TRITON electric showers

Forums › Home Workshop DIY › TRITON electric showers - any good?

geekIT

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#223349 25-Sep-2017 11:33

Just finished a project involving repairs to my hot water system.

In the process of reading about various options I ran across a coupla websites advertising Triton systems. These operate in a similar way to a gas system - delivering almost instant hot water.

But looking at the Triton performance charts, it seems that the output at 40 degrees (which I'm assuming is close to optimum for a shower?) is only around 2 litres\minute.

Which sounds quite dribbly.

Anyone had experience with one of these systems?

https://www.plumbingplus.co.nz/products/triton-t80z-electric-showerelectric-shower-bathroom-shower-slide-shower-electric-slide-shower-triton-electric-slide-shower/

http://www.parex.co.nz/webpages/triton-learn-more/

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wellygary

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#1872380 25-Sep-2017 11:55

The Spec chart also notes the yield curve is based on

" Note: The approximate temperatures indicated are based 0C ambient incoming water temperature. This can vary between 3 and 23 C depending on weather conditions."

So I suspect that flowrate/temp could be tolerable in a warm summer house, with warmish incoming water,

But in the depths of a southland winter, with cold pipes and cold water, your gonna be desiring something with a bit more herbs

jonathan18

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#1872415 25-Sep-2017 12:28

My parents had an earlier version of this installed in their house back in the 1990s. It sucked so much I think that basically no-one elected to have showers in that bathroom!

I recall one could choose to shower with either acceptably warm water (which meant it came out as a feeble dribble) or decent water flow (but therefore was far too cold).

I think my childhood hatred of this unit led me to being (of course irrationally) sceptical of instant gas hot water, which I'm gladly over now.

My recommendation is to avoid!

frankv

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#1872416 25-Sep-2017 12:29

A friend has a system like this (dunno if it is actually a Triton) at their bach. It seemed fiddly to get the right temperature, with not much range between too cold and too hot. It works adequately, but there isn't great pressure and I wouldn't want it at my house. Just one data point.

djtOtago

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#1872434 25-Sep-2017 13:04

I have an older Triton T80 in a central Otago Bach. Over Summer when the water supply is warm, it is only just acceptably.
Over winter when the water supply is close to 0 Celsius, you have the choice of a dribble or luke warm shower.

Plus the T80 uses about 8 kW of power, so needs a dedicated feed from your switch board that is capable of handling 40 Amps. That's more than standard house wiring will handle so you will need to run a new thicker cable to the Bath room.

I would not recommend getting one

lxsw20

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#1872437 25-Sep-2017 13:10

They are common in the UK. They are universally rubbish. As you said, they let out a dribble of water.

geekIT

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#1872446 25-Sep-2017 13:21

Thanks, guys. Pretty much goes along with my assumptions.

Actually, I've just house-sat a Dunedin home for a week. It's basically 3 storeys with the low pressure HWC in the basement. So, as you can imagine, the topmost bathroom had c**p water pressure.

But the owners had booked in some local plumbers to install a Rheem Gas System while they were away, and I watched the install with considerable interest. After they'd finished - only about 3 hours for the team of 3 - the hot water flow was incredibly good on all floors.

Funny - I went down to the basement and looked at the HWC and thought, 'Shucks, that's pretty scruffy for a new one.' Then realized it was the old HWC, disconnected.

Of course, there's no HWC in one of these systems. Duh.

Anyone have an idea of the LPG gas consumption of these systems? The owners also have a gas hob, which runs off the LPG supply, but their heating is heat pumps.

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Aredwood

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#1872753 25-Sep-2017 22:12

As others have said - Avoid. Also if you live in Dunedin, alot of people there have the electrical capacity to their house limited to 8KW, as you get cheaper lines fees for doing so. Meaning any power savings will get eaten due to needing to go onto the 16KW plan and paying extra lines fees. And a properly installed low pressure hot water cylinder will still easily outperform an 8KW instant water heater.

Also with the instant gas water heaters, their flow rates are quoted based on a 25deg temp rise. So if your cold water temp is only 10deg or so, you will want one of the larger capacity units.