Safepurge shower, to provide a safer means of legionella bacteria control for underused showers in the peripheral parts of domestic hot and cold water systems.

Safepurge Showerhead 2010, with wall plate

• Wall mounted unit with fixed spray direction.
• Construction - DZR brass body of bright polished chrome finish.
• Suitable for concealed 15mm copper pipework installation.

Safepurge Purge-cycle controller 6000, with wall bracket

• Construction - DZR brass body of bright chrome finish.
• Suitable for 15mm pipework installation.
• For service void installation, requiring access for periodic cleaning.

Safepurge 7000 Tundish and tube, with wall clips

• Construction - white ABS plastic finish, fits to suitable self-sealing trap (*bellow type).
• Connecting tube - 32mm ABS waste pipe.
• For service void installation, requiring access for periodic inspection.

Items supplied by others:

• Self-sealing trap (*Hepworth BV1) and straight adaptor (Hepworth BV3), or equivalent.
• Suitable brassware shower water mixer valve - anti-scald device fitted.
• 2 x suitable water pipe connectors, ½ inch BSP - 15mm copper.
• Brass threaded bar (M8) to mount head, with nuts and washers; cut to 3 x suitable lengths for shower cubicle / wall thickness.
• Other water flow control devices.
• Pipework, clips and other fittings etc.
• All Safepurge items to be installed and operated in-line with manufacturers instructions and the Risk Assessment undertaken for the water system.
• Aqua Hygiene Products takes no responsibility for items manufactured by others, or for any changes to their specifications whatsoever.

Schematic diagram only, to simply demonstrate a typical Safepurge installation.

1. Hot and cold water supply

• Safepurge requires a constant water pressure at the head, in the range of between 1 bar and 2.5 bar.
• Hot water temperatures in the common supply pipework should be greater than 50°C.

2. Hot and cold water deadlegs

• Deadlegs should be kept to a minimum length and with a minimum number of bends.
• Construct from 15mm copper pipework, avoid galvanised steel pipework.
• Deadlegs are shown dropping down to supply the mixer valve, they can also rise up to the mixer valve. Avoid flexible hose connectors.
• Deadlegs to serve one mixer valve matched with one Safepurge showerhead only.

3. Shower water mixer valve

• Well constructed British brassware mixer valves are recommended.
• Always specify those with anti-scald devices fitted and for each country abide with local requirements.
• Health care authorities have specific anti-scald requirements that should be met.
• Ideally the mixer valve operation should be via a single lever for temperature adjustment and ease of use.
• Gauze filters fitted should provide quick and easy access for cleaning, ideally they should be remotely accessible.
• Mixer valve to deliver between 8L/min - 10L/min water flow rate for the Safepurge showerhead.
• Mixer valve, when set to hot, must be able to deliver water greater than 40°C.
• Avoid flexible hose connectors.

4. Blended water pipe

• Construct from 15mm copper pipework - avoid all other materials.
• Avoid flexible connectors.
• For all types of showers - where there is a risk of misuse or water wastage always fit a timed water flow device - e.g. percussion type. The timed-flow period should exceed the purge-cycle time for ease of use.

5. Safepurge Showerhead 2010

6. Purge pipe

• Construct from 15mm copper pipework - avoid all other materials.
• Upon exit from the showerhead, the purge pipe must immediately drop vertically downwards to the purge-cycle controller with no further bends. If an offset is required for installation it must be of a large smooth radius (no elbow / bend fittings).

7. Safepurge 6000 - Purge cycle controller

• For service void installation, with access for periodic inspection and cleaning.
• Sevice void to be kept clean, free of dust and draughts.
• Avoid direct heat sources, hot water pipework, direct sunshine etc
• Avoid air temperatures below 4°C and above 32°C.
• Discharge orifice - 13mm diameter.

8. Air gap - Type AA

• Set the required air-gap distance between the spill over level of the tundish and the purge-cycle controller, normally to twice the discharge orifice diameter (2 x 13 = 26mm).
• Position the Air-gap relative to other water appliances in compliance with the water regulations.
• Always check latest water regulations for relevant countries.

