issue but just curious if anybody knows how to fix.

Before going any further, adjust the temperature to your normal showering temperature then hold a dish under the shower head for exactly 1 minute and measure this, post back your finding, also the Triton model installed and the old model if available.

Drumpot

John.G wrote: »

Before going any further, adjust the temperature to your normal showering temperature then hold a dish under the shower head for exactly 1 minute and measure this, post back your finding, also the Triton model installed and the old model if available.

Shower is T90sr.

Would you mind explaining the other part ? Turn on shower, put on highest heat (thats what I do) and somehow measure the temp ? Is that what you mean ?

Just to say, its not terrible, its just sometimes I love a steaming shower.

Bruthal

Drumpot wrote: »

Shower is T90sr.

Would you mind explaining the other part ? Turn on shower, put on highest heat (thats what I do) and somehow measure the temp ? Is that what you mean ?

Just to say, its not terrible, its just sometimes I love a steaming shower.

He means set the temp at what you usually use, let shower water go into a bucket or similar for 60 seconds. Measure the amount in litres. That gives idea if flow rate is what it should be, elements both working etc.

If one element was not working for example, to reach the required temp would be a much lower flow rate than would be expected. Flow rate is what determines temp for a given kW of heating in an electric shower

John.G

Yes, that's it, the T90SR is a tank fed shower and just now my tank (CWST) temp is 24C (mains temp is 21C) so a 9 kw shower will give the following showering temps/flowrates..... 38C/9.2LPM, 40C/8.1LPM, 42C/7.2LPM, 44C/6.5LPM. So if your shower is giving somewhere between 6.5 and 9.2 LPM at your chosen showering temp then it is performing to spec, I like a showering temp of 40C so I would expect a flow of 8.1 LPM from that shower just now.
If your old shower was also a 9kw model then you would have had exactly the same flow rates but some shower heads give the impression of a greater/lesser flow depending on their design but in fact they can't for the same kw rating.

Sleeper12

Drumpot wrote: »

Just wondering if there is a relatively easy and safe way of increasing heat on a Triton /electrical shower?

We got a new one a few weeks ago and when it was installed the newer shower heat was much lower. Not a huge issue but just curious if anybody knows how to fix.

This is one of the biggest complaints we get throughout the year. "My 15 year old 8.5KW shower was hotter than my new 9KW shower"


There's a few reasons behind this. Newer shower heads are bigger & give the impression of less water flow/pressure. Limescale plays a major part in this too. less water fits into the heating can & the shower head will be partially blocked giving the impression of more pressure. You also get a stored heat effect form badly damaged elements due to limescale. The water takes longer to heat up due to the limescale. The heat transfers to the entire can causing it longer to heat up. Once this happens though you have stored heat / energy in the can itself & this slightly increases the heat. When you turn off a shower with a lot of limescale the water literally starts to boil due to the stored heat/energy. This sort of bends the rule that you can only get 8.5KW of energy out of an 8.5KW shower slightly. If the shower is slower heating up & storing energy then you can in fact get more than 8.5KW out of a 8.5KW shower because a small amount of energy is stored & released

I should edit in bold. You can't get more energy out of something than you put in. I' talking about storing some of the energy& releasing it with the 8.5kw. The total amount of enerye used will be equal or less than the amount you put in

Drumpot

Bruthal wrote: »

He means set the temp at what you usually use, let shower water go into a bucket or similar for 60 seconds. Measure the amount in litres. That gives idea if flow rate is what it should be, elements both working etc.

If one element was not working for example, to reach the required temp would be a much lower flow rate than would be expected. Flow rate is what determines temp for a given kW of heating in an electric shower

John.G wrote: »

Yes, that's it, the T90SR is a tank fed shower and just now my tank (CWST) temp is 24C (mains temp is 21C) so a 9 kw shower will give the following showering temps/flowrates..... 38C/9.2LPM, 40C/8.1LPM, 42C/7.2LPM, 44C/6.5LPM. So if your shower is giving somewhere between 6.5 and 9.2 LPM at your chosen showering temp then it is performing to spec, I like a showering temp of 40C so I would expect a flow of 8.1 LPM from that shower just now.
If your old shower was also a 9kw model then you would have had exactly the same flow rates but some shower heads give the impression of a greater/lesser flow depending on their design but in fact they can't for the same kw rating.

