Thanks. Finally a response suggesting credibility.
Okay, this appears on the surface to be saying exactly what others before you have been saying. Am I to be sure then that you mean to be saying here that using 3/4" pipe in place of the current 1/2" pipe
*won't* result in less pressure loss (in relation to the main supply line into the house)? If so, maybe you could indulge my curiosity and explain how this can be so in light of the many references that appear to say otherwise (such as the "Bob Villa" reference I quoted, for example)? But somehow I'm inclined to to think you don't mean to be saying this at all, but rather could be somewhat misunderstanding my original post.Thank you!. So a reduction in pipe diameter from, say 3/4" to 1/2" for a travel distance of, say, 4" (the length of my PB valve) and then back again, would definitely limit the pressure at the end to what it would be if the entire line were just 1/2" in diameter to begin with?
No, the pressure is low throughout the house. (Bear in mind, however, that when I say "low", I don't mean abnormally low; just lower than what I've been used to from older dwellings I've lived in prior. I can write back later and give you the actual psi value since my memory is not so numerically precise, but I will tell you now that I recall checking the water pressure at an outside faucet in the past and finding it to be within the lower end of the normal range.)
Okay, I don't have the valve installed yet. When I bought this house there were no pressure balance valves installed whatsoever. Since the time it was built however, local laws have come into effect that require these be installed for each shower in all new (as well as legal rental) dwellings. I have bought an inline pressure-balance valve still waiting for me to install. But it's openings are only standard
1/2", as opposed to the 3/4" piping I have more recently been thinking of installing for a separate and totally distinct reason (i.e. my personal preference for increased overall pressure to shower - think 'President Lyndon Johnson with his 100 PSI shower in the White House...', though not necessarily that extreme )..., thus prompting my original question.This comes to me as a surprise. In every house I've ever lived in prior to, as well as including, this one, people have had to time their showers (or tell others before showering) in order to avoid being scalded or cold-shocked while showering. I remember my Dad turning down the thermostat of a new hot water tank that had just been installed in his house, as a safety precaution to decrease the chance of somebody getting seriously injured while showering in the event that somebody opened or closed a tap somewhere unawares during.
Okay, thanks for your helpful feedback.
Ken