Hansgrohe Shower Head: Removing flow restrictor

[Thomas G. Marshall]

Ok, this subject has come and gone repeatedly in various forms. In my case it is the Hansgrohe Turbo³ massage.

Here's the thing----I do not want the 2.5 GPM restrictor in place. Don't ask me why. Thing is----I'm not quite sure just which part it is. Is the US government requiring that they get craftier and craftier?

The component that mounts onto the showerarm and holds the handle is itself a ball joint that comes apart. Once I did this, there are two plastic items in each side, both of which I removed out of black-helicopter clinical paranoia. :)

The first one is a small cylinder with a plunger inside that can slide up and down and is spring fed. It looks like it is something to shut off the water when the flow amount gets too low. Is this to stop the trickle effect when it is shut off? Whatever it is, it's history.

The second plastic piece looks much like a typical insert screen, except that it has a 1/4" diameter small rubber O-ring dead center in it that would only restrict water flow. Hucked that one out too.

Also, there is a plastic screen at the very outset: right in between the shower arm and the shower arm mount. This one confuses me: It looks like a very restrictive screen---all plastic with very *very* small holes. Yet having it in and taking it out seem to do nothing to the water flow---I'll need to experiment more on that one, but I left it in for now.

Finally the handle itself has a water hole opening that is substantially smaller than the bore of anything leading up to it. Is it possible that /this alone/ is the 2.5 GPM restrictor---a silly little hole? I may just drill the thing larger out of principal alone :)

Thanks

[C & E]

This is probably just ofr aeration so that the water is dispersed.

I'm gonna guess that you're right about that. The little add-on restrictors are nothing more than a plastic piece with a small hole. You could drill it out a little at a time to see when you get the desired result. Just remember, once you drill you can't go back

[Thomas G. Marshall]

C & E said something like:

It is larger than the 2.5 GPM restrictor I found in my old cheapie shower heads. That was just a thin metal disk with a very small hole dead center. This one is more like 1/4 " in diameter.

Is it possible that there is a limiter stuffed deep into the handle itself?

[ron.rothman]

the green device is the flow restrictor.

refer to:

i just followed these instructions, from that page:

-- However, if you find that you need to repair or replace the shower head flow restrictor, you would remove the section of the showerhead that attaches to the shower arm (this is the piece that you attached to the pipe where your old shower head was, and now acts as the source for the water as well as the holder of the hand-held showerhead). This piece is basically a pipe that is shaped like an upside-down "L". At the input side, there is a small un-screw-able black filter that keeps large particles from getting into your hansgrohe. You should remove this to inspect your flow restrictor.

Behind where the filter used to be you will see a small piece of green plastic that fits very tightly into the pipe, and has a very small black o-ring. If you suspect that your flow restrictor is operating incorrectly, you could unscrew this section of pipe off of the ball joint to freely access the flow restrictor. You will now have a small section of pipe, with the flow restrictor lodged in it. Using the back of a pencil, or a large screwdriver or anything else that will fit in the pipe, you can push the flow restrictor out.