Negative Head Shower Pumps

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More about Negative Head Shower Pumps

Negative Head Shower Pumps are a godsend for those struggling with poor water pressure, especially where gravity isn't on their side. Also known as Universal Shower Pumps, these pumps are designed to boost the water flow in showers and other outlets, but they come into their own when your water flow rated as extremely low, or less than 2 litres/minute. Unlike positive head pumps, which rely on gravity to kick-start the water flow, negative head pumps create suction which makes the water flow to where you need it.

Understanding Negative Head Pumps

When To Use A Negative Head Shower Pump

Diagram showing when your water outlet will be in positive or negative head

When to use negative head pumps is an important consideration for homeowners and professionals alike. These pumps are not always the answer, but they do a few specific use-cases. We'll discuss these in more detail here:

Scenario 1: Your Outlet is in Negative Head

The old housing stock in the UK was designed to transport water around your home using gravity. However since we've developed our properties and started using water in different ways, we often find the flow isn't powerful enough. The problem that most people experience is that their water outlet is above the line of Zero Head (see diagram). In this case, gravity has no power over your water, so you will have no flow. A negative head shower pump solves this issue by creating a vacuum to suck your water upwards.

Scenario 2: Your Flow Rate is Less Than 2 L/m

In complex systems, sometimes you may not be in negative head, but still the flow rate will not be enough to trigger a positive head pump. It could be a lonely outlet on the other side of your home, or the result of bad or old plumbing design. In any case, a negative head shower pump will again use a vacuum to pull a good flow of water through your pipework to your outlet.

How Do Negative Head Shower Pumps Work?

Negative head pumps create a vacuum to draw water from the tank. Once the water is drawn, the pump boosts its pressure and feeds it to the outlet. Unlike positive head pumps, which require a certain flow rate to start, negative head pumps can start even without any existing flow.

Types of Negative Head Pumps

There are two types of negative head shower pumps, depending on your requirements:

Single Impeller Negative Head Shower Pumps

In the instance that you only need to boost you hot or your cold feed, you will need a single impeller pump. An example of this would be boosting only the hot feed to a bathroom in a Gravity Hot Mains Cold household. Alternatively, if you have an electric shower (in negative head) that is limited by low water pressure, a single impeller negative head shower pump would be ideal for this.

Twin Impeller Negative Head Shower Pumps

When you are looking to boost both your hot and cold feeds, a twin impeller pump is your solution. This could be to used to boost a mixer valve, a mixer tap or an entire bathroom that is in negative head.