Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
aliceb_ma6

thermostatic vs. non-thermostatic?

aliceb_ma6
10 years ago

Hi,

We're renovating and one shower system we like the looks of is the Hansgrohe Raindance 240. But it's a thermostatic system & we've never had that (plus my mother-in-law has one we hate, because she's set the temperature too low). Sometimes we want a hot shower & sometimes lukewarm. If we get thermostatic would that be easy to accommodate? Or should we just do non-thermostatic?

Many thanks for *any* thoughts you might have (we are utterly inexperienced!),

Alice

Comments (10)

  • suero
    10 years ago

    There are two controls on a thermostatic system. One controls the volume, the other controls the temperature. The temperature can be changed.
    I have a thermostatic control, and when my doctor told me to take cooler showers, all I did was set the thermostatic control lower. There is no reason why you couldn't set your mother-in-law's thermostatic control higher, but it is only courtesy to return the control to your mother-in-law's preferred setting when you leave the shower.

  • lillo
    10 years ago

    The thermostatic control can come all by itself as one fixture and there will be another fixture to control the volume or it can come the two together in one fixture as suero explained . The nice thing about the thermostatic valve that it just controls the temperature so you don't have to increase the volume to get a higher temperature . Plus you set it up one time to what you want and won't have to readjust it every morning . As suero said you don't have to take cold showers when you visit your mother in law. She just set to her own temperature, you can change to what you like and then return it back to where it was after your shower . There is another thread on this web about the thermostatic valve , look for it .

  • elphaba_gw
    10 years ago

    I thought thermostatic valves give better water pressure than "pressure balance" type valves.

  • raehelen
    10 years ago

    Don't know what 'kind' of thermostatic valve your M_I_L has, but ours has a separate volume control and separate temp control. You can change it to whatever you want, not even a huge deal if you didn't change it back...I always know if someone else has taken a shower, cuz they never turn it back...I would NEVER expect anyone to shower at a temp they don't want, and I'm pretty sure your MIL doesn't either. Maybe time to have a conversation about that? LOL

  • aliceb_ma6
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    LOL indeed... The thing is, she would feel *so* bad if we ever said anything...

    Thanks to all!

  • howhoo
    10 years ago

    Hi, i have a question regarding the temperature control feature of a thermostatic valve- is the temperature control variable or fixed? For example, let's say you're taking a warm shower but want to increase the temperature just a little bit for a minute and then again in another minute, are you able to feather the lever for gradual increases in temperature, or are you relegated to pre-set settings where the lever or dial clicks into a position. tx

  • sjhockeyfan325
    10 years ago

    The one I had was infinitely adjustable like any other shower control, but had settings so you could pre-set it to a desired temperature, which was handy.

  • raehelen
    10 years ago

    howhoo,

    It really depends on the manufacturer and then the particular valve/divertor for that system.

    In the one I referred to above, the temperature control was on a separate knob, was easy to change and there was a little handle showing that you could see where it was pointing to, and if it was in a different position than you normally liked, easy to change.

    However, I have a brand new shower system, and it does not work like that. I still have to play around with it, I really don't know how it works ( I think I have to set the temp when it's off, and there is no handle/lever to see where it's pointing) this one has the temp control on the same knob as the volume control , just a separate ring to turn? Not really thrilled with it. :>(

  • MongoCT
    10 years ago

    "i have a question regarding the temperature control feature of a thermostatic valve- is the temperature control variable or fixed? "

    The temperature is fully adjustable.

    The thing that might be confusing you is that most people adjust the temp control to where they want it and then leave that control alone. All they do afterwards is turn the water supply ON and OFF.

    With themostatic valves, the temperature control can be "set and forget" if you like. But it's always fully adjustable.