Kramer, Newman and a 'salesman' are at the back of a van in an alley. Salesman: All right, I got everything here. I got the Cyclone F series, Hydra Jet Flow, Stockholm Superstream, you name it. Newman: What do you recommend? Salesman: What are you looking for? Kramer: Power, man. Power. Newman: Like Silkwood. Kramer: That's for radiation. Newman: That's right. Kramer (pointing to the largest one): Now, what is this? Salesman: That's the Commando 450, I don't sell that one. What about thi- Kramer: Well that's what we want, the Commando 450. Salesman, Nah, believe me. It's only used in the circus. For elephants. Newman: We'll pay anything. We've got the (hands a wad of money to Kramer). What about Jerry? Kramer: He couldn't handle that, he's delicate. Sorry, I don't actually have any recommendations, but your question reminded me of this Seinfeld episode. :)

"I think it's a contradiction to say you want a water restrictor with strong water flow." Actually, I've found it to be exactly the opposite. We have very low water pressure, and the only way I can get a decent feeling shower is with the low flow showerheads. They may send less water at you, but the water it does send comes much faster than with a conventional head. Anyway, my favorite has been the Oxygenics BodySpa SkinCare. IMHO, it looks terrible and feels plasticy and cheap, but the water pressure it generates is amazing. I recently installed a much better looking Hansgrohe with EcoAir, but it doesn't work nearly as well. So, I think I have to take it out and try to find an Oxygenics model that looks decent unless somebody has a suggestion for something that works as well as the Oxygenics.

If ever there was a useless piece of equipment offered for sale in the hardware store it has to be the WATTS pressure gage with the attached female hose connecter. For a mere $10 you can purchase the gage, attach it to any faucet in the house with a hose thread, turn the faucet on and voila, you instantly know the static head pressure in your water distribution system. Big Deal, with that fact and about $5 you could get a cup of coffee at starbucks but in the real world of plumbing you donÂt know any more than you did before you got the gage. Ask yourself this question. What psi do you need to get a good shower? What psi does it take to fill your bathtub from the spout? In truth, at this point we havenÂt even established a proper standard of measurement. Is this psi? psia? or Psig? PSI simply defines pounds per square in, however vacuum can be expressed in psi, and in that case the water would be getting sucked back into to pipe rather that providing a solid force in your shower. PSIA (Pounds per square inch-absolute) is commonly used in scientific notation because it measure the total pressure above zero pressure (Perfect Vacuum) and a psia gage sitting alone on a workbench not connected to anything would read 14.7psi at sea level. Why? Because the atmospheric pressure is 14.7psi at sea level and a PSIA gage reads all available pressure above zero, but then the atmospheric pressure drops one pound for each 1000ft of vertical elevation so if the gage is on a bench in Denver, Colorado it will only read 9.7psia. In fact, this is exactly how the altimeter on an airplane works. On the other hand, if you lived at sea level and hooked a PSIA gage on your water line and you got a reading of 10psi it would be indicating 4.7pounds of negative pressure (vacuum) on your water line and your not getting any water. For the record, the WATTS gage in question is calibrated as a PSIG (pounds per square inch gage- meaning pounds per square inch above standard atmospheric pressure). Technically speaking where I live the elevation is 1154ft above sea level so a PSIG gage has a 1psi error here. Some gages such as those used by HVAC technicians have a removable cover glass and a small set screw so the technician can zero the gage for the current atmospheric pressure but for the purposes of measuring water pressure one psi more or less is not going to make much difference. Now let us consider the question at hand. The shower is on the third floor in a row house in NYC, For the sake of illustration let us assume the water main is under the sidewalk immediately outside the house about 25ft from the water meter and the post says they have a 1" water line coming in. The International Residential Plumbing Code says we must have a minimum of 45psig static head pressure (static meaning at rest-no flow) at the junction of the house main shutoff valve. (Under the Uniform Plumbing Code we are only required to have 15psig per UPC 608.1). Assuming for the moment that we have the required 45psig at the main in the basement, what do you suppose the static head pressure is at the tub on the third floor? Water weighs .434pounds per foot of vertical column and the physical weight of the water standing in that riser opposes the flow so while the static head pressure at the main is 45psig at the tub 30ft above the static head pressure would be 45psig  (,434x30)= 45psi- 13.02psi = 31.98psi but keep in mind that this is still the static head pressure. Once flow begins all this will change instantly. Once flow begins we not only have the vertical static head loss but we also have pipe wall friction loss and pipe wall friction loss changes proportional to the velocity of flow. The post stated that the showerhead has a flow rate ranging from 9.8 to 15gpm. For simplicity let us use 10gpm as the flow rate. Consulting the Copper Tube Handbook, page 30, table 6-Pressure loss of water due to friction in types K, L & M copper and let us use the figures for type L. We now have 10gpm coming in the 1" water line from the municipal main and the distance is 25ft. At 10gpm the friction loss in a 1" Type L copper pipe is 0.027psi/ft 0.027 x 25ft= 0.675psi so the pressure at the main shutoff is now 45psig  0.675psi = 44.325psig From the main we have two ¾" risers (hot & cold) and the ratio is 2H to 1C or 6.66gal. of hot water and 3.33gal. of cold water. At 6.66gpm the friction loss in ¾" copper is approx. 0.030psi/ft and we have a 30ft rise so the friction loss is 0.030 x 30= .9psi and the vertical static head loss on the 30 ft riser is 13.02psi so the combined loss is 13.02 + 0.9= 13.92psi. The hot water pressure at the shower mixer is then 44.325psig  13.92psi = 30.405psi. Also keep in mind that if any other demand for water is turned on during your shower the velocity of flow in the main and distribution lines would increase, thereby increasing the friction loss and again lowering your shower pressure. The reason we donÂt install a pressure gage on the water system is because under normal use the gage needle would be jumping like a windshield wiper and the average homeowner would be in a panic thinking something is wrong with their system. In fact, these changes are so dramatic that while the International Residential Code requires 45psig static head pressure at the main, TableT-2903,1 only requires a flow rate of 3gpm @ 8psig at the shower.

Good suggestion, but it turned out they were open as far as they could go. Any other thoughts?