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A manifesto on shower temperature control

benholmen.com

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Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#31

Post by c_o_n_v_e_x »

unethical_ban wrote: post #14
joezydeco wrote: post #3

These devices exist. You just don't want to pay for them. https://www.kohler.com/en/products/showers/shop-shower-trims... What you have in your shower is a cheaper anti-scald valve that just prevents super huge spikes in water temperature when the input pressure changes (i.e. your wife flushes the toilet). Like PaulHoule says, you need monitoring of input and output temps to do that. And that's technically possible,…

I feel like a mechanical version could be made which has a separate gear ratio for the middle of the operating spectrum. Alternatively, for the traditional "hot/cold knobs" function, I don't see why a third pressure knob couldn't be added. I could leave the hot and cold knobs turned exactly where I want them to be, with some arbitrary number dial helping for consistency, and I only have to turn the pressure knob to l…

I feel like this could become the next Swiss watch. Bring joy back to showering. Meticulously hand crafted by artisans in the Swiss Alps. Features include:

- Polished stainless steel case

- Intricately geared shower control valve with see through cover

- High precision temperature set point control

- Compensates for input water pressure / flow to maintain temperature

- Comes with unique ID and certificate of authenticity

Obviously it will require annual servicing to make sure ensure continued operation. Your smugness will keep you warm long after your hot water runs out.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#34

Post by amluto »

Nifty3929 wrote: post #29
amluto wrote: post #25

Yikes, the max temp is 140F. That’s dangerous and has been a code violation for a long time, for good reason: https://www.pmengineer.com/articles/94780-upc-continues-to-e...

This would depend on the temperature of your hot water feed, which is likely much lower. It’s like having a speedometer in your car that goes to 180 mph.

I was off by 6 degrees (looked lazily at axis labels, not at the actual data). But the OP actually measured the temperature. It says, right in the article:

> The minimum temperature was 44.4°F (6.9°C) and the maximum temperature was 134.1°F (56.7°C).

So yes, this shower violates the code.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#35

Post by amluto »

Nifty3929 wrote: post #30
Nifty3929 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would depend on the temperature of your hot water feed, which is likely much lower. It’s like having a speedometer in your car that goes to 180 mph.

Also we have body sensors which detect acute over-temperature situations and cause us to remediate the situation before damage can occur. Usually while screaming something profane.

In case you have never been in a slippery shower or encountered anyone with one of many possible disabilities, excessively hot shower water is a genuine hazard. For example:

Slow reaction time (you can get burned very quickly by excessively hot shower water)

Limited sensation in some part of one’s body

Balance issues or movement issues.

Anything preventing one from getting to the control or out of the water very very quickly.

A shower delivering 134F water is hazardous and serves no purpose.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#36

Post by fy20 »

MR4D wrote: post #23
AnthonBerg wrote: post #20

I have a kind of powerful dirt bike. People put “throttle cams” on them for this same reason. Usually you want small adjustments within the lower range of power. When you want the majority of power you usually want close to all of it. Throttle cams are basically an off-center circle. At lower throttle you’re pulling a smaller circle and the throttle moves less. Then when the throttle is opened up you’re pulling a big…

Now I want one of those for my car!

If you car has an Eco or Power or Sport mode this is probably what it does. On my Toyota, Power mode makes the accelerator more sensitive and Eco mode makes it less sensitive (which is great for snow). Flooring it is the same, regardless of the mode.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#37

Post by exmadscientist »

Someone wrote: post #13
achenatx wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

you can change the top end by lowering the temperature of your hot water heater. We have ours set at 120. Using a lower hot water temperature is a way to give you a wider range of useful temperatures. In texas during the summer we often take showers with no hot water (or very little hot water).

> you can change the top end by lowering the temperature of your hot water heater. We have ours set at 120 I’m not sure that’s a good idea. 120F is in the danger zone for Legionnaires' disease. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27_disease#Preven... : “Keep water temperature either above or below the 20–50 °C (68–122 °F) range in which the Legionella bacterium thrives.”

The "right" way to do this is a thermostatic mixing valve at the water heater output. This lets you keep the tank at 150°F (or whatever) but the output gets mixed down to 120°F (or whatever). It also gives you an effectively-larger tank which can be very useful in certain cases.

Of course, you might say, why not put the thermostatic mixing valve at or in the shower, which also works pretty well!

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#38

Post by stdbrouw »

adamj9431 wrote: post #28
Someone wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you can change the top end by lowering the temperature of your hot water heater. We have ours set at 120 I’m not sure that’s a good idea. 120F is in the danger zone for Legionnaires' disease. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legionnaires%27_disease#Preven... : “Keep water temperature either above or below the 20–50 °C (68–122 °F) range in which the Legionella bacterium thrives.”

Interesting. On the other hand, when bringing a newborn home from the hospital, the take-home literature instructs new parents to turn the water heater down to 120 F to prevent risk of scalding.

I wouldn't worry about it. Almost every modern boiler will bump up the temperature to 60C / 140F once a week to prevent Legionnaire's, may even be a mandatory feature depending on where you live.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#39

Post by brmgb »

achenatx wrote: post #4

I have one of these grohe thermostatic valves. You can set the temperature and then use a push button to turn the shower on. The temperature is always set correctly as the on/off is separate from the temperature control. A majority of the range of the dial is usable. We still use cold water for cleaning the shower, or when you want a cold shower. During the shower, I have it set to hot, then slowly turn up the heat.…

I have thermostatic valves here which costed me something like 80€.

It's not as fancy as the Grohe. It looks like a classic two knobs system except the right one controls temperature with gradation in degrees while the left one controls flow.

Better temperature control doesn't have to cost an arm.

Re: A manifesto on shower temperature control

#40

Post by AnthonBerg »

MR4D wrote: post #23
AnthonBerg wrote: post #20

I have a kind of powerful dirt bike. People put “throttle cams” on them for this same reason. Usually you want small adjustments within the lower range of power. When you want the majority of power you usually want close to all of it. Throttle cams are basically an off-center circle. At lower throttle you’re pulling a smaller circle and the throttle moves less. Then when the throttle is opened up you’re pulling a big…

Now I want one of those for my car!

Haha, probably we want a hinge on the joint between the gas pedal and the curved pin thing it pushes down? And move the pedal back or forward? Or yeah, I love to be super ignorant of the classical Simple Machines and try to work out mechanics like this.

I’ve actually had some success with guess-prototyping mechanical contraptions in the physics-sandbox game Besiege: https://www.spiderlinggames.com/

I can also emphatically recommend just getting a Husaberg 550, 570, or 650 %D

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