Thermostatic shower mixers

Hello,

where can I get thermostatic shower mixers, only ebay in uk? Spend a while in the internet, only found one at gumtree, costs more than getting it from the UK.....
http://www.bathroomheaven.com/sp_brochu ... ve_options

Morbo.

2 brands that come to mind are Oras and Hansa, maybe Novelli. Try thermostatic mixing valves for your search. They generally aren't a cheap item though.

hm, not TMVs. Its more to save water. Say instead of fiddling around until it has the right temperature, when having a shower. Than switch water off, soap, and fiddle again.
So I want to set the temperature once and then water on/off. The thing is, there is 2 people, summer, winter. So you don't want just 1 setting, hard wired, behind the tiles.

Its about 200 to 300 $ from UK or US, as much as some shiny armature...

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/NEW-THERMOSTATIC ... 240%3A1318

http://www.accenttapware.com.au/product ... rod_id=349 (this one looks expensive)

edit: Oras has them, at least in Europe....

You can buy them from Oras in Australia. I have used them for a client previously. You will need to contact your local plumbing supplies store.

http://www.bunnings.com.au/emag/bunning ... ccessories

Page 10 of brochure - Pressure Balancing Thermostatic Shower Mixer $399

Not sure whether it is the same thing but it looks the same to those ones in the UK that you posted.

Thanks, quite sure it would do the trick!

or this one, cut the middle man:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/FM-Mattsson-Ther ... .m20.l1116

In Europe all bathroom tapeware has inbuilt TMVs as a safety precaution. In Aus, we went in a different direction mixing cold and hot at the HWunit using a tempering valve. TMVs in Aus, are generally used in hospitals and nursing homes.

As a plumber, I prefer the european method. Mattson is a really good brand. Easy to service with available parts. Just make sure the plumber who services it has a TMV licence. They can be tricky and tempermental.

Id prefer the armature type featured in the Bunnings website. One reason for that is the entire valve is mounted outside the wall, so that in the future, if you get sick of it, you can easily change or upgrade it without ripping the wall apart. And the price is similar to what they cost in Scandinavia.

I think you'd have a better chance of having your warranty honoured with Bunnings then you would by buying through some dufus on EBAY.

Thanks.
Don't need is as TMV, need it to save water. If its behind the wall, its one setting for every one, every day.

Agree, better buy it at some retailer. The thing is, after days walking around and only find suppliers who never heard about this thong before and realising its 50 pounds in UK, which is not the cheapest country on earth, you end up thinking ebay. I got a computer gadget from overseas for 110$ inc shipment, you can get it there at every corner. Only 1 supplier in Aus, 220$.....

I'm not sure how you think a TMV will save you water. By setting the temperature the valve will still pass the cooled water in the hot line water until the desired temp is given. If your hot water unit is some distance away, having a tmv wont instantly give you hot water at a set temp.
TMVs are primarily a safety device.

Can someone explain exactly how they work? We are having (from memory) Rinnai Instantaneous Gas hot water with the dial temperature controller. Wouldn't this do the same thing as that valve-thingy?

TMVs are thermostaically controlled valves, in that the temp is set and the valve will deliver water at that temp. Some work by using a bi metalic strip that expands at a set rate according to water temp. Others use a small copper device that looks like a a tap washer that is filled with a substance which expands at a controlled rate under heat.
Both methods rely on these to control the calibration of the temperature of the water passing through the valve.
TMVs, in Aus are mostly used as a safety device to stop people scalding themselves. They are used here, mostly in hospitals and nursing homes. in those situations they are recalibrated, parts changed and the safety cut out is tested once a year. Then they are locked into position at a temp not exceeding 42.5C.
The ones pictured in the bunnings website are domestic models that are used in Europe, where the temp can be changed. They have a childproof safety device on them so to get a temp over 50 degrees a button has to be pushed.

IN Aus, all new installions or installations where the hot water unit is moved to a new position, should have a tempering valve installed usually near the h/water unit where the max temp for hot water to a bathroom should set at 50 degrees.
Some Instantaneous hot water units have temp control built into them.

