Minimum height requirement for shower supply above tub diverter

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Maltby

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I am installing a new shower valve and will be removing the current shower head and replacing it with a hand held shower head supplied from a drop ell fitting which would be lower than the current shower head by about 24”. I am told that this will result in water coming out of both the tub spout and the new hand held shower because there won’t be enough back pressure on the diverter for it to function properly.

Is this true and if so what is the minimum distance from the diverter to the shower supply for it to work properly.

Thank you
 

Jadnashua

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On most valves that have dual outlets, the one designated for the shower is smaller. That in combination with the height is usually enough to keep the flow from rising into the shower riser except when you've shut off the tub spout with its diverter. There is often a minimum distance between the valve and the tub spout, but that's more to do with the diameter of the cover plate to ensure it will fit.

As said, I've not seen a spec on a minimum there, but I'd follow any instructions/guidelines that might be in the installation manual.

What does get people into trouble is not following the instructions that call for the piping from the valve to the spout NOT being done in PEX...that needs to be full diameter equivalent to copper so that the restriction doesn't equal or exceed that to the shower, otherwise, water will back up and push its way up into the showerhead. The path to the spout needs to be unobstructed for things to work right.
 

Reach4

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To minimize the chance of water backing up into the shower, you could install a "twin ell". Use the quotes when you search.
 

Terry

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The tub spout gets run with copper or pipe nipples according to instructions. If there is good flow to the diverter tub spout, there isn't an issue.
 
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