Shower Mod Advice Needed

ScottG

Other recent threads about mixing valves and shower heads have me revisiting a mod I've considered for some time.

I don't use my shower very often, but when I do I find it awkward--and wasteful--to have to continually fiddle with adjusting two knobs every time I want to start and stop the flow.

The obvious answer would be to replace the head with a model like the Oxygenics Fury that has a built-in flow control, but I understand that these (possibly by law) do not stop the flow completely.

Other options involve installing my own on-off valve at the shower head, or even swapping out the entire control unit for a more user-friendly one-handed version. (Didn't somebody do this a while back?)

For those who have made or considered such mods, any insight or advice is appreciated.

Just don't tell me to install a mixing valve so I won't need to use the cold tap--I'm much too insecure to have my water mixed for me...  :-)

Marceline

I would go with the Oxygenics. When you push the button only a trickle still comes out. 

Dalehelman

Positive shutoff head from camping world about $12.  Residential single lever shower control adjusts and controls temp.

db_cooper

Installing mine this weekend, using an RV specific single lever that has the hose connection like the stock version.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dura-Faucet-Single-Lever-RV-Shower-Faucet-Brushed-Satin-Nickel/166876902?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222228062808428&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=169608051766&wl4=pla-275201944279&wl5=9033553&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=166876902&wl13=&veh=sem&gclid=CjwKCAjw583nBRBwEiwA7MKvoE1ds5cSeKzlVrtvc3sUFebS98YCGtNSm-r73bGbHKWx_qSv5jtOFRoC8icQAvD_BwE

Sharon_is_SAM

@ScottG, funny, I recently explored changing our shower head to the Oxygenics Fury when I ran across this:

https://www.thefitrv.com/rv-tips/how-to-fix-the-cold-water-blast-in-your-rv-shower/.  

And another blog found this to be the best shut off valve which preserved the water temperature, but fully stopped the flow.  I would try to put this before the hose.



Just something else to think about.

ScottG

Great info and ideas, here--thanks, all!

I'm a reasonably capable plumber so at first pass my inclination is to install a single lever control unit--preferably one that you pull-push on-off, and turn to control temp.

@Dalehelman, did adapting the residential unit pose any particular challenges in terms of size, mounting, or connecting the supply lines? What did you use for the connection to the RV hose/showerhead?

@db_cooper, please follow up after your install. I'd like to hear how it went and your assessment of the new control.

ScottG

For those with the shut-off on the shower head, have you experienced the "cold blast" effect Sharon_is_SAM reported? Is it true that some of the fancier heads (like the Oygenics Fury) actually help to conserve water?

Verna

@ScottG, the Ocygenics Fury gave me an
additional day of gray tank space. Before 3 showers and I needed to dump, afterward installing the Oxygenics Fury it was 4 days. This is on the T@B S Max with 19 gallon gray tank, and T@B 400 with 18 gallon gray water tank. 

ScottG

Thanks, @Verna.  So long as there is a water source nearby, the gray tank capacity really would be the limiting factor so long as there is a water source.

But... does the 400 really have a smaller gray tank than the 320???

JEB

Verna said:

@ScottG, the Ocygenics Fury gave me an
additional day of gray tank space. Before 3 showers and I needed to dump, afterward installing the Oxygenics Fury it was 4 days. This is on the T@B S Max with 19 gallon gray tank, and T@B 400 with 18 gallon gray water tank. 

That surprises me.  I was considering replacing the shower head in my 400 (I usually did that right away with every RV I had previously) until I saw that the stock showerhead flow was 1 GPM, the Fury was 1.8 GPM and the Spa was 2.0 GPM.  Did I misread the specs on the stock showerhead?

Verna

@JEB, I didn’t have any original specs on my T@B S Max, so I am going purely by what I have observed.

lkc001

@Sharon_is_SAM  I tried to find that shut-off valve on Amazon and couldn't find it?

Sharon_is_SAM

Search Brass Ball Shut Off Valve

Are you in the US?

JEB

Verna said:

@JEB, I didn’t have any original specs on my T@B S Max, so I am going purely by what I have observed.

Ok.  Thanks @Verna .  I think I recall reading the flow rate on the shower head itself when I first bought the 400 and was prepared to swap out the stock head.  I'm going to take another look.

lkc001

@Sharon_is_SAM Thanks!  Yes, in the US

ChanW

@JEB & @Verna, I'd interpret the GPM rating as max GPM, where actual use might be different. 

