Low Flow Shower head

[kickflipjr]

I just put one in yesterday. It is very basic and was under $5. It is rated at 2.5 gallons per minuet and has a quick shut off switch. I really don't think it is bad at all, but some of the other people in the house are complaining about it. I was wondering if there any flow flow shower heads you guys have used or can recommend.


http://www.clearwater-fl.com/gov/depts/pwa/images/faucets.jpg

[Peakster]

Some of the other people in the house are complaining about it.

Why are they complaining about it? Actually, how much is water these days?

My showerhead in the basement is as old as the hills, but I only partially turn on the water anyway. Otherwise it's real loud and I run out of hot water quickly!

[trebuchet03]

Are they complaining about volume? Or pattern? I'm willing to bet on the pattern as that head looks rather focused :p I have a low flow head that has a more dispersed pattern which I really don't mind :) Then again, I take cool showers because I'm a tightwad and quick showers because I like to conserve water :D

[kickflipjr]

My sister was saying that the water was warm at the top, but the droplets are so small that they lose some heat on the way down.

I think the shower has that "motel shower" feel to it (probally because it is the exact same shower head as many motels).

[DaX]

Low Flow Shower Heads?!
http://seinfeld.wiki.comedynetuk.com/images/0/06/S7E16_The_Shower_head.jpg


...sorry, couldn't resist. :D

I like a strong shower head - the one currently in my bathroom is too weak.

How do they work anyhow? Is it a nozzle? A diffuser?

[Ryland]

our low flow head like that got cloged with lime and stoped working a few years back, so we ended up getting a slightly larger, but still 2.5-3 gallon per minut head, and kept the shut off valve, the valve is nice as it alows you to turn off the water without loosing your temp setting.

[Bill in Houston]

If the head makes a lot of mist instead of a stream that breaks into droplets, then it will definitely lose a lot of heat.

We have an adjustable head and when it is on the mister setting, you can set it on full hot, move away from it, and still feel like it is not warm enough.

So I would say to look for one that makes little streams of water. Those seem to keep the heat longer.

[JanGeo]

You should check the actual flow rate of the shower head at the setting that you use it at by catching the water coming out of it into a bucket. Back home we have such low water pressue we can't get more than a gallon of water a minute of of an open faucet much less from a shower head. A friends house with well water has the pump pressure set to 80psi and the shower head HISSES water out so fast you can't even see it and at full flow it hurts.

[DaX]

A friends house with well water has the pump pressure set to 80psi and the shower head HISSES water out so fast you can't even see it and at full flow it hurts.

Sounds like my kind of shower. :)

[JanGeo]

Yeah the bottom of the shower doesn't even get wet when you run the hot water it just vaporized on the way down and blows damp air out the open shower door!

[cems70]

Hey all,

Conservation and low flow is my business. I'm a water management/water conservation consultant, and I help businesses save money through water and energy conservation. 2.5 gallons per minute is not low flow by any of today's true green standards. And low flow performance isn't what it used to be. I have 4 showerheads that range from 1 to 1.5 gallons per minute, but it feels like they're using more water than that.

For a 2 person household, the 1 gallon per minute showerhead used 16 minutes per day (avg 8 mins per person), with an average $6 per 1000 gallons combined water/sewer cost, and assuming 1 cent per gallon (depends on the fuel used, but 1 cent is a pretty conservative estimate) to heat the hot water from 50F to 120F will save about $140 per year in water/sewer and water heating costs. Even if you're on well water and a septic system and assume no cost for water and sewer (even though there are costs associated w/ a) the electricity used by a well pump and b) pumping your septic tank and with failed leach fields due to too much water flow into it), the savings in water heating costs alone are conservatively $87. The savings are obviously much greater with more members per household.

Anyone interested in these showerheads, contact me privately.

Steve

[popimp]

Another way to save water is to catch the cold water in a bucket while warming up the shower water. You can use that water to water plants or flush the toilet. But only use that water when you go #1 or you'll have to use the whole bucket. Using this method and the cutoff showerhead has made my water consumption go from 3000 gallons a month to 2000 gallons.

[repete86]

I have a 1 gallon per minute head that you should try using so that they'll beg for the 2.5 gpm one back.

[96hb]

Low Flow Shower Heads?!
http://seinfeld.wiki.comedynetuk.com/images/0/06/S7E16_The_Shower_head.jpg


LOL! I don't like the sounds of that! :D Anyway, water is cheap so I don't mind taking nice hot showers, watering the lawn, slip -n- slide with the kids, etc...

[DaX]

LOL! I don't like the sounds of that! :D Anyway, water is cheap so I don't mind taking nice hot showers, watering the lawn, slip -n- slide with the kids, etc...

Agreed - water is my least expensive bill. If I were to pick one to work on, it'd be electricity in the summer and natural gas in the winter. After all, the whole reason I'm in this game is to save money!

[Snax]

Agreed. Where we live, the supply of drinking water is river fed and rarely an issue of concern. If we don't use it, it just flows further downstream. So our focus is on hot water conservation only. The yard and toilets get as much water as they need.

[kickflipjr]

I ended up taking the low-flow shower head out and putting the original back in. Too many complaints from others in the house.

[cems70]

If you used one of the low flow showerheads I sell, I'll bet no one would complain. They include a 1.0, 1.25, and two different 1.5 gpm models.