I like the European method of safety control, in that all bathroom taps have thermostaic control built in. In Aus we rely on the water being tempered at the heater. The problem with that is, its self regulatory and not always adherred to. And in many houses the entire hot water system is set to 50c, rather than just the branches going to the bathrooms.

Heres what they cost in Denmark, which is usually cheaper than Sweden and its somewhat dearer than 50 pounds.


https://www.vvsbutikken.dk/catalog/index.php?cPath=753_164_187&sessionid=cb302595190adf5699f0020ff2adb158

they will save water in so far as you don't have to play around until the shower temperature is right. So you also would consider switching it off while soaping/shampooning, because you don't have to fiddle around when you swithc it back on). You will still have to wait until hot water is there (pipe runs) and still have to mix hot with cold water.

edit: ecoverta, if you want to use the cold water. Or bucket.

You'll use far more water waiting for the temp to come up to whatever the tmv is set at, than youll waste adjusting the temp. If you presently have problems adjusting your water temp in an ordinary shower tap, its more than likely because you have a pressure limiting valve on your hot water system. If you have, youre hot water pressure is most likely on 600kpa and your cold is higher, so they fight each other. if you have a water saving device on your shower head, that is probably compounding the problem by creating back pressure.

wouldn't it open the hot water full blast and then wind it down and add cold to get the set temperature?
Its retrofit, no TMV and no pressure regulator.

Its a safelty device so it will pass water through until it gets to the set temp and wont let it get any higher. The amount of water that passes through before that temp is acheived is determined by the distance from the H/water unit, the time the water has been ****** in the pipe. It wont be instantaneous.

If the shower rose is less than three years old, it will have a flow restricter in it. If the h/water unit has been installed in a building less than ten years old or it has been relocated from another position, it should have a tempering valve installed.

By the way, a tempering valve will give the same results as a TMV.

ok, if you are one of the chosen ones, you get the shower temp right just like that. The rest of us turn hot water on, wait a while then play around until the water feels right to take a shower, some just turn hot water on, undress and then start adjusting the temperature. That's all down the drain. You could set a TMV to a certain temperature to avoid this, then its hidden in the wall. What if you want it colder? Or hotter? Then you would wish for something else, like an thermostat you could adjust, maybe.

No, one doesn't have to be Jewish to get even water temperatures.
It sounds to me that your problem is simply unequal water pressures. If you have a storage unit over 125 liters you should have a pressure reduction valve on it. This will drop your hot water pressure down to less than 600kpa. Your cold water pressure will be in most cases substantially more than this. The hot and cold will constantly fight each other with the cold winning, making the adjustment of temp difficult. If you have a relativly modern shower rose on your shower yoll have a water saving restrictor on it. This will compound the problem. The way to remedy this is to install a pressure limiting valve equal to that on the hot on the outlet of your meter and remove the restrictor. For best results, the one on your hot water unit should be removed.



Long waits at the shower are caused by long pipe runs from your hot water unit. A TMV wont change that. The only way to have instant hot water at a point a long way from the shower is to install a circulation pump with a return line to the Hwater unit.


You should be aware that TMVs go easily out of calbration and can require expensive maintenance and parts aren't cheap.

TMVs are a safety device, not a water saving device.

guess you got me all wrong. This thing is not a TMV and I don't want a TMV to preset my shower temperature and I suppose if the temperature alternates by a few degrees I would not even feel it. Just go, have a shower, turn on hot full blast, then once hot is there, fiddle around with cold until it feels right, then fiddle again with hot and cold until the flow feels right. Now imagine you would just have to adjust the flow for once and in some stage (once the hot water made its way trough 30m uninsulated pipe) it would come out just right.

The pic in your link is a TMV, albeit a poor quality one.

What you want can be acheived with an ordinary in wall flickmixer, as long as there is no conflict in water pressures and theres no restrictor in the shower rose.