Ah ok, so would the fact that there seems to be more water flowing then there was in the previous shower explain a Lower temp?

That makes sense cause whenever the last shower got a bit blocked (limescwle I think) and less water came out , it would go piping hot.

Sleeper12

Drumpot wrote: »

Ah ok, so would the fact that there seems to be more water flowing then there was in the previous shower explain a Lower temp?

That makes sense cause whenever the last shower got a bit blocked (limescwle I think) and less water came out , it would go piping hot.

Reduce the flow of the water using the bottom dial & you will get hotter water. Less flow but hotter water. The faster the water flows over the element the cooler it is. The slower the flow the hotter it is because the water was longer on the element.



Another mistake homeowners do is put the dial in the same position on the new shower as the old one. They both might be T90 showers but each model is designed slightly different so you should get to know the controls as a new shower rather as exactly the same as your 15 year old shower

John.G

Drumpot wrote: »

Ah ok, so would the fact that there seems to be more water flowing then there was in the previous shower explain a Lower temp?

That makes sense cause whenever the last shower got a bit blocked (limescwle I think) and less water came out , it would go piping hot.

My only concern is that you are only running on one heating element either selected or due to a fault, you said in post #5 "Turn on shower, put on highest heat (thats what I do)" if I take this literally then IF the high power setting is selected and you have the temperature control on its highest heat setting then you must only be running on one element as the safety protection TCO will trip both elements at this setting, I am actually running my shower now on one element and I am still getting the same flow (for the same required showering temperature) as I would with both elements selected for winter with a cold water temperature at ~ 10C which gives ~ 4.3 LPM, both cans on now will give me ~ 8.1 LPM, that is why I have great faith in that bucket/jug test.

I would expect your temperature control setting knob to be about "ten to the hour" now if both elements are selected/working.

SeanMacEoin

Hi there,
I’m looking for some direction with a problem with my Triton T90 SR. Last week we noted the water was cold when the element was on setting No2. When reverted to No1 we had hot water so it didn’t overly bother me. This week all I have is cold water from setting 1 and 2. I have checked TCO and have continuity. I have checked element resistance one is 11.2 and the other is 13.1. I have washed out the filter to ensure there is no restriction of water flow.
I’ll call Triton on Monday but just thought I’d throw my conundrum out there. Anyone else know what could be causing the issue. Thanks for reading.

Sleeper12

That's a very strange one Sean. If it was just setting 2 then it could have been a faulty micro switch. With both elements cold, TCO not blown & elements seeming ok it's a puzzler. Of the top of my head it could be that the TCO isn't resetting or the not enough pressure to activate the pressure switch. Not enough pressure points to a motor problem.

SeanMacEoin

Thanks Sleeper for your reply. The water pressure has never been brilliant, though has always been sufficient (no problems in 13 years with the old T90). If the flow was reduced somehow do you think this could cause the TCO to trip out completely.

John.G

You can check TCO continuity again? & would suggest turning the temp control fully anti clockwise and measure the flow for 1 minute.

SeanMacEoin

Hi John G,
Retested TCO for continuity and looks OK. I turned shower temperature knob all the way to left (element on setting 1) ran for a few mins. Lots of cold water as you’d expect. Stopped flow. Tested TCO again. Same outcome. Switched on shower again. Turned up temp put element on setting 2 and still cold water. Checked resistance of elements again just to be sure and got exact same readings as the first time.

meercat

SeanMacEoin wrote: »

Hi John G,
Retested TCO for continuity and looks OK. I turned shower temperature knob all the way to left (element on setting 1) ran for a few mins. Lots of cold water as you’d expect. Stopped flow. Tested TCO again. Same outcome. Switched on shower again. Turned up temp put element on setting 2 and still cold water. Checked resistance of elements again just to be sure and got exact same readings as the first time.

