Shower Heaters

Yorky

Yorky

Fullritis Member
We, like probably everyone else here, have electric shower heaters. The one that is used more often is now not providing the flow that it has in the past (8 years old). I suspect that this may be a lime build up in the heat exchanger pipes. Has anyone had any experience of the feasibility or if it's economically viable to have the pipes descaled or should we just bin it and buy a new one?
 
Have you checked the obvious by disconnecting the inlet and comparing the flow. It just might be the inlet pressure causing the flow problem.
Also some heaters have a small mesh filter on the inlet that can be removed and cleaned. If all else has failed already, the only cure if you don't want to replace it is to remove the heater from the wall plug one end and pour an acid into it and let the calcium dissolve. CLR is best for the task but strong vinegar can also work. After letting it soak for a day flush it out with water.
 
Mr. Rice has hit the nail on the head we have serious HARD water in the area. If his solution does not work break down and buy new. Lets face most all electrical appliance of this nature are only guarantied for 5 years in Thailand and your is 3 years over.
 
There is another possibility Yorkie, the connecting pipes to and from the water heater. During my time in Saudi we usually changed the inlet and outlet flexible, rubber pipes, (encased in steel mesh) every couple of years. The rubber deteriorated in the high temperatures and the diameter of the internal bore significantly reduced over time. Also, any crud in the water seemed to help the clogging effect and slow down the water flow.

Finally, if you have had 8 years service from your water heater I would not bother trying to get it serviced. IMHO, anything over 5 years from an electrical appliance/heating element is bonus time. Nowadays, most appliances have redundancy built-in and they do not use materials designed to last for ever. You have had a good run for your money and maybe its time to buy new.
 
Yorky said:
Thanks for that.

I've decided to bite the bullet.

Y
Click to expand...

Don't throw it out Yorky. I hope you wait for the electrical junk man wagon to come around. It is probably worth at least two bottles of Archer.
 
Finding a replacement is the next job. Homepro have a few but the names are alien to me. There are some German ones but I don't recognise the name. Big C only have 3.5kw ones whereas I'd prefer 4.5.

We'll try other places tomorrow/weekend.
 
Yorky said:
Finding a replacement is the next job. Homepro have a few but the names are alien to me. There are some German ones but I don't recognise the name. Big C only have 3.5kw ones whereas I'd prefer 4.5.

We'll try other places tomorrow/weekend.
Click to expand...



Try Panasonic or Stiebel Eltron, Yorky. Both excellent little units. Now if you were doing a 100 room hotel, I can provide a very efficient unit to do the job. The small electrical heaters used here are not allowed in most developed countries...I build a hot water heat pump that can service 20 hotel rooms which costs less to run than the wall unit for 1 shower.
 
Surin said:
Try Panasonic or Stiebel Eltron, Yorky.
Click to expand...

That's the German name I didn't know. A neighbour bought one recently and had to return it after a few weeks (apparently) which put my wife off. Of course, I could over rule her without any consequences whatsoever bnaughty.

I would prefer it to be close enough or larger than the footprint of the present one. Last time I used the old backplate as a template to drill the new backplate, which was adequate.
 
Yorky said:
That's the German name I didn't know. A neighbour bought one recently and had to return it after a few weeks (apparently) which put my wife off. Of course, I could over rule her without any consequences whatsoever bnaughty.

I would prefer it to be close enough or larger than the footprint of the present one. Last time I used the old backplate as a template to drill the new backplate, which was adequate.
Click to expand...


I had a Stiebel Eltron too. The first one failed after 7 years and the second, replacement unit, failed after 6 months. Not impressed! Since then I am using a 4.5 kw Rinnai - a name totally unknown to me - and that has been working well for the past couple of years. The young lady in Thai Watsadu recommended it to me and I have not been disappointed. I think its an American name: http://www.rinnai.us/tankless-water-heater/ for example although not the model that I bought.
 
We bought and furnished our new-build Surin townhouse in 2007. We had Panasonic shower heaters fitted and they are still working well today. Whilst that could be the kiss of death, I think we have had good value from them so far!
 
We bought an Hitachi 4.8 kw from Powerbuy in the end. Bht 4,200.00. Bloody wiring instructions were translated from Japanese into gibberish though and the picture (tiny) looked like a different model. So I'm getting the sparks in to sort it. Better safe than sorry.
 
Yorky said:
We bought an Hitachi 4.8 kw from Powerbuy in the end. Bht 4,200.00. Bloody wiring instructions were translated from Japanese into gibberish though and the picture (tiny) looked like a different model. So I'm getting the sparks in to sort it. Better safe than sorry.
Click to expand...

I may regret that decision!
 
You will not be able to see that the black bar at the bottom of the unit is the off/on switch. Writing in black.

Reminds me of the time myself, George and Peter were in Kalasin a number of years ago. George rang me in the morning and asked if I was ready to go. I explained that I would have been but I could not get the shower to work. He explained that you needed to press the white bar (which actually had ""on/off" printed in white). He had contacted reception earlier to discover this. Ok, that was sorted. Afterwards we rang Peter asking where he was and discovered that he could not also find how to turn on the shower.

When I'm 64?
 
Hello,

I'm about to buy 2 water heathers for our bathroom, one for the shower and one for the sink (I don't like to shave under the shower). Any advice about brands, shops, power ? I read the threat and searched Home Pro website but I'm still not sure about what to buy. Maybe Panasonic, as it is a known brand. Not more than 6,000 THB each. I suppose we will have to change the tap as it is made to give only cold water ? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
 
denis72 said:
Hello,

I'm about to buy 2 water heathers for our bathroom, one for the shower and one for the sink (I don't like to shave under the shower). Any advice about brands, shops, power ? I read the threat and searched Home Pro website but I'm still not sure about what to buy. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.
Click to expand...

No point in buying two for the same bathroom. Just install a "T". However, an automatic "turn on" would be an advantage. Mine does not have that facility.

[Does anyone shave with "hot" water in this country?]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top