Water conservation is as important as energy conservation....and both go hand in hand. It takes energy to heat, treat and pump water and to treat and pump waste. The less water we use, the less energy we use on the front and back end. And with global warming - I like to properly call it climatic mayhem - in the future, our weather patterns will be so inconsistent that conserving water will be critical to our existence.

[SVOboy]

Sell me a shower head?

[cems70]

Sell me a shower head?

Which one Ben? My personal favorite (and I've tried them all) is still the 1.0 gpm model because of the combination of the great pressure, comfortable feeling spray, and insane water and water heating cost savings.

That said, everyone has their own preference.

[SVOboy]

How much are they? I'll have to think on the subject...

[Snax]

The problem with low flow heads is that with my family that just means people stay in the shower longer. I can imagine it now, my children not getting out of the shower at all because the hot water isn't running out.

[cems70]

The problem with low flow heads is that with my family that just means people stay in the shower longer. I can imagine it now, my children not getting out of the shower at all because the hot water isn't running out.

Snax, That's why you need one of these as well:

http://www.showermanager.com/

This device set at a maximum of 8 minutes per shower will guarantee an 8 or 12 gallon shower depending on which low flow showerhead you use (1.0 or 1.5 gallons per minute).

[Snax]

Nice. It's definately something to consider.

[cfg83]

Ryland -

our low flow head like that got cloged with lime and stoped working a few years back, so we ended up getting a slightly larger, but still 2.5-3 gallon per minut head, and kept the shut off valve, the valve is nice as it alows you to turn off the water without loosing your temp setting.

Since we are in drought conditions here in LA, I am going to buy one of these this week :

SHOWER CUT-OFF VALVE
http://www.accentshopping.com/product~PN~Shower_Cut-Off_Valve~MN~Chatham~TN~Shower_Head~P_ID~149689~st rReturnUrl~.asp
Save water and soap. The Shower Cut-Off Valve cuts flow to a trickle while your lathering up in the shower. The Shower Cut-Off Valve allows for easy adjustment of the force of the shower head and it fits all standard showers, 1/2 Inch IPS.

CarloSW2

[Lug_Nut]

I removed the low flow heads I had for a couple of reasons:
Fine droplet size (as previously mentioned) causing more rapid heat loss required a higher percentage of hot in the mix to maintain the same feel on the body. Admittedly fewer gallons of water out the head, but the same number of hot gallons, just fewer cold ones.
Fine droplet size (a different issue from the same cause) causing more water vapor in the air. The ventilation fan had to run longer and still the moisture seeped into the drywall causing paint to peel and began to cause mold and decay.
Now, I need to mention that I have a private well and private septic so my water costs are lower than most. My fuel savings weren't there, the bathroom wall repair costs were high and I wasn't enjoying the shower (hot head, cold feet). Out they came.

p.s. I travel with a small physical size, mid-flow head and wrench to bring a bit of home to those motels that also have plant spray heads instead of shower heads.

[white90crxhf]

i'd rather have half the showers than take a shower with a low flow shower head. I am sure i make up for my wasteful showering habits by never watering my lawn, which is very wasteful...i never water my lawn and it says nice and green.

[Nerds laugh at me]

LOL! I don't like the sounds of that! :D Anyway, water is cheap so I don't mind taking nice hot showers, watering the lawn, slip -n- slide with the kids, etc...


It's not about pinching pennies.:)
I would hate to think that everyone at this site is just here to save money.

BTW I work at Lowes and they sell a low flow showerhead that I want to buy, but it has a picture of a lady seemingly in some erotic pleasure pose, and the name of the product is the " Great Head ".
I just haven't had the nerve to buy it, ( and instead turn down the shower to a almost a trickle.) :D

[Telco]

i'd rather have half the showers than take a shower with a low flow shower head. I am sure i make up for my wasteful showering habits by never watering my lawn, which is very wasteful...i never water my lawn and it says nice and green.

That's funny. My neighbor waters his lawn every day, the one next to him put in an in-ground auto watering setup, spend hundreds a month on lawn crap, ect, and their lawns are brown 2-3 weeks before mine is every year. Mine gets watered once at the beginning of the season when I lay in the insect killer, weed killer, and a load of fertilizing pellets along with an iron supplement. Beyond that, my yard only gets cut. The only time it sees water after the initial springtime weeding is when it rains. My roots are deeper so the grass lives longer, and every year we are there the time difference between their yards browning and mine browning increases. Another thing I do, my grass is left about 1 inch longer when cut than theirs is. When the yards are all freshly cut, mine looks greener. It's all in how you manage it, and I manage mine like it's grass, not some delicate ornamental.

It's not about pinching pennies.:)
I would hate to think that everyone at this site is just here to save money.

BTW I work at Lowes and they sell a low flow showerhead that I want to buy, but it has a picture of a lady seemingly in some erotic pleasure pose, and the name of the product is the " Great Head ".
I just haven't had the nerve to buy it, ( and instead turn down the shower to a almost a trickle.) :D

I'm in it to pinch pennies, no other reason. I do take the longer view of it though, the more environmentally friendly I am, the less of my money the gummit will take to fix any environmental disasters later on, the fewer waste treatment and power plants have to be built which will also come out of my money, ect...

You should go to another Lowes in a trenchcoat and hat, and buy one of those shower heads late at night, right before closing. When you do, giggle as you walk out the door, holding the package in front of you.