Do three way diverters work?

Janet House

4 years ago

I'm considering getting one for the tub/shower. I'm looking for comments from people who have used them.

Are they effective? How is the water pressure?

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Comments (3)

enduring
4 years ago
Do you mean, having 2 different fixtures running at the same time? Look the tub filler and the shower head? I have a Hansgrohe rain shower with 2 different outlets, and a handheld shower head. I can have any of the 2 operating at the same time. The pressure does go down when I do this. If you want same pressure use 2 different fixtures. Also this allows for different temp settings. With my setup, the rain shower temp needs to be hotter than the handheld because the water cools as it rains down. When I have both the handheld and rain shower on at the same time the temp difference is noticeable, as I hold the handheld closer to the body. There is less heat loss from the water.
Helen
4 years ago
I have a three way diverter for my shower. I have one regular shower head and two hand held showers. In California, you are only allowed to have one "water fixture" operating at the same time so diverters are required by Code if you want more than one shower head.

My three way diverter works great. I needed a cheat sheet for the first few times until I memorized what position controlled which fixture. I have a thermostatic valve and so my temperature is controlled with a separate valve. I preferred this over a pressure balance type of valve.
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You have three fixtures, 2 rainshowere heads and a handheld, hence the 3 way diverter. I have a 2 way because I have one showerhead and a tub spout. Donna
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We did that exact same thing in our bathroom. I have the water supply going into the Grohe thermostatic controller. Ours is laid out so that each of the three things, the tub spout, the hand shower and the overhead shower, has their own on/off valve. This way you can use any of the 3 or all of the three. Our tankless water heater can only supply 7 GPM so you can't effectively use the the tub spout at the same time as the shower head. Our master bathroom shower is similar, but has a hand held, rain head, and 4 wall jets. I can use all three at the same time, but the pressure goes down a little. If that doesn't make sense to you I can post a picture. I absolutely love this system. My wife set it to 90 degrees, I set it to 100 degrees. No guess work, just set the knob to the temp you want. With the tankless water heater I can stay in the shower as long as I want. One thing you need to be aware of with tankless in case you aren't, is that while you will never run out of hot water, you ARE limited to how many people or appliances can use it at the same time. For instance, I can't take a shower while someone else fills the bath tub. The bath tub uses nearly 100% of the water heaters GPM capacity. That will result in my shower being diminished to a trickle. ~Jay
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Yes, you are correct, reversing the travelers will just change the switch direction. Since there is obviously a problem here - you can not make assumptions. You just need to start at Switch A and disconnect the two travelers. Using an an AC voltmeter referencing neutral or ground, measure the common again that you believe is the line side - still got voltage? Next, measure the two switch terminals - one should be hot and the other not. Switch the switch other way and it should alternate. (If not, Switch A is faulty or miswired.) Next measure the two bare travelers, since they are going to Switch B and then on to the load, there should be no voltage. (If one of them has voltage, there is a wiring issue here and you need to confirm that they are really going to Switch B and then on to the load.) Reconnect the travelers on Switch A and disconnect the travelers on Switch B. Toggle Switch A and measure the travelers at the Switch B box - should see them alternate hot. Reconnect Switch B and you should see it's common terminal, switch on and off when you toggle Switch B. (If not Switch B is faulty or miswired.) BTW - I am assuming you know when to de-energize and re-energize the circuit via the circuit breaker. :)
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Are there other wires in the box on which the fixture is mounted? If so, a connection/splice of one of those conductors could have been disturbed while swapping the fixture. Granted that splices are supposed to be sturdy enough to withstand such handling, not all are done well enough to meet that standard.
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PRO
Flo Mangan
4 years ago
They work, but also make sure your supply lines are the right diameter. That's what flow and water pressure are all about.

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Do three way diverters work?

Comments (3)

enduring

Helen

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