Low flow shower valves?

Posted by smith_bp101 on July 21, 2005, 4:11 pm

I'm rebuilding my shower. I'm also putting in new shower valves. I like
seperate hot and cold valves, so I'll also need to put in a pressure
difference valve. My question is:
I DON'T want low flow valves. How do I find out if the valves I
purchased are low flow? Can I remove it?
Also,
What should I look for in the pressure difference valve? Are they
better or the same as the temperature difference valves?

Posted by Pop on July 21, 2005, 8:38 pm

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I'm not sure you can even buy them without the flow
restrictors anymore. So far at least, the faucets etc.
I've purchased, it's been easy to pull them out and
just throw them away. Eventually I imagine they'll be
built into them so you can't alter them; love being
protected from myself, don't you?
One thing to remember though; if you remove the flow
restrictors, your shower will be more prone to temp
changes if someone turns a hot or cold on full flow at
another faucet, unless your plumbing is designed
perfectly.
HTH,
Pop

Posted by MrC1 on July 22, 2005, 10:39 am

That's what drill bits are for. Many of the restrictor heads can be greatly
improved with a slight oversize.
That said, it's amazing the difference in water consumption betweeen an old
"hi-flo" head and the newer restrictor heads. I had a roommate years ago
that used a full-flowing head in his shower. He would drain a 0 gallon
water heater in 20-30 min. (he liked long showers)! When he was out one day
I replaced the head with a new restrictor head that was also a massager, so
I could sell him on the idea. I never ran out of hot water again, even
after 2 people took showers in succession.
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Posted by Beachcomber on July 22, 2005, 1:43 pm

>I'm not sure you can even buy them without the flow
>restrictors anymore. So far at least, the faucets etc.
>I've purchased, it's been easy to pull them out and
>just throw them away. Eventually I imagine they'll be
>built into them so you can't alter them; love being
>protected from myself, don't you?
> One thing to remember though; if you remove the flow
>restrictors, your shower will be more prone to temp
>changes if someone turns a hot or cold on full flow at
>another faucet, unless your plumbing is designed
>perfectly.
Many of the cheaper, off the shelf shower heads come with built in
flow restrictors built in and hard-to-remove. I believe 2.5 GPM is
the magic number.
As others have said though, shower comfort is not necessarily
restricted along with the flow. If your water pressure is low, your
going to feel a lack of force in your shower, no matter what.
Beachcomber

Posted by Edwin Pawlowski on July 22, 2005, 12:25 am

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Why?
Flow and shower comfort are no necessarily related. I have a low flow
shower head by Saverwhower that gives me a much better feel that any of the
high water use heads. It is not the amount of water, but what you do with it
that counts.
show/hide quoted text
Can't help you here but I think most any of the new one have an anti-scald
feature of some sort. Mine is about 10 years old. If you turn on the hot
water in another room, I will get a cold shower, but if you flush a toilet
or otherwise turn on cold water, the pressure will drop but the temperature
will not exceed where it was set.

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