Hi!

I met one of my favorite plumbers, Fred Burnside, at a job site yesterday. We had a chat about undersized instantaneous tankless water heaters.

This particular site has two 3/4" units servicing the entire house except the master bath, which has its own 3/4" unit. The house has 1" service lines which reduce to 3/4" at the inlets to the water heaters. The master bath unit exits to a T and serves a 3/4" thermostatic valve, a pressure balanced shower valve, and a 3/4" line to the master soaking tub. As long as all of the fixtures are not turned on at the same time ...

There is no water heater tank.

In order to serve this large house properly, my plumber recommends a water heater with a tank in combination with the tankless heaters. A loop should be installed so that unused hot water recirculates back to the hot water tank. The tankless heaters should be 1" instead of 3/4". The same plumbing supply company that sold the client the fixtures for the master bath specified and sold them the tankless heaters.

In addition, a treatment system needs to be installed to reduce the buildup of calcium and minerals in the water lines. These minerals build up like plaque in a blood vessel, reducing the volume of water able to move through the units.

I know what he means. I've gone through three Instant Hots in my home - only realizing with the now dead third unit, that the tank is completely clogged with minerals. I'm planning a little kitchen remodel soon -- and an Everpure unit is going under that sink to purify the water before it reaches the heating unit.

I'll write more about filtering systems in a future blog.

I'm headed to KBIS and HD next week in Las Vegas. I'll get caught up on what's new and share it with you in the coming weeks.

Have a blessed day!

Kaitlyn

713-961-1324

Kaitlyn@CustomPlumbingAndHardware.com

Today, I walked a job site (where I had not provided the valves) and found some pretty silly (and needlessly expensive) stuff going on in the master shower.

The client wanted a raincan and a regular showerhead as well as 4 body sprays and a handshower. They were sold a single 3/4" Grohe thermostatic valve to cover all but the handshower. The handshower was on a separate 1/2" pressure-balanced valve. Well, the Grohe 3/4" thermovalve is rated at 16 gallons per minute at 45 psi - a bit more at a higher psi rating. If all of the flow restrictors remain in place and everything is turned on at once, there will be disappointment.

To run properly, the raincan will produce about 8 gpm - unless it's a larger can. The body sprays will produce a total of 10 gpm. (We're already over 16 without even looking at the showerhead.)

Luckily, the client said he never plans to have everything on at the same time. That's a good thing - but it's also a shame. This could have been avoided by using 2 thermostatic valves (which would have the added benefit of allowing two people in the shower to enjoy two temperatures -- it was a big shower) or by switching valve manufacturers. I have a 3/4" thermostatic valve that will produce about 25 gpm. Everything could have been on one valve - and the cost would have been less.

The plumber did a pretty good job of installing; he just installed inappropriate materials provided to him by the plumbing supplier.

At the same site, the 3/4" lines were reduced to 1/2" as they headed toward the oversized master tub. So .... good thing the tub has an internal heater, because the water will be chilly by the time it's full. Always use 3/4" lines when plumbing an oversized tub - one over 60 x 32 or so. Luckily, it's not too late for this client to change this. His wife bathes daily, so she will be very happy with the change.

And --- there are much better materials out there for shower walls. Green board just doesn't cut it anymore. My own shower was rebuilt a few years ago. Despite my request that concrete board be used, the tile setter used green board. We're now looking for a new tile setter since the water found its way between the grout and loosened the tiles on the threshhold. The tiles fell off; and the cobbler's kids have no shoes.

Have fun today!

Kaitlyn

713-961-1324

Kaitlyn@CustomPlumbingAndHardware.com

Hi - Here's a picture of a Tempress II pressure-balance diverter valve (for use in a tub/shower situation). 

This is similar to what I found recently when called by a homeowner who recently had a shower remodeled.  He purchased a waterfall spout to be used as a showerhead and a separate handshower.  He purchased these on the internet and then went to a local plumbing supplier to purchase the valves to operate the outlets he already owned.  He was sold a pressure-balance valve with a separate diverter.  No, it didn't work.  The waterfall didn't flow; it spit.  What he needed was a thermostatic valve - more on that in Part 3. 

