Compatibility of Parts and Spares

Since most of the Shower Cabins and Steam Showers sold in the UK are produced in China; often the Eastern parts of China in an area dense with Sanitary ware companies, there is often a good chance that the parts we have available will in some way be compatible, either off the shelf or with a small amount of adjustment.

Most connections such as those where hoses and pipes are concerned use a standard 15mm threaded nut fixing, or may even be push fit, so a hose or a part a hose connects to will be suitable. Steam pods are a good example of a threaded 15mm nut connection. These are available in a variety of different shapes and sizes but all feature the same sized thread. Since this thread fits the small hole cut out, they are all able to be swapped between showers. The Thermal insulated hose that supplies the steam to the steam pod is also fitted with this same connection, so again, further signs of standardisation.

The one area we get a lot of question here at steam shower spares is that of control panels (electronic control pads). These items are the part you interact with inside the shower cabin or steam shower. When you press a button on the control pad it passes the request to an electronic control unit, which in turn activates he correct item within the shower enclosure. For example, press the light button and the lights come on. Between the control panel and the electronic control unit are typically one or two cables. These provide electrical power from the electronic shower control unit and the data communication to tell the electronic control unit what button you pressed and thus what to do. Since the two parts (control unit and control panel) have to communicate and understand the request, the data passed between the two part must be the same. Therefore a control pad with say a TR code which is different to a panel with an MK code simply do not communicate - consider pointing your DVD remote at the TV and expecting it to work - it does not. We have the same problem here - the language used is not the same, so you cannot but a new pad and hope it words. This is further compounded by the cable connections, which are often hugely different, with the size of the cut out designed to house the control pad and additionally but the functions that may or may not be controlled by the unit. Some older steam showers use Solenoid valves. These are electronic switches that open and close at the press of a button to allow you to start the hand shower or body jets etc. These Solenoid valves are great in principle, but often fail and leave you with a completely useless shower. There are many makes and models of shower in the UK with Solenoid valves and many of the original suppliers are no longer in business, so parts are hard or impossible to find.

Steam Shower Spares do not stock solenoid vales are able to source them. The only 'fix' if you cannot get the correct part is to consider replacing the valve assembly or scrapping the shower. Replacement of the shower vale has been done by many of our customizers, but it’s not very easy and often requires making new surrounds to fit the valve assembly and new hoses etc. The control panel and the steam generator and electric also need replacing if you want the full result. Most people either consider a small fit (new valve) or scrap the shower as the overall cost of parts comes too close to the cost of a news shower cabin or steam shower.