Shower Spa balancing loop

[cruiser56]

I am creating a shower spa that will have a hand held, rain head and 4 body sprays. I know I need a balancing loop, but my question is I am running 3/4" line as supply but the divrter delta r11000 and mixer only have 1/2" connections. Do I create my loop with 1/2" OR 3/4"? Also my house is all done in Pex should I make my loop from pex or copper?

Thanks

 

[Jadnashua]

First thing is to add up the volume from the flows of each thing that will be running at the same time and determine if the 1/2" version of the valve can handle it at all. I do not think 1/2" pex would supply enough volume for much more than one thing at once, maybe a couple. A 1/2" pex line can handle maybe 5-6gpm if you're lucky, expect less, depending on pressure and how many fittings and type you've used. IOW, I think you'll be disappointed if everything needs to run at once with a 1/2" valve; the 3/4" pex supply line will help, but it may not be enough.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[cruiser56]

I m not planning on running it all at once maybe the rain shower or hand held and then the 4 body sprays. Im sure one of the kids will try all at once though. So does it help to make my loop out of 3/4 copper even though the valves are 1/2 connections, or do I just make loop out of 1/2 copper

 

[Jadnashua]

Without knowing the flow rate of the devices you want to run...there's no way to tell if that valve you have will work well at all. A showerhead is typically 2.5gpm, a body spray can be anywhere from .5 to 2gpm or more. Four of them exceeds the capability of a 1/2" supply for decent performance forgetting about a shower head as well. So, depends...you need the specs for the devices, then decide. You may need a different valve altogether.

 

[hj]

My experience has been that installing them WITHOUT a loop is a more direct route and uses less material, therefore it gives as good, if not better, results. I have never installed a balancing loop, except when the heads were spaced on different walls and far apart. Connect to the "tub" port of the valve to get the maximum flow.