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dg4096
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| Joined: | Fri Jan 4th, 2008 |
| Location: | New York USA |
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Posted: Tue Aug 5th, 2008 02:20 pm |
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any brand recommendations?
I'm replacing the old 2.5gpm due to a long-standing drip when the shower is on...seems to leak from some place in the fixture (not from the pipe threads that attach the unit to the wall pipe.) Drip tends to drip back towards tub rim and contribute to mold.
Some say that showerheads are normally manufactured to dribble a small amount as some kind of scalding protection, though I don't understand that. Seems like a waste of water and an annoyance.
A new Water Pic model we tried drips too. I don't really need a head with 40 different settings, just a few.
note: we have about 60psi water pressure.
Thanks,
David
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eleent
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Posted: Wed Aug 6th, 2008 03:01 am |
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Hello: Perhaps I'm confused, but any dripping should be only temporary if the shower valve closes properly.
Yours, Larry
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dg4096
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Posted: Wed Aug 6th, 2008 03:11 am |
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Thanks Larry; that's what I would have thought. And just to be clear I'm talking about dripping while the shower is on, not off. I've heard good things about Niagara heads. For anyone else looking, here's an interesting site:
http://www.metaefficient.com/category/shower-heads
it seems that non-aerated heads avoid the temperature drop that could end up costing more money in heating up the water again, and in comfort.
Thanks,
David
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eleent
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Posted: Wed Aug 6th, 2008 11:43 pm |
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Hello: Clarity is good  Showerheads drip even when the integral valve is off, so that you know the water supply is still on. If you had a positive shut-off, it would be tempting to leave that closed while keeping hot and cold on and at the right temperature mix. This creates a cross connection between hot and cold, upsetting the entire water distribution system. Check valves can be installed, but simpler is better.
Any showerhead that gives you bigger water droplets at slower speed will carry the heat to you better and mix in less cool air in doing so. The result is a warmer shower and less of that unhappy result of warm head/ cold feet, that happens with some bargan showerheads.
You're clearly on the right track.
Yours, Larry
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dg4096
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 03:13 am |
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Thanks Larry; I think one more clarification and i'll be home free. You say: "Showerheads drip even when the integral valve is off, so that you know the water supply is still on." That sounds like a shutoff valve on the head itself, and in that case the drip seems useful. That's not my setup. I have a simple showerhead, and while the shower is on, a drip emerges from somwhere in the head and is annoyingly and wastefully separate from the shower spray. I don't need to know the water supply is still on, it's obvious since the shower is on.
I'll assume that the 15 yr old head --which i've cleaned pretty thoroughly in the past--is in need of replacement and that a simple showerhead should not drip. This is yet another topic i never thought I'd be researching, and it's always interesting to learn new things. I recall when we first changed over to the 2.5gpm head (probably less with 60psi) it seemed so inadequate. Within a few months we got used to it, and now it seems just fine. There is technology there that can drop showerhead output to .5 gpm, but I can't imagine that's adequate.
Thanks,
David
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eleent
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Posted: Thu Aug 7th, 2008 07:35 am |
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Hello: More clarity is better  Niagra is a well known brand as is Water Pic. I believe Consumer Reports once did a piece on shower heads and that might give you more to research  http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-9831735_ITM
Yours, Larry
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