Will I notice any difference in flow between these two setups?

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EthylOH

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Trying to make the final decision on piping my shower. Will option "a" make any difference at all in flow to rainhead?

3/4" PEX main line with tee to either:

a) 3/4" PEX adapted to 1/2" copper sweated to Moen 8371 valve (made for copper)

b) 1/2" PEX directly to Moen 8373 valve (built-in 1/2" PEX fittings)

showerPEX.jpg
 
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Just a note: don't remove the restrictor in the rain shower head, or else it will dribble and drool once you turn it off.

This can be very annoying to someone that is trying to towel dry themselves inside the shower, but they are still getting dribbled on.

The restrictor does require some water pressure to flow, so when you turn off your valve, the head stops instantly, preventing any stored water in your ceiling pipes to drop out by gravity.
 

hj

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trictors do NOT require pressure to operate. The reason they stop the flow is because the opening is not large enough to allow air and water to flow through it at the same time so the vacuum in the pipes keeps the water in, but water in the head can escape.
 

Jadnashua

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As long as the supply can flow more water than the showerhead can use, you will not notice any performance differences by switching supply pipe configurations. Even a rainhead is supposed to be limited by federal standards, and 1/2" pex can supply more than it can use. Now, have more than one head to be supplied, it could get iffy with 1/2" pex.
 
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