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Low Water Pressure with Body sprays on a shower panel

15 years ago

Hello

Does anybody know if you can do anything to increase the water pressure on body sprays associated with a shower panel?

We just remodeled a bathroom and got an "all in one" shower. It has a hand held, rain head and 6 body sprays. We like it, but are disappointed with the water pressure coming out of the body sprays. Our plumber says he can't do anything to increase the pressure.

Any advice or suggestions?

Thanks,

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Comments (4)

shacko
15 years ago
Did anyone read the specs before the installation?, they usually tell you what the minimum size and pressure are for the hook-up.

Your incomming pressure will approx. remain the same, but the volume may be less.

Sorry for the negitve but, with the information you are giving thats the best I can do, luck
kc567567
15 years ago
We had a Hansgrohe Tower installed last year.

It has spray, shower or spray/shower modes. When both are on, the output from each is reduced (by 30-40% maybe ????)

This unit has 5 jets rated at 1gpm, and a showerhead rated at 2.5gpm ,,,,,, total max flow would be 10gpm at 65psi. Perhaps because of this lower output the jets donÂt "sting" at all, which would turn me off. My water pressure is a consistent 67-70psi and I wouldnÂt want it any higher.

Buy a $5 gauge and find your systems pressure then check your towers requirements. I thought I read somewhere that you can buy pressurizing systems that bump it up ....

KC
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Hi GH, All of that water demand will, most likely require a 3/4" water line, instead of the standard 1/2" water line, be piped to the shower to deliver additional volume and pressure. Without that, you will not have good performance from using multiple sprays, regardless of the valve type or diverter option. And yes, the volume is cut in half with shared functions from a diverter, but depending on the shower heads, may still be adequate. It's a balancing act, and will depend on your water pressure from the street. For a standard 1/2" diverter, to just switch between functions, the Delta R11000 rough-in body is reasonable and good quality. Then you choose the type of trim option and a 6 function cartridge. Otherwise, if 3/4" water line is at the shower, separate volume controls will allow all the functions to flow at full blast.
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Yes - both Whedon and Alsons 652 make a similar product. The Alsons is called the "Incredible" shower head. Both are under $14. The Whedon is at the ACE hardware store. I think the Whedon is the exact same one that Lazypup is talking about. I also went to my plumbing supply today - they don't even have them on display with the other heads - you have to ask for them since they keep them all in a box and plumbers know to ask for them. It cost $4.99 at the plumbing store. It is solid brass with chrome plating and very small (about 3/4" diameter and 2 inches long including the nut part). They are $13 at my local ACE and the guy didn't even know they had them - they were on the rack nearby the hugs shower heads. I got the "deluxe" one which is slightly larger because it has a push button that lets you temporarily turn the water to a trickle to lather and then push it again to get full flow. p.s. it's getting really tiring all of these "carefully" placed takeashower.com shower head ads in all the different forums. what a con. they sometimes even make 2 different email addresses and act like they are talking to each other. Sometimes, they just copy and paste the same paragraph but change the city/state and the name of the person and put it on different websites. you will notice that not a single person recommended takeashower and only recommended heads that cost under $15 that you can get at your local hardware/plumbing supply. Yet somehow the product placement was put in by the poster. Here is a link that might be useful: Alsons 652 shower head for about $9
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A very common way to run plumbing is to have a 3/4" main line that runs to the bathroom, and then each feeder line (sink, shower, commode, etc.) is a 1/2" line coming off the main line. However, when you install one of the units with multiple sprayers I don't know how its connected to the plumbing. Is a unit with multiple sprays and head plumbed as a single unit, possibly using a direct 3/4" line, and then each spray head is connected to the unit using materials (feeder lines, etc.) provided with the controls? Or does the plumber need to run a separate water line from the controls to each spray head or group? If its plumbed as a unit, the controls may have features that ensure the pressure and flow is consistent for each head, but if you make your own design to interconnect everything you will need to have a plumber that understands how to keep it all balanced. Bruce
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After you fix the pressure issue, maybe with adding a separate pressure tank, then you have to fix your hot water supply issue. 7.2 gallons per minute, would mean a 10 minute shower with a typical tank. But, if you had enough pressure, you'd be blasted clean in that 10 minutes! But no one after you would have hot water available. A commercial boiler could possibly create enough volume to sustain multiple showers. That would be very challenging production for a tankless, except in the warmest areas of the country, like Florida. Incoming water temperature controls the temperature rise and flow that is possible. A series of 2 tankless, with the first acting as a preheater, might possibly work for a cold climate. But it also might not work, as they have minimum flow rates to trigger the burner. There is a lot of math to figuring out the possibilities here, and they start with your location and specific water conditions. 7 gallons down the drain is a whole other separate physical plumbing issue. That will require upsizing the drain, or multiple drains. I have not even gotten into the issue of the waste of the resources, which does violate code in many many places that have experienced water shortages. You may be surprised at how many locations in the US have experienced drought conditions and water shortages. It is only getting worse.
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zl700
15 years ago
What size water service do you have?

What size hot & cold water service to you have to unit and through water heater?

The 1/2" or 3/4" supply pipes or even water service to the house that supplied the old shower, perhaps won't cut it.

Boosting is an option but to coin my old saying- "you can only suck or blow so much through a cocktail straw"
reneeg2008
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the responses. The instructions that came w/ this shower were very brief. They mention 1/2" water hoses, but no mention of minimum pressure requirements. The way the shower is set up you can only use one part of the shower at a time - rainhead, hand held, or body sprays.

We also installed recently an instant water heater. The manual says the connection sizes are 3/4".

If that helps anyone with any way to increase the pressure, I would much appreciate it.

Thanks,

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