Aqualisa Quartz Digital- Cannot Turn Shower Off?

did the ball bearing size ever get told ?

Graham.
October 2018

My shower drips slowly, and just read this very interesting thread... can anyone tell me the size and qty of ball bearings needed to fix the control box of a dripping Aqualisa Quartz Digitel show unit (as per Andy's message) ?

Craig
July 2014

I wanted to add to this issue of no hot water, flashing light, etc. took advice from many posts above and bought a grey A2 box from eBay for £30 plus postage, it took 30 minutes to swap over and all working great again. I still think they are the greatest showers ever. I also wanted to add that although they are not a cheap shower, Aqualisa have an excellent in warranty service and we just have to accept that a quality product after warranty will be more than a few quid.

Jim E
May 2014

When using the Aqualisa Quartz shower water is pouring down he rear wall from inside the unit, what is the likely cause and what do I need to do to repair the unit?

Colin Fox
May 2014

I had a problem with a broken mixer valve motor in my combi processor box. I fixed it by getting a black pumped version off ebay & cannibalising the parts from it. The insides are virtually identical apart from it being a bigger box with a pump in it. These go cheap 2nd hand on ebay as people swap to combi boilers. This also means you don't need to change units when you switch to a combi boiler, just remove the pump & set the internal switch to combi.

Jon Lidgard
November 2012

Hi,

Thanks for your comments. Our technical team is available to offer advice Monday to Friday 08:30-17:00. We can offer the following advice in response to your concerns:

Our digital processors, both pumped and unpumped are unique in design (although now, many other shower companies have tried to manufacture similar concepts), but the pumps are not.

Our product development department has confirmed that the bearings should not be coming into contact with water. If they are (which Maarten has confirmed that his are) then there is a greater problem that needs to be investigated and addressed. My fear is that if not sorted then this small leak or let by has the potential to get worse and if the processor is in the loft area, the end result may not be a pleasant one.

Regarding the stainless bearings, I think that I may have been misunderstood. Of course stainless bearings are available, but my response was more specific to the application in question.

I am pleased that you feel you have saved money and resolved the problem, however I can only reiterate on my previous comments in this point. Regardless of the product, any fix that is done outside of the normal manufacturing conditions and quality control has its risks as the integrity of the component has been compromised.

The questions to consider are;
1. What is the underlying problem that caused the initial fault?
2. Has the fix completely resolved the underlying issue?
3. What are the possible risks?

Regarding taking payment up front; this is common practice in this industry and many others, we do conform to the Distant Selling Regulations. Aqualisa is also Lloyds Registered ISO9001 (2008) and we are audited by them every 6 months to retain this certification.

All Aqualisa products are covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, in the majority of cases we do not reimburse as we provide parts or parts and an engineer.

Kind regards
Gavin

Gavin at Aqualisa
November 2012

I love this response from Aqualise I got
Dear Maarten Westera,

Thank you for your e-mail, feedback and concerns.

I have spoken with our development team and can assure you that the pump meets all of our specifications, requirements and industry standards.

The pump in question is not unlike many others used on various products and by different shower manufacturers and as these do not come in contact with water have no requirement to be made of stainless steel; in fact I think you will be hard pressed to find stainless steel roller bearings, especially for such an application.

If water has indeed made it's way to this section of the pump motor, then this is the matter that needs addressing, some of the points are:
* Orientation of the processor.
* Siting and support of the processor box.
* Possible water ingress from an external source.

I have tried to find the blogs and forums which you have mentioned but to no avail.
We have a team who respond and provide information and advice to such blogs, so if you have the links we are happy to address these.

If you need to respond to this message please use your email client's reply function.

Alternatively if you need any further help you can contact a member of the team on the number below.

Maarten Westera
November 2012

hi Mick - thanks for your post you are absolutely right, I've just taken my pump apart and my bearings are so badly rusted they no longer exist but little lumps of rust - Any engineer who built this pump would know exactly what is going to happen here. it's a deliberate flaw built into the unit to ensure future maintenance is required. I was very suspicious already when I phoned up the company and was told it needed a new processor and they Demanded payment UP FRONT!! before they would even send an engineer. Its disgraceful !! I also realised that the company is not registered with any Trade association anywhere, that says it all

Maarten Westera
October 2012

Hi my aqualisas red light will keep flashing going hot then cold only way to get a hot shower and the red light to settle is to put the boost on! How can I repair this? Help also keeps running on sometimes where you have turn the power off then back to turn it off! Help!!

Stephen hall
September 2012

I had a similar problem, but the shower would turn itself on all on its own !! and then not turn off without powerign it down.

Aqualisa engineer came out this morning under warranty and he replaced the control unit on the shower itself and suggested that it was the wife cleaning it and then spraying the shower water straight at the unti and so had water penetrate the unit and cause problems.

It seems the shower can handle without issue the dripping or spraying of water while having a shower, but not if you spray water straight at the control unit !

Mark A
July 2012

The reason for the cast iron ball bearing is so that every 5 years or so they will get a call from you. This will then cost you lots of money in sorting out something that's only pennies to replace. - There not stupid are they!!!!

TL
June 2012

My Aqualisa Axis has been great up until lately. We had a leaky copper hot water cylinder so replaced it. Ever since then we have a problem with the shower not staying on as it heats up. We start on cold and slowly have to increase the temprature. If we do it too fast it cuts out. Once hot and runiing it seems to be ok. This can take up to 5 mins to get running properly which is driving us mad and it's actually getting worse.
I rang Aqualisa who thought it was an air lock, and to turn it to hot , then to cold and so on.
Well the minute you turn it to hot it cuts out.
Do any of you knowledgeable people know what the problem is.
Many thanks.

