I'm about to finish the rough plumbing in my shower, wife wants 2 shower heads. I'm fine with it, but what are the specs for the pipe size? Can I buy 2 shower valves with 1/2" inlets or do I need 3/4"? I am running 3/4" PEX to the first valve and plan to reduce to 1/2" at the valve. But I can do whatever is needed to keep good water pressure, including soldering copper at the valve.
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2How do you plan to supply hot water to this? Also do you want lo-flo or high-flow? It seems like hi-flo + 2 showerheads will result in short showers before tank depletion. Also, running 3/4 pipe means waiting twice as long for hot water to come.– Harper - Reinstate MonicaMar 8, 2019 at 16:58
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@Harper Agreed 3/4 means more cold to eliminate before hot arrives. And you need to consider storage volume for a tank and max gpm for a tankless.– Joe FalaMar 8, 2019 at 17:11
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I just added two 3/4" tee ball valves right at my water heater (hot and cold) which are right outside the bathroom. Then 3/4" PEX into the room, maybe a 20' run.– BigLakeMar 8, 2019 at 17:15
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Well, if the water heater is close, that helps a lot...but tank exhaustion is still an issue... With a tankless it,s an extra hard problem because it means the tankless must be big enough or it will run tepid...– Harper - Reinstate MonicaMar 8, 2019 at 17:36
1 Answer
* you're going to want to make sure to balance flow*
In order to do that you will want to loop the pipes around back to itself.
If you want to make the primary loop out of three-quarter inch pipe it certainly wouldn't hurt but is probably not necessary unless you have extremely high flow shower heads.
Edit
Here's a better image
You can use one or both of the optional valves you can even go with none but then you will always have flow through both shower heads.
Sorry I tried rotating the image it keeps going upside down
This is an example of the optional valve[][4)] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiOycnFsPPgAhWFw4MKHSSuDd4QjB16BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.qssupplies.co.uk%2FTaps%2FStop-Valve%2FProduct%2F485.htm&psig=AOvVaw0yBhytq_2amzj_lDQGskPk&ust=1552163162650315
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Ok I've seen something similar to what you're saying, what is the legend in your drawing? I'd be happy if I can just loop 1/2" that would be easy. Thanks for the responses.– BigLakeMar 8, 2019 at 17:11
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1Yes it's the mixing valve, and without any of the "optional" valves both shower heads will run every time.– Joe FalaMar 8, 2019 at 20:20
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1Added a photo with the valve, it was hard to find online, I searched wall mount shower valve. Bath supply company's stock or order them to match your other hardware.– Joe FalaMar 8, 2019 at 20:31