A mixer shower will mix both hot and cold water inside the shower fitting itself before the water comes out of the shower head. This means that the shower itself does not heat the water, as is the case with some models, but rather that the shower will make use of the hot water that's already available through your home's plumbing system.
For many people, a mixer shower is a great choice because these have so many advantages. Mixer showers can be surface mounted, which means that all of the shower apparatus including the pipes are installed onto your wall, or flush.
The workings of the shower are behind the wall and only the shower control system is visible. A mixer shower can also be used with either high pressure or low-pressure water systems. You will need equal pressure for both hot and cold water to use a mixer shower. However if this is not the case in your home, you can install a pressure balanced mixer valve to solve this problem. As far as installation, use and plumbing requirements a mixer shower is quite simple, which is why they are such a common choice for bathrooms in the UK.
There are a couple of downsides to installing a mixer shower. The first of these is that this kind of shower will not affect the water flow of your system. So if you have low water flow from taps in your bathroom, your shower will also have low water flow. The potential issue of being scolded by hot water is severely reduced. On a thermostatic shower valve, you will see a selection of settings or temperatures to allow you to control how hot or cold you want your shower.
In order to achieve the right temperature, these types of showers store a large amount of hot water and mix in the right amount of cold water accordingly.
If the temperature is changed on the valve mid-shower, the result should be almost instantaneous, rather than days gone by of waiting for ages get the desired temperature.
In fact, some even have more than one diverter. The temperature control does exactly what its name suggests. It allows the user to set their desired temperature. As the water starts to flow the thermostatic element measures its temperature and reacts accordingly. If the water gets hotter, the thermostatic element expands and if it gets hotter, the thermostatic valve expands. The thermostatic element controls a piston and a return spring.
These move across the hot and cold water portals maintaining the correct temperature. For completeness, if the temperature rises above a safe level e. These days usually both portals would be covered. Once you have worked out what functionality you need, you then have to decide whether you want an exposed thermostatic shower valve or a concealed thermostatic shower valve.
Exposed thermostatic shower valves may not look very visually appealing although this is arguably a matter of opinion but they are easier to maintain. Concealed thermostatic shower valves can look very sleek and very much in keeping with a minimalist aesthetic, but they can be inconvenient to maintain.
You want components made out of strong material, chrome-plated brass is very popular for higher-end thermostatic shower valves. Ideally, you want the components to be removable, again this is for ease of maintenance. You can buy thermostatic shower valves for over-bath showers, you will just want a diverter to switch between the shower and the bath taps.
For completeness, you can also get thermostatic taps. These are similar to regular mixer taps except thermostatic taps will adjust the water inputs to maintain your desired temperature. However, some valves cannot be replaced , so please do proper maintenance to prevent a nasty shock.
If you are unsure how to fix the valve, I would advise contacting a local professional for advice and conducting thorough research before attempting repairs yourself. Is your thermostatic shower valve not quite working as it used to? To adjust your thermostatic valve, you must follow these steps;. Unscrew the handle or lever. Once removed, this will expose the grub screw. Loosen the grub screw with an Allen Key.
This will allow you to pull the handle off of the valve. Take off the brass temperature stop lug by removing the retaining screw on the end. Turn the flow control back on. If the water is too cold, turn the brass spindle anti - clockwise until it reaches your preferred temperature. Turn the brass spindle clockwise if the shower is too hot. Once you are satisfied with the temperature, turn off the water flow with the handle and reassemble the parts.
To clean a thermostatic shower cartridge, you will need a pair of channel lock pliers and some white vinegar. Once you are ready, complete the following steps;. Remove the handle and trim piece from the valve. Using the channel lock pliers, unthread the cartridge and remove completely from the valve body. Soak the entire cartridge in a bowl of white vinegar, ensuring it is completely submerged for one hour. While the cartridge is soaking, turn on your shower to flush the opening until the water runs clear.
Once the hour is up, rinse the cartridge thoroughly with water. Reattach the valve, trim and handle.
To descale your thermostatic shower valve, simply remove it from the body and soak it in a white vinegar and water solution for at least half an hour before rinsing it off and reassembling the handle. A good ratio for this cleaning technique is one-part vinegar to one part water.
If this is not quite strong enough, soaking it in pure vinegar as described above is another good solution. Soaking the shower valve in shower descaling products from your local supermarket may also do the trick if the vinegar solution is not quite working or you fancy something stronger.
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