Installing an electric shower

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A shower is the modern way to freshen up. It's quicker, more hygienic and uses less electricity and water than a bath. The easiest place to fit one is over the bath, but if you've the space why not install a separate enclosure in either the bathroom or a bedroom? You'll cut those early morning queues for the bathroom and add to the value of your home.
Focus offers a comprehensive range of showers, enclosures and trays together with all the essential plumbing and electrical accessories to complete the job yourself.

This small leaflet is intended as a basic guide only. Full instructions will be included with your electric shower. Manufacturers instructions must be followed to ensure best results.

It is recommended that your installation is checked by a plumber or electrician to ensure your bathroom suite is correctly earthed *.

Always consider 'safety' before you start any DIY project. Look for the 'Be Safe' sign and read the safety advice.

How an electric shower works

Electric showers connect to the cold water mains in your house, so you can install one virtually anywhere. They operate on mains cold water pressure, using an electric element in the shower unit to heat the water as it passes through the unit. Electric showers are easy to plumb in, requiring just one 15mm pipe from the mains supply. Because it takes a large amount of electricity to heat the element, electric showers require their own electricity supply, so you have to install a separate circuit. A ceiling-mounted, double pole switch must also be connected to the circuit to turn the shower on and off.

Selecting the right shower

When choosing the right shower, look at the kilowatt rating. The higher the kilowatt rating, the more powerful the shower and the more electricity it will use. Check if the shower hasa power selector offering a low or economy setting option.

Positioning your shower unit

Always make sure that the place you fit your water heater and handset is convenient. For example, if the handset is too low, taller people will have to stoop to get their hair wet. If the handset is too high, children will not be able to reach it. Make sure the position you choose is safe. Never fit the handset where it can continuously spray over the electric heater unit. The best idea is to fit the handset and the heater unit on the same wall. Also make sure that, when the handset hangs down it does not fall below the level of the top of your bath, or touch the floor of your shower enclosure. If it can, there is a risk of dirty water being siphoned back into the supply pipes. Make sure the position you choose can be easily connected to the existing water and electricity supplies. See work sequences 5 and 9 for more hints.

Work sequence

Before starting any electric work ensure the consumer unit or fuse box is switched off.

	1 IT IS ADVISABLE TO GET AN ELECTRICIAN TO CHECK YOUR INSTALLATION, AND MAKE THE FINAL CONNECTION TO THE CONSUMER UNITS. 2 Read through the manufacturer's instructions carefully to check the specification of the plumbing and electrical components recommended for your new shower unit. 3 Decide on the position for the shower unit and handset. Then take the front cover off the heater and hold it in position on the wall. Using a pencil, mark the position of the unit's fixing holes on the wall. Also mark the points where the copper pipes and electrical cables will be attached to the unit. If the wall surface is already tiled, put masking tape on the wall so that the pencil marks will show clearly. 4 Check that the marks are horizontal and vertical, then drill the fixing holes. If you are going to bury the electrical cable in your wall between the switch and the heater unit, do this now and make good the surface before moving to the next stage. When hiding cable, ensure that it is routed vertically or horizontally. 5 Before fixing the unit in place, drill any holes through the wall or ceiling needed for pipes and cable. Also drill and fit the wall bracket or sliding rail for the shower handset. When drilling, or hammering nails into walls, check there wires or cables using an electronic detector. If you're using power tools, don't forget: o unplug them after use wear protective eye goggles *
	6 To attach the copper pipe to the rising main, first turn off the main stopcock and run the cold tap dry. You make the mains connection using a 15mm compression tee fixing. Cut out a section from the mains pipe just long enough to accommodate the tee fitting.
	7 Insert your new pipe into the third arm of the tee fitting and fit a stop valve at a convenient point before running the pipework all the way to the unit. The stop valve will make it easy to isolate the shower unit from the mains supply if you want to carry out repairs at a later date. As soon as you have fitted the stop valve, you can turn it off and reconnect the cold water supply to the house. Check for leaks *
	8 The copper pipe will generally be connected to the bottom of the heater unit using a pipe elbow and a nut and sealing olive provided by the manufacturers. Before you connect the pipe, you should fix a length of flexible hosepipe over the end of the pipe. Re-open the new stop valve and flush out the new pipe. Check for leaks, then turn off the stop valve again. Connect the pipe and open the valve to check the whole system for leaks. Then turn off the stop valve again.