Allan
March 2012

can anyone tell us what size the bearings have to be? Has anyone managed to replace them and get the shower working again?

steve p
February 2012

its so annoying isnt it , the rest of the unit is fine, im a bit worried about buying a unit from ebay, because it could have the same problem, so my friend said if i could find out the size of the ball bearings, he would fit it, i have nothing to loose, hope you get your problems sorted too x

helen
January 2012

Hi Mick , so glad to read your comment on the rusty ball bearings, i have the same problem with my aqualisa, and was also told the same thing by them (couldnt send me a relacement set), so i am hoping you read this and can tell me what size are the ball bearings and where would i get them from, thanks

helen
January 2012

Hi
I've had a similar problem where the shower is just running cold. I contacted Aqualisa's customer service and was told I need a replacement processor unit for £260. Alternatively I could pay £260.99 and have an engineer come out who would take it apart, service it and and replace whats needed. and be given a 2year warantee on the parts. Another option is to have a complete new shower fitted for their January offer price of £499. I'm sure there must be a cheaper option and am looking at buying a replacement box off ebay where people have had to take them out after having combi boilers fitted.
Hope you sorted your problem

Kim
January 2012

Hi all, now I have a different problem. I get boost but not normal. Anyone with any ideas??

lee
February 2011

I've got the same problem as Mick, with the flow valve, Mick ( or anybody ) could you tell me the size of the replacement bearings for the flow valve and where I can get them.
Cheers
Adrian

adrian
January 2011

We have old-style (grey) digital processor box on en-suite bathroom, maybe 2 years old. Works great.

Just had main bathroom done and we ordered same Aqualisa digital quartz as we liked it.

New qyartz come with black control unit and different head.

Boost button din't seem to do anything. Aqualisa engineer came and fiddled, no difference.

I bought a grey control unit from Ebay (£50) and have just fitted it. Back to "normal"!

Check Ebay out - many pumped digital processors on sale where folk have installed combi boilers and the gray units not compatible.

mayojs
December 2010

Hi

I have the quartz A2. The shower works fine and turns on and off. My problem is that I am unable to turn the boost on. Can someone please help.

Thanks

Stuart
November 2010

Had same problem with Quartz A2 Digital Controller Unit. Aqualisa wanted £260 plus £70 call out. Opened it up myself and looked at daughter board. Motor control was the problem so changed the Opto IC Chips (IC1 IC2) and problem sorted. Can't believe they don't recon any units - surely one doesn't need to throw the whole thing away. Criminal waste.
Many thanks to Nick R-P for heads up.

redgooner
February 2010

my aqualisa quartz turns on and off but the boost button stays on all the time any ideas?

sean
January 2010

Well - a solution has been found for us. Rang Aqualiser and they said we need a new front part of box that has the circuit bit on it cost c £35 so not too bad. Anyway easy to swap over from 'old' (2.5years) one and now seems to be working perfectly - fingers crossed. But annoyed had to do this after short period of time and of course out of guarantee.

Jenny
October 2009

My problem has been with temperature control. It's started running hot and then cold and it's not done it in the four years it's been installed. Aqualisa wanted to send an engineer to replace the processor at a cost of £245. so I decided to investigate myself being an engineer. The reset of the logic by taking off the power seems to be enough to cure the problem - answer is try switching off the mains and putting it back on.

Nick R-P
September 2009

Hi I had a similar problem. Mine is a quarts digital pumped version. Although the shower was off no water coming from shower head you could still hear the electric pump running. Being an engineer I took the grey control box apart to have a look. I found the problem to be the optical couplers on the small circuit board (IC1 & IC2) that drives the electric pump motor. I managed to get the components from Farnell and the shower is now working correctly.

Ady
April 2009

I'm glad we're not the only ones! Ours usually switches off OK but half a dozen times since we've had it (15mths) it hasn't. It's just been on for an hour (except when I turned off the stopcock but it came back on again when I turned on the stopcock) and I've just managed to turn it off by, I think but not certain, reducing the water temperature. I'm ringing Aqualiser on Monday for them to investigate and will report back.

Jenny
October 2008

I too have a problem with poor flow rate and am going to contact Aqualisa as I believe the quartz has a 5 year guarantee!

Martin
October 2008

I have the exact same problem, except the engineer has already been - he changed the switch but now after he left the same problem started again. I'm going to need to call him out again i think ..

did yours get fixed? was it covered under warantee ?

Andy
October 2008

I have had similar problems with my three year old Aqualisa shower, slow to turn on or off, temperature fluctuations and dripping when off.
I found the cause to be the digital processor ( Grey Box ) so I contacted Aqualisa for advise and was told the item was a non serviceable and they quoted £245 for a replacement part.
I thought having nothing to loose I would try to repair the digital processor myself (I work with industrial control systems) the problem was very obvious, the flow valve was sticking due to the small ball-bearings rusting. On closer inspection a found the ball bearings to be made from cast iron and were completely corroded and crumbling.
Again I spoke to Aqualisa and asked if they could send a replacement bearing set explaining that these bearings would only cost pennies and to replace the otherwise good unit for £245 was unacceptable. I was told this was not possible.
Luckily I found a set of stainless steel bearing and now have a working shower
Some thoughts, why use cast iron? Cast iron is very corrosive when in contact with water and would only ever last a few years in this application. If cost of using stainless steel or plastic as an alternative cast iron is pennies, why not add a pound onto the original price and build a lasting unit?

Mick
September 2008

Hi

I don't have an answer but I have the same problem.. my wife is OCD so our three year old shower has probably had about 11 years usage.

I have Aqualisa coming out for a service call on the shower. I know it is not the buttons because it never fails to switch on. The only way I can switch it off it to power down the mains. If I was a cynic I would say this is some sort of built-in obsolescence.

brian@millsey.co.uk

Brian Mills
September 2008