9. Self-sealing trap / valve

• Available from plumb merchants; the Hepworth BV1 trap and BV3 adaptor is a popular choice. We are not responsible for other manufacturers' products or changes to their specifications, whatsoever.

10. Shower floor gulley

• Do not discharge the purge-cycle water onto the shower floor as contaminated water must pass to drain without the production of harmful aerosols.

11. Waste / drain pipework

Safepurge Showerhead 2010
Safepurge showerheads are designed for minimal life-cycle maintenance. Water quality and the amount of use will determine any on-site maintenance regimen. Normally, no preventative maintenance is required. The construction of Safepurge showers is robust, the majority of units continue to be reliable in service well after one and even two decades use.

Water quality must be properly maintained, delivering only water suitable for bathing at all times.

Beware of any central water system cleaning practices such as descaling etc., which can foul water fittings. Always isolate the Safepurge installation and mixer valve from this type of heavily fouled water.

Cleaning - Legionella Control
Health and safety legionella control guidelines recommend showerheads are dismantled and cleaned at least every three months, or more frequently. However, conventional showerheads have been shown to become heavily colonised with legionella in far shorter periods.

Do not dismantle Safepurge showerheads.

Safepurge showerheads are designed to be self-cleaning and are shown to provide an effective means of legionella control. However, do follow the household cleaning practice described.

• Safepurge is designed to purge unstable biofilms found in the water passages of showerheads and pipework to drain and immediately prior to shower use.
• An area of high concern in shower systems is the proliferation of legionella bacteria on conventional spray plates. Safepurge combats this by automatically protruding the spray plate when not-in-use to kill legionella by desiccation.

Cleaning - Household Duties
Both faces of the Safpurge spray plate must be cleaned as necessary to maintain an efficient water spray pattern at all times – use a mild cleaning / sterilising agent to remove any build up of limescale found. Safepurge showerheads should be cleaned / polished as part of household duties to keep chrome work bright and attractive.

Safepurge 6000 Purge-cycle Controller
Cleaning to be carried out periodically, frequency determined by the local conditions on site; dependant on the amount of use and water quality etc. Some establishments clean the discharge water laminar flow gauzes quarterly, however, others are satisfied that cleaning has not been necessary for over ten years.

• Inspection - during the purge-cycle, water flow through the Air-gap should appear as a clear column of water. Should this appear milky (not clear), this indicates the gauzes located in the discharge of the controller require cleaning.
• To clean - remove gauze-discs from the nut-housing located at the water discharge end. Clean with a mild cleaning agent and replace, this takes a few minutes only.
• Operation - over extended periods time, limescale deposits on the wax-element may eventually become excessive and interfere with the smooth operation of the purge-cycle controller. Periodic inspection and cleaning to be determined by local conditions on-site.

Safepurge showerheads have been shown to deliver a long and reliable life, with the vast majority operating well after one and even two decades use.

The 2010 showerhead has been designed for remanufacture at the end of its first life-cycle, the construction is robust and expected to last for significantly longer than the vast majority of other shower types.

Options available for when Safepurge showerhead reaches the end of first life-cycle:

• Well looked after showerheads may benefit from a simple refurbishment by replacing moving parts. The showerhead will be fully re-tested and released on the understanding it will provide equal performance to when new.
• For those showerheads that have experienced harsh conditions they would benefit from a complete refurbishment to include new moving parts and chrome work. The showerhead will be fully re-tested and released on the understanding it will provide equal performance to when new.
• For those showerheads that experience excessively harsh conditions through abuse, these can be re-cycled. Aqua Hygiene Products offers to purchase Safepurge showerheads reflecting on the high value of the high-grade DZR brass used. This material will then be recycled for use in other shower room applications through our authorised supplier network.

Should you require additional information please contact the Safepurge Technical Support Team directly on telephone number +44 (0)1407 762145, or please use the form in our 'Contact Us' section and we will reply to you as soon as possible.

All Safepurge products are supplied with installation, operation and maintenance instructions.