Stu Pollack
New Member
Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum. Hope everyone is doing well.
I am a homeowner with a master bath remodel just beginning. I am not doing the work myself, though I'm pretty handy and have a good understanding of most aspects of plumbing and other areas of homebuilding. I am spec'ing out a specific configuration for how the separate mixing and transfer valves are to be arranged, but I am a little unsure and was hoping to get feedback from those with more experience.
Our shower is about 6' x 4' and we have spec'ed out Moen Pro line of fixtures for it, including the M-Core series mixing 4-port valve (U140CIS) and the 4-port 3/6 function transfer valve (U361CI). We have 3/4" copper running from the basement to this second floor bathroom, which T's off to 1/2" prior to the shower, lavs, toilet, and tub. The tub has been removed and will not be replaced in this new configuration. We have about 60-65 psi at the regulator at the main, and I measured about 6.25 gpm from the old shower, using a bucket and stopwatch.
We wanted to separate the mixing valve (which controls volume and temperature) from the transfer valve, so that we can turn on the water, and adjust temperature, without walking all the way into the shower where the heads are mounted. The transfer valve, which will control two shower heads, will be mounted at roughly the same vertical level as the mixing valve, would be about 5' running length away. The transfer valve will have Port 1 going to an 8-1/2" wall attached shower head (Moen S6345, rated at 2.5gpm), Port 2 going to a handheld shower (Moen S3879EP, rated at 1.75gpm), and Port 3 capped. We would leave the limiter in place, so that there will be only three available positions on the transfer valve (as opposed to six positions without it) - (1) PORT 1 on (shower head); (2) PORT 2 on (handheld shower); (3) both PORTS 1 and 2 on simultaneously.
I am hoping that the plumber will bring the 3/4" supplies close to the mixing valve and use a 1/2" reducer to connect to it to maximize flow. The mixing valve (1/2" CC/IPS connections) flow rate for the upper shower port is listed as 5.8gpm and the lower bath port is listed as 6.2gpm. I was thinking that by capping the shower port, all water would exit via the higher flow tub port. If this is plumb with 1/2" copper going downward, then an elbow going to the left (i.e., toward the transfer valve), then another elbow going up to the inlet on the transfer valve, I would be maximizing flow and minimizing elbows, since both valves will be at the same height. There would likely be one additional elbow where the two shower walls meet (the one with the mixing valve and the one with the transfer valve).
I asked Moen tech about this, and they said I can definitely use the tub port (and cap the shower port), and it will work, but they recommended against having too much distance and any elbows between the mixing and transfer valves.
Could anyone with some experience in this realm possibly give their opinion on my proposed configuration or whether they feel something else is in order. I would really appreciate the feedback, since I would hate to make a critical and costly error, that might not be discovered until after the finish work/tile is completed.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
Stu
I am a homeowner with a master bath remodel just beginning. I am not doing the work myself, though I'm pretty handy and have a good understanding of most aspects of plumbing and other areas of homebuilding. I am spec'ing out a specific configuration for how the separate mixing and transfer valves are to be arranged, but I am a little unsure and was hoping to get feedback from those with more experience.
Our shower is about 6' x 4' and we have spec'ed out Moen Pro line of fixtures for it, including the M-Core series mixing 4-port valve (U140CIS) and the 4-port 3/6 function transfer valve (U361CI). We have 3/4" copper running from the basement to this second floor bathroom, which T's off to 1/2" prior to the shower, lavs, toilet, and tub. The tub has been removed and will not be replaced in this new configuration. We have about 60-65 psi at the regulator at the main, and I measured about 6.25 gpm from the old shower, using a bucket and stopwatch.
We wanted to separate the mixing valve (which controls volume and temperature) from the transfer valve, so that we can turn on the water, and adjust temperature, without walking all the way into the shower where the heads are mounted. The transfer valve, which will control two shower heads, will be mounted at roughly the same vertical level as the mixing valve, would be about 5' running length away. The transfer valve will have Port 1 going to an 8-1/2" wall attached shower head (Moen S6345, rated at 2.5gpm), Port 2 going to a handheld shower (Moen S3879EP, rated at 1.75gpm), and Port 3 capped. We would leave the limiter in place, so that there will be only three available positions on the transfer valve (as opposed to six positions without it) - (1) PORT 1 on (shower head); (2) PORT 2 on (handheld shower); (3) both PORTS 1 and 2 on simultaneously.
I am hoping that the plumber will bring the 3/4" supplies close to the mixing valve and use a 1/2" reducer to connect to it to maximize flow. The mixing valve (1/2" CC/IPS connections) flow rate for the upper shower port is listed as 5.8gpm and the lower bath port is listed as 6.2gpm. I was thinking that by capping the shower port, all water would exit via the higher flow tub port. If this is plumb with 1/2" copper going downward, then an elbow going to the left (i.e., toward the transfer valve), then another elbow going up to the inlet on the transfer valve, I would be maximizing flow and minimizing elbows, since both valves will be at the same height. There would likely be one additional elbow where the two shower walls meet (the one with the mixing valve and the one with the transfer valve).
I asked Moen tech about this, and they said I can definitely use the tub port (and cap the shower port), and it will work, but they recommended against having too much distance and any elbows between the mixing and transfer valves.
Could anyone with some experience in this realm possibly give their opinion on my proposed configuration or whether they feel something else is in order. I would really appreciate the feedback, since I would hate to make a critical and costly error, that might not be discovered until after the finish work/tile is completed.
Thanks in advance!
Best regards,
Stu
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