Turn power off
Disconnect tco
Check for continuity

John.G

SeanMacEoin wrote: »

Hi John G,
Retested TCO for continuity and looks OK. I turned shower temperature knob all the way to left (element on setting 1) ran for a few mins. Lots of cold water as you’d expect. Stopped flow. Tested TCO again. Same outcome. Switched on shower again. Turned up temp put element on setting 2 and still cold water. Checked resistance of elements again just to be sure and got exact same readings as the first time.

With cover off and power on, check for 230V at one side of each micro switch.

SeanMacEoin

meercat wrote: »

Turn power off
Disconnect tco
Check for continuity

Hi Meercat,
Disconnected TCO
Tested again still continuity.
Thanks

SeanMacEoin

John.G wrote: »

With cover off and power on, check for 230V at one side of each micro switch.

Hi John G.
Ok so I can see two micro switches. Tested both with power on. Negligible voltage showing on multimeter and no continuity across either switch.

John.G

I think that there should be 230V to one side of those micro switches and then the flow/pressure switch closes them to the heating elements but could be wrong, are you getting 230V coming out of the TCO with power on?.

Bruthal

What was ohms reading across the tco?

SeanMacEoin

John.G wrote: »

I think that there should be 230V to one side of those micro switches and then the flow/pressure switch closes them to the heating elements but could be wrong, are you getting 230V coming out of the TCO with power on?.

I’m not seeing any voltage across the TCO when the power is on. Still indicates micro switch could be the issue doesn’t it

SeanMacEoin

Bruthal wrote: »

What was ohms reading across the tco?

Hi Bruthal
0.6 ohm. I’m not sure how to interpret that??

John.G

SeanMacEoin wrote: »

I’m not seeing any voltage across the TCO when the power is on. Still indicates micro switch could be the issue doesn’t it

With power on you won't see 230V across it even if healthy, check both ends of TCO to N (or earth) if TCO is healthy then you will read 230V from both ends.

SeanMacEoin

John.G wrote: »

With power on you won't see 230V across it even if healthy, check both ends of TCO to N (or earth) if TCO is healthy then you will read 230V from both ends.

John G - I’m not seeing any voltage reading at either end of TCO with power on. I checked this first without water flow and again to confirm when water flow was on.

John.G

Hard to understand why no power at least to one side of TCO, have you 230v between live & neutral at the terminal block.

SeanMacEoin

John.G wrote: »

Hard to understand why no power at least to one side of TCO, have you 230v between live & neutral at the terminal block.

Sorry John - I must have had the multimeter on the wrong setting. 230v shown when measured at both sides of TCO. Thanks

John.G

No bother, just recheck at micro switches for 230V, one side to N. if OK them looks very like the flow/pressure switch is at fault and not closing the switches.
One other thing, can you hear the pump actually running when water starts to flow?, I know you said you have a good flow but I would still check it for 1 minute, should be 8 to 10 litres.

SeanMacEoin

John.G wrote: »

No bother, just recheck at micro switches for 230V, one side to N. if OK them looks very like the flow/pressure switch is at fault and not closing the switches.
One other thing, can you hear the pump actually running when water starts to flow?, I know you said you have a good flow but I would still check it for 1 minute, should be 8 to 10 litres.

Hi again John.
A little surprise here with No 3

1. 230v confirmed at Microswitch
2. Yes I can hear the pump running
3. I have 4 litres of water in 1 minute which is only half what you were expecting.

John.G

Presume you are checking this with temperature control turned fully anticlock?, if so, then this is your problem.....not enough flow/press to close the pressure switch and this is why it worked for awhile on one element. So, as Sleeper12 said, possibly the pump but since its running OK then I would check from the storage tank downwards, ensure any isolation valve(s) fully open, no debris in tank, I would then remove the filter and let water pour out, maybe even measure this again to ensure that the pump is getting enough, its strange but 4 LPM is what I would expect from the tank if no pump were running.

Also check shower head and hose for blockages/hose kinking, you could check flowrate again with shower head and even hose removed etc, maybe do all this firstly.