Steve Saunders, senior technical manager for Triton Showers, tackles some of the questions most commonly asked about mixer showers by installers attending training courses held at the company’s HQ in Nuneaton.
Q. How can you tell if a mixer shower is fit for purpose before buying it?
Steve said: “A variety of factors should be taken into consideration ahead of making any purchase. In the UK, domestic thermostatic mixer showers are designed to BS-EN standards – that’s 1111 for high pressure systems (combi-boiler, unvented, thermal store) and 1287 for low pressure systems (gravity fed). These benchmarks provide assurances that when water supply conditions vary; the showering temperature will remain within safe limits.
“Third party endorsement is provided in the form of the BuildCert TMV2 scheme, which confirms a mixer fully complies with BS-EN 1111 and/or 1287 test standards. For situations where a higher accreditation might be required, such as a care or nursing home, this is available in the form of the TMV3 scheme. Any mixer valve with this level of approval will have enhanced thermal safety while also meeting NHS estates requirements; being perfectly suitable for patients using hospital showering facilities.
“As far as determining the flow rate from a mixer is concerned, this will very much depend on the hot and cold water supply pressures and flow rates which are entering the valve on site. Some products are suitable for both low pressure at 0.1 bar to 1 bar and high pressure of 0.5 bar to 5 bar, but there are models which aren’t suitable for both low and high pressure situations and will only suit one of these applications. As such, it is advisable to fully understand the levels you are working with before you recommend a solution.
“The best way to establish flow rate performance is quite simply by referring to any literature supplied with your chosen product, such as brochures and fitting instructions provided by the manufacturer. Alternatively, this type of information can also be found on the Bathroom Manufacturers Association website under its Water Labelling Scheme. Here, flow rates from mixer showers are given when tested at 3 bar running pressure, which can be incredibly useful.”
For more information about Triton’s technical training courses, visit the website: www.tritonshowers.co.uk.