What is a Shower Waste Pump?
What is a Shower Waste Pump? To some, a Shower Waste Pump is a necessary evil whilst to others it is a Godsend.Choose the wrong pump however and you could end up with this outcome, Click here for a demonstration. Whilst it has been common to use Shower Pumps to increase the power of a shower, Shower Waste Pumps have been developed to help install showers where it has previously been difficult or impossible to fit due to lack of drainage facilities. What does a Shower Waste Pump do? Our Shower Waste Pumps suck the water out of your shower tray and pump it to an existing convenient drain. Where would we use a Shower Waste Pump? There are many reasons to use a Shower Waste Pump · Where a bath has been removed to be replaced with level access showering perhaps better known now days as a wet room. · Where a shower is being installed onto a concrete floor and gravity drainage is impossible. · Newly created shower rooms which are too far from an existing drain to install a shower tray, without having to raise the tray to an unacceptable or dangerously high level off the floor. How a Shower Waste Pump work? There are generally three types of Shower Waste Pump with some earlier models being slightly adapted boat bilge pumps. In simple terms they work a bit like this:
Diaphragm Pump This type of pump has a large flexible cup (imagine a plunger used to unblock sinks) The diaphragm moves backwards to suck water up the waste pipe from the shower tray and then forwards to push the water in the other direction to a drain. This is an efficient method to pump waste water when installed correctly. Basic models can be a little noisy with some vibration and a noise at the end of showering similar to the noise you get from sucking through a straw to get that last little bit of a milk shake.Recent improvements, which naturally add something to the cost, have been made to this type of pump, including reduced or variable speeds to keep them as quiet as possible. The benefit is to be able to shower at any time of the day or night without disturbing other members of the household or your neighbours.
Impeller Pump This type of pump works with an impeller which is usually flexible but sometimes rigid (imagine a propeller or water wheel). The impeller spins, sucking the water from the shower tray and pushing it towards the drain. This is quite a smooth running pump when installed correctly, but those with flexible impellers should never be run dry. These pumps are generally reliable but very long hair can cause problems.
Peristaltic Pump Our favorite.This is an innovative product based on tried and tested technology from a variety of medical applications and adapted to the needs of domestic showering. One of the main advantages of the Peristaltic Pump is cleanliness as neither the waste water or any debris floating in it is ever in contact with the mechanics of the pump. Peristaltic pumps use a flexible tubing that is compressed by rollers, a bit like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube and the more often the motor turns, the more liquid is moved and the more flow you get per hour. Peristaltic Shower Waste Pumps have three rollers on rotating arms which pinch the tube and effectively pushes and pulls the waste water along. An added advantage is that the rollers form an effective trap, preventing waste water or foul air from returning back into the showering area. Indications are that this type of pump is almost totally unblockable, extremely quiet and maintenance free.
Diaphragm Pump This type of pump has a large flexible cup (imagine a plunger used to unblock sinks) The diaphragm moves backwards to suck water up the waste pipe from the shower tray and then forwards to push the water in the other direction to a drain. This is an efficient method to pump waste water when installed correctly. Basic models can be a little noisy with some vibration and a noise at the end of showering similar to the noise you get from sucking through a straw to get that last little bit of a milk shake.Recent improvements, which naturally add something to the cost, have been made to this type of pump, including reduced or variable speeds to keep them as quiet as possible. The benefit is to be able to shower at any time of the day or night without disturbing other members of the household or your neighbours.
Impeller Pump This type of pump works with an impeller which is usually flexible but sometimes rigid (imagine a propeller or water wheel). The impeller spins, sucking the water from the shower tray and pushing it towards the drain. This is quite a smooth running pump when installed correctly, but those with flexible impellers should never be run dry. These pumps are generally reliable but very long hair can cause problems.
Peristaltic Pump Our favorite.This is an innovative product based on tried and tested technology from a variety of medical applications and adapted to the needs of domestic showering. One of the main advantages of the Peristaltic Pump is cleanliness as neither the waste water or any debris floating in it is ever in contact with the mechanics of the pump. Peristaltic pumps use a flexible tubing that is compressed by rollers, a bit like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube and the more often the motor turns, the more liquid is moved and the more flow you get per hour. Peristaltic Shower Waste Pumps have three rollers on rotating arms which pinch the tube and effectively pushes and pulls the waste water along. An added advantage is that the rollers form an effective trap, preventing waste water or foul air from returning back into the showering area. Indications are that this type of pump is almost totally unblockable, extremely quiet and maintenance free.