Pressure-balance valves are useful in limited situations.

A pressure-balance valve is just one type of anti-scald valve, required by code in most areas of the United States.

Like any "anti-scald" valve, the pressure-balance valve does not recognize the actual temperature change; instead, it recognizes a reduction in pressure coming from either the cold or the hot water lines. When the pressure is reduced in one of the lines, the valve will reduce the volume of water emitted through the fixture. This reduces the volume to a trickle.

Most pressure-balance valves allow you to control only the temperature and not the volume of water. From the off position, the valve typically rotates counterclockwise from cold to warm to hot. Volume? You get what you get ... unless the valve allows you to control the volume. Be sure to check.

Most of these valves will accommodate 3-7 gallons per minute. A showerhead is required by Federal law to allow only 2.5 gallons per minute at 80 psi or 2.2 gpm at 60 psi. So, as long as legal fixtures are being used (and flow restrictors are not removed - which should not happen anyway), this should be ok for a shower; however, if the tub is large, the water may be cold by the time the tub is full. Many fixtures, such as waterfalls and raincans may require more water volume to operate properly.

A pressure-balance valve with an integral diverter is designed ONLY for a shower/tub spout combination; don't try using one to divert between a showerhead and a handshower.

Finally, if you want to have more than one fixture producing water in your shower at the same time, this is not the valve for you.

It's important to decide the luxuries you want in your shower before investing in the valves.

Have fun today!

Kaitlyn

Custom Plumbing & Hardware

713-961-1324

Hi.  I was working on a bath update recently.  That's when I go in and just change out the faucets and shower trim.  In this case, we were going from old tarnished polished brass to brushed nickel.  Rather than replacing the towel bars, rings, hooks and paper holders, I offered to have them plated to save money and stay within budget.  The style worked - just the wrong finish - pitted but not really tarnished.  So we removed the pieces, and I dropped them off with my favorite plater.  He called later to say the pieces were not solid brass; they were pot metal.  No wonder they pitted! 

Be careful when shopping for items that are "brass."  Manufacturers can call it "brass" when they're talking only of the color.  The underlying material is what is important -- often it's just brass-colored plastic.  If you want the good stuff, it needs to say "solid brass."  There are different kinds of "solid brass."  More on that later.

Have fun today -

Kaitlyn

Custom Plumbing & Hardware

713-961-1324

Kaitlyn@CustomPlumbingAndHardware.com

Many years ago, I went to a seminar in Williamsburg, Virginia. The hotel was old -- with a standard 3-valve tub & shower valve. In this part of the world, they don't use water heaters. They use boilers. I jumped in the shower before going to my class one day. Somewhere in the hotel, somebody flushed a commode; and I was blistered -- not just red -- literally blistered on my arm and back. I was much younger then -- and much more agile -- and I know I moved quickly, but I still was badly burned. The hotel comped my stay and picked up the doctor bill, but I'd have rather skipped the burn altogether.

Now, you can skip the burn by having anti-scald valves put in your showers. This is code in most areas now; but it remains optional in outlying and many rural areas.

Anti-scald valves recognize the amount of pressure coming into the valve from each of the hot and cold water lines. When the pressure from either line abruptly cuts back, the valve has five (5) seconds to cut back the pressure from the other line. (Some valves will take less time, but 5 seconds is code.)

Well, I don't know about you; but I assure you I'd be out of that shower in less than 5 seconds. However, there are people - young children, the elderly, people with injuries, people with skin insensitivity - who either cannot move quickly or cannot feel themselves being burned. Where I had burns just on my arm and back, these people could have burns over much greater areas of their bodies --- burns that could threaten their lives or even cause their deaths.

There are two types of anti-scald valves: pressure balanced and thermostatic. More about these in my next blog.

Have fun today!

Kaitlyn

Custom Plumbing & Hardware

713-961-1324