Maybe the Oxygenix is simply more efficient and effective at a lower flow rate, so you don't tend to run it quite as 'wide open'.

lkc001

@Dalehelman Thanks Dale!

JEB

ChanW said:

@JEB & @Verna, I'd interpret the GPM rating as max GPM, where actual use might be different. 

Maybe the Oxygenix is simply more efficient and effective at a lower flow rate, so you don't tend to run it quite as 'wide open'.

Possibly, but I've owned both.  Flow rate is flow rate.  Can't change the laws of physics.  The only way the Oxygenics would be more efficient at a higher flow rate is if you didn't need to run it as long to get the same results.

Dalehelman

@ScottG
All you need is standard residential plumbing skills to connect the Tab 1/2” Pex to the new control valve.

ScottG

Thanks, @Dalehelman. That is an elegant set-up you have. What did you use on the wall to connect the shower head hose to the outlet side of the new faucet? Is it an RV specific fitting (like the ones that come built in to RV faucets) or is it something standard I can pick up at Home Depot or my local plumbing store?

db_cooper

Well @ScottG, my choice of lever and shower head were a bust.  

The DuraFaucet single lever looked nice, but it was mostly plastic and leaked at the hose attachment almost immediately. Not loose connection, but from the inside valve part. The hose outlet is oriented on the top of the fixture but reviewers said it could be rotated.  They have redesigned it so that you can't flip it around to be on the bottom.  If you do, and I did, the lever is on in the down position instead of off.  Too easy to bump it on, and bouncing trailer would probably cause it to come on.  

I wasn't happy with the Oxygenixs Body Spa shower head either.  It was too long and bulky, but worse, the drip when switched off was a pretty big stream.  There was no way it was going to save water over the stock head.

So I'm looking for a different lever and will probably try the Oxygenics Fury.

ScottG

Thanks for the update, @db_cooper. I was afraid that unit might be too good to be true, especially given the price.

If I go forward with this I might have to go full-blown Daleheleman with decent residential valve, though I'm not sure it's worth the bother for the limited number of times I use the shower. Maybe in the interim I'll just install a valve like the one Sharon showed.

I'm never removed the wand/hose assembly. Can anyone tell me if there anything special or RV specific about the connection between it and the valve, or is it a standard plumbing fixture?

Verna

It was standard plumbing threads/fixture for the hose and wand on my T@B S Max.

I just used the wand, kept the stock metal hose, on my 400 and the wand screwed on without a leak. 

ScottG

Well, don't I feel silly...

I went out to the T@B today to more closely inspect the shower fittings for potential modifications, and lo and behold I discovered that my stock shower head already has a rather surreptitious built in shut-off.

Duh.

It works pretty well, too--it completely stops the flow to the head, with maybe just a slight dribble from the weep hole at the faucet connection.

Granted, I've used the shower only a few times, but I have had my T@B going on five years. In increasing order of likelihood, here is how I explain this oversight:

• I'm the first to discover this.
• My T@B is different from most others.
• You've all been laughing at me wondering if I'd ever figure this out for myself.  ;-)

I'm looking forward to my next camper shower so I can try out this "new" feature.

BrianZ

Well, that is interesting, @ScottG!  I guess you can add this to your list..

• Others assumed your older T@B's shower head didn't include the shutoff button like theirs (because, you know, you surely would have noticed it by now!), but they didn't want to make you feel bad, so restrained themselves & didn't say anything. 

Sorry, but glad you finally found it before you did anything rash, like completely rebuild your shower plumbing a la DH. I did make good use of that button on our last national park trip when I took my first shower in 2 years (in the T@B that is!).

ScottG

I still like the idea of a single-lever control, but that may not be worth the trouble unless I start using the shower a whole lot more than I currently do.

In my (very weak) defense, I had pushed on the two symmetrical little gray nubbins in the past, hoping they might be a shut-off. I must not have pushed with enough enthusiasm, however, as they didn't move in either direction and I concluded from that point forward they were just a peculiar decoration or some sort of grip-enhancing device. Yesterday, a good nudge got them unstuck and voila! now their true meaning is revealed!

Like I said... duh.  :-/

I only got around to examining this again as I will likely use the shower on a trip later this summer.