Welcome! Here are the website rules, as well as some tips for using this forum.
Need to contact us? Visit https://heatinghelp.com/contact-us/.
Click here to Find a Contractor in your area.

Shower flow problem

bill_105
bill_105 Member Posts: 429
in Plumbing
So I have a house with 70 year old Galv. pipes. Believe you me these pipes have arteriosclerosis.With a new pressure balanced valve the HO says the flow from the shower head isn't good enough. It seem the flow from the tub spout is a little weak. This is a charity project and is real frustrating.Any help would be appreciated.

Comments

  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    edited June 2014
    Clogged arteries:

    The whole house needs a re-pipe if you want any pressure. The joys of charity projects. They expect a lot more from something that is free.



    Put a 5 gallon bucket in the tub and time how much water flows in to it in a minute. Do the cold, then do the hot. If there is a large discrepancy between the ho and cold, a pressure balance valve won't work well. Pull the flow restrictor out of the shower head and see if it improves. If it doesn't, it is what it is.

    Time to re-pipe.

    And nothin' is worth nothin'. But it's free.

    Kris Kristofferson. "Me and Bobby McGee".
  • bill_105
    bill_105 Member Posts: 429
    Resolved

    So I show up with a ice tea pitcher with increments and a clock with a second hand. It came out at 3.3 gpm, plenty. I show it to the HO and she swears the flow is much greater than before, fine with me. I said these terrible pipes have a life of their own.

    On a side note, have you ever noticed that all shower complaints come from women?Being far from a chauvinist ,I just happened to notice;)
  • icesailor
    icesailor Member Posts: 7,265
    Understandig:

    I can see that you just don't understand.

    When YOU can wash your hair with a washcloth in the shower, and your wife, partner or teenage daughter needs time to wash the soap out of their hair before they get on with your day, you will develop an understanding of the necessity of a decent shower head flow.

    For example, if you are getting 3.3 GPM out of said shower head, and the potable domestic hot water is 120 degrees or lower, raise the system temperature for the hot water and the pressure balance part of the valve works better, And that the hot water "seems" to be hotter, makes some people think that the shower is working better. If flow is an issue, always remove the flow restrictor. Explain what you did. Leave it there in a baggy so they can look at what you did for them.

    The customer is always right. You need to always throw them a bone. Sometimes, two bones. Always leave the thinking you did something even if you didn't.

Categories