One way valve on hot water in shower

jwoods61us wrote:
I’ve been lurking on this thread waiting for someone to mention theShowermi$er, but no one has. It does exactly what the OP wants IIRC.

This is very interesting, but pretty prohibitive in my rear back trailer with no access. I could probably do it, but there would definitely be some foul language involved. The one added benefit I had not even considered was the thermostatic valve that will constantly adjust temp as needed, loved that idea. I will definitely share this, and if I ever get the courage to do it, this could be a good addition in the future. Appreciate you sharing this.

On to the project.

Parts laid out. I originally wanted to use the factory nuts because they spread out and get really tight, but ended up having to use conduit nuts and a spacer made of 3/4" PVC that fit perfectly over the nipples (giggity).

The cutting board is key IMO, you can find it on Amazon for $15 but I paid $3 at my local Big Lots and it was the perfect width. This left me with 3 factory finished edges on the top and sides, the bottom edge where I cut you will never see.



I used my old assembly as a guide to drill my holes and then marked a center line for where to cut for the new fixture.



A 7/8 inch spade bit was almost perfect, just a touch too big. This type of spade bit is not ideal since it has no wood to grab into, but I didnt have 7/8 in a regular one.



Heres a shot of the inside before using teflon tape.



And another shot of the almost completed assembly



I know many of you were looking for studs or adding a backer to support the new valve, but in my configuration that was going to be very tricky to accomplish. Instead I used speed nuts and then finished up with some stainless allen bolts. This feels like it is more than sufficient to hold up the valve.

Here is the completed job after caulking. I would say it looks very good with the only real imperfection being where the faucet attaches to the cutting board having dug into the plastic a little when I was tightening it. I doubt anyone will ever notice that its anything but a professional installation, but then again, not sure I really care. This is for me and I very much look forward to enjoying it and cannot thank yall enough for providing me with several options and details on how to solve this issue.

arcsum68 wrote:
".....The one added benefit I had not even considered was the thermostatic valve that will constantly adjust temp as needed, loved that idea. .......

That’s exactly what I love about mine. Once the hot water reaches the valve, it will maintain the temperature you set with the temperature knob. And, it will react very quickly to changes in the water temperature as you turn it off and on with the shower head. It won’t scald you, and until you run out of hot water it won’t freeze you either. I keep the temperature knob on mine up against the red override button. If you go beyond that, it can get pretty hot.

When you’re trying to save every drop of water you can, part of the problem in my camper was the cheap plastic faucet itself. As the faucet warmed up and cooled down from the water flowing through it, it was affecting the hot/cold mix adjustments, and I was having to fiddle with it too much. Time spent adjusting the water temperature is time and water wasted.

If I’m ever in an extreme water conservation setting and don’t even want to waste the water that’s lost waiting for the hot water to reach the thermostatic faucet, I can just catch that first bit in a clean container and dump it back in the water tank after showering.

Sorry to see that the first one was defective for you. I may have been lucky with mine, but its given me no problems. I tried to make it clear in the topic I posted the link to that I wasn’t really recommending THAT particular thermostatic mixing valve because of its unconventional installation requirements that worked for my camper, but I was 100% recommending a thermostatic mixing valve. I hope you have better luck with the second valve.

:):)

You posted your pictures while I was writing my last post, and all I’ve got to say is “Bravo!”

Why didn’t I think of that?

For reference, this is how it’s “intended” to be installed. I think I like yours better :C

Have you taken it for a test drive yet? :W



:):)

NRALIFR wrote:
If I’m ever in an extreme water conservation setting and don’t even want to waste the water that’s lost waiting for the hot water to reach the thermostatic faucet, I just catch that first bit in a clean container and dump it back in the water tank after showering.

Sorry to see that the first one was defective for you. I may have been lucky with mine, but its given me no problems. I tried to make it clear in the topic I posted the link to that I wasn’t really recommending THAT particular thermostatic mixing valve because of its unconventional installation requirements that worked for my camper, but I was 100% recommending a thermostatic mixing valve. I hope you have better luck with the second valve.

:):)

I cannot thank you enough for replying to my post! I literally have never come up with that valve in any of my searches. It's so crazy how many things I end up buying that Amazon does not return in my searches even despite copy and pasting the exact title of the item. Yes I had a complication, but these days I expect that, and it was super duper cheap and of course Amazon made it right very quickly. If it lasts a few years I wont be upset, but that will of course mean having to reconfigure everything. I also thank you for bringing up something I hadn't even considered that happened to solve more problems than I knew I had. As for the install, I like mine a little better too! But I would literally have nothing if you had not have blazed that trail and took the time to post!

And no! I have not yet taken it for a test drive, maybe I just need to go out there now and get clean. :)

Nice job! I'm definitely going to add this solution to my article.
Would you mind if I use the pictures you posted?
My readers would surely appreciate it.

stormyboy wrote:
Nice job! I'm definitely going to add this solution to my article.
Would you mind if I use the pictures you posted?
My readers would surely appreciate it.

Go ahead, but you should also link to the check valve posted in the first response to my question. The push to connect fitting you have linked is just a coupler, the one linked in this thread is a check valve.

For saving water, a tee can be added to the hot water tubing just before the hot water side of the shower valve. From the tee a valve with water line could be added to run back to the fresh water tank. Open the valve and dump back into the tank until hot water reaches the mixing valve.

A panel mounted valve could be used and added over the shower mixing valve.

Thanks for the pics! And jeez, I did link the wrong product... thanks for noticing!

Did you still had to use the check valve when installing the thermostatic mixer? I assume not but just to be clear.