What are Shower Pumps?

Shower pumps are mechanical devices designed to boost the water pressure in your home plumbing system to get you enjoyable showering inside the home.

Types of Shower Pumps

Shower Pumps can be positive head or negative head. These can also be single or twin impeller pumps. Gravity is an important factor in the mechanism of shower pumps. To know which type is best suited to your requirement, you need to understand the various types of pumps.

Positive Head Pumps

A positive head pump is fed by gravity and requires a distance of at least a metre between the bottom of the cold water cistern and the pump. The gravity feed will start the pump to push water to the shower. Pumps may use centrifugal or regenerative pumps. Regenerative pumps are cheaper and easier to install, while centrifugal pumps are more efficient.

Negative Head Pump

A negative head pump is an ideal type to use when your shower head is at the same level or higher than the cold water storage tank. Such pumps are commonly used in residential flats and home renovations. You may need this pump if your water pressure is low or less than 600ml per minute.

Single Impeller

A single impeller pump is designed to pump water from a single source. In most cases, this is either hot water or cold water. These types of pumps are usually necessary for situations when either the cold or the hot water feed is not of adequate pressure.

Twin Impeller

These are the commonly used pumps across UK households. They boost the water pressure of more than one kind of water, hot and cold in situations that need the use of these pumps. Hence they are very useful.

Centrifugal Pump or Regenerative Pump

Centrifugal and regenerative Pumps are almost the same except that the centrifugal pump takes in water from the centre of the impeller. The water in then pushed out by the impeller at a greater pressure as compared to the weaker incoming flow. The same happens in a regenerative pump except that it is fed water from the side before being pumped out at the desired pressure.

However, they do differ in cost where the regenerative pump is cheaper than a centrifugal one. However, these can create quite a bit of noise when in action. So make a decision based on these two factors.

Shower Pumps can boost the water pressure and give a powerful showering experience. Here at our online shop, we have positive and negative head shower pumps. At AQVA we offer a range of shower pumps from leading brands Salamander, Stuart Turner and more. These are available in every variety known and at various price points to suit your budget.

How do Shower Pumps work?

Normally, shower pumps work on a simple principle. Water a low pressure, say from an overhead tank, is taken into a chamber and fed into a fast spinning impeller. The water is then released outward by centrifugal force and comes out at high speed. A pump comes with one or two impellers, called 'single' or 'twin,' operated by electric motors. The power generated by the motor will be directly proportionate to the pressure outcome and flow rate. A twin impeller pump can simultaneously boost hot and cold feeds, while a single one will boost these one at a time. Sensitive to shower valve, they activate and shut down automatically.