The Lemon Fool

My son's bathroom was fitted with a Salamander CT50+ pump just over three years ago. All was fine until a couple of weeks ago.....

The pump now activates whenever the cold water (bath or shower) is turned on - a slight turn of the tap is enough to start the pump. However, regardless of how far the hot tap is opened, the pump does not activate.

Are there any suggestions for fixing the problem? Or is a replacement pump the only choice?

TIA,

David

Davidsb wrote:Are there any suggestions for fixing the problem? Or is a replacement pump the only choice?

Hi, looking at the Salamander fault-finding guide here it suggests one of four possible problems:

• Correct flow to turn on pump
• Electrical
• Air in the system
• Sticking flow switch

As it works with the cold water then it doesn't sound electrical to me. For the sticky switch it suggests checking for debris under the switches at the outlets. (Might be worth tapping around in case one of the switches is mildly stuck.) The flow rate might be reduced if the hot water pipe/tap has a blockage I suppose. As for air in the system, well it says "check that the pump and pipework is primed of all air" - not sure how you can check this really. I'm sure a plumber would make light work of this though.

Not much help I'm afraid,
Chris

I suspect a sticking flow switch. Try holding a magnet near the sensor on each outlet of the pump in turn. The pump should start. It should work the same on both the cold side and the hot side. If it does, it will be a sticking flow switch.

Julian F. G. W.

........and if it's a sticking flow switch is that a diy job to replace ? or does it need a plumber ? or does it need a new pump ?

Thanks for the comments so far.

Regarding flow rates, we tried turning the power off and then timing how long it took to fill a bucket using just the hot tap versus using just the cold tap - the times were approximately equal, so we think that we don't have a flow rate/blockage issue.

A sticking flow switch sounds favourite to me - as richlist asks above, is this a diy job, or do we need a plumber? Presumably replacement flow switches are available from Salamander.

Again, thanks for your comments/help.

Davidsb wrote:A sticking flow switch sounds favourite to me - as richlist asks above, is this a diy job, or do we need a plumber? Presumably replacement flow switches are available from Salamander.

In this video they show some detail that might encourage you to do some DIY. You'd have to Google around for spares for your particular pump.

Ideally these pumps are attached using four little valves so that they can be completely removed by turning all four off then disconnecting the pipes. Remember to mark up which goes to which first!

Regards,
Chris
PS I appreciate the video shows a different pump to yours.

Salamander pumps have isolation valves built into the inlet hoses (and, sometimes, the outlet hoses). These are at the ends that connect to the pipework and require a screwdriver to operate. If the screwdriver slot is in line with the hose, the valve is fully open and, if the slot is at right-angles to the hose, the valve is fully shut.

Isolate the power and have a bowl and old towels ready when you disconnect the hose from the pump. If it is just the internal part with the magnet sticking, you should usually be able to work in-situ and disconnect only the relevant outlet hose.

When you reconnect the hose, do it up hand tight only. If you wrench it tight with a spanner, the nut may split at a later date and cause a flood.

Julian F. G. W.

Well, just to round it all off, we purchased a new Salamander CT75+ (Screwfix £170 inc VAT) as the CT50+ is no longer available.

One hour of scrabbling around under the bath, and all is now well.

I have the old pump at home, and will probably tinker with it - the service kits (electrical and mechanical) are quite expensive (best I have seen is £33 per kit) but if I can get it going for £0 with a bit of time and effort, then it may well make an appearance on ebay in the near future.....

Thanks to all for your contributions.

Davidsb wrote:Well, just to round it all off, we purchased a new Salamander CT75+ (Screwfix £170 inc VAT) as the CT50+ is no longer available.

Eh?

Some of my local Screwfix stores are showing it as being in stock and others are showing it as being available the next day.

This is a fairly common pump and I would be surprised if Salamander stopped making either this or a similar specification replacement.

Julian F. G. W.

Hi Julian -

Here's my search of the Screwfix site:-

http://www.screwfix.com/c/bathrooms-kit ... howerpumps

You will note that the CT50+ Xtra is stocked, but not the CT50+. The Xtra model has both inlet and outlet connections on top of the pump, so we would have had to re-route a number of pipes in a confined area under the bathtub. So we deemed it easier to buy the CT75+, which uses the same pump body as the CT50+, thus allowing use of the existing pipe runs.

Davidsb wrote:Hi Julian -

You will note that the CT50+ Xtra is stocked, but not the CT50+. The Xtra model has both inlet and outlet connections on top of the pump, so we would have had to re-route a number of pipes in a confined area under the bathtub. So we deemed it easier to buy the CT75+, which uses the same pump body as the CT50+, thus allowing use of the existing pipe runs.

Ah, I see now.

Julian F. G. W.