Symmons Temptrol(R) shower faucets

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Any other fans of these? (Or those with a special interest therein?)

Pain in the butt to work on (lots of parts and different tools required), but what a wonderful piece of engineering.

And it actually works!! No worries about temperature changes while you're in the shower when the dishwasher or washing machine is running, or if some miscreant guest in your household decides to flush a toilet (possibly just to annoy you? --I wouldn't know, as I haven't had a visitor in over ten years now, yay! ).

Until the piston gets jammed from lime deposits, that is--grrrr... It happens to me every 4-5 years (well-sourced water).

So I'll be refurbishing mine soon with a de-limed spare spindle assembly (with freely moving piston), rebuilt with new gaskets, right after I can find a 5/16" lag screw so that I can remove and replace the diverter/volume control valve at the same time. Must be a 5/16" lag screw somewhere in one of the boxes of miscellaneous "junk" I've accumulated over the last 45 years... (Like my dad, I don't think I've ever thrown out a screw or bolt or nut or washer. I even pick them up off the ground if they're in good shape.)

I haz teh obsessive.

EDIT: Grammatical fixes, LOL.

That sounds very ingenious.

Before I moved out on my own, I lived with my parents, and we were all competing for the hot water.

I am a home improvement buff myself.

Alas, the valve does not compensate for temperature differential, only pressure differential. I.e., it works well only when the temperature of the hot and cold water sources are constant during demand on the supplies.

If some hot-water pig (oink!) uses up all the hot water before you rinse out the shampoo, you'll still get a cold shower.

One of my professions is a plumber.

CTBill wrote:

YEYYAH show me the money.

1. Do you have galvanized steel pipe or copper?
2. If you have galvanized steel pipe then have a copper re-pipe done by a licensed contractor that knows what he is doing.
If you have copper pipes and you still have then your copper re-pipe wasn’t done right. The right way is let’s say you start out with a ¾” pipe then every time you tee out you should go to one size smaller like one ¾” in two ½” out and NOT before and DON’T forget to de-burr the ends.
3.

Thanks for the tips.

I do have all-copper supply plumbing, and everything works great until the Temptrol's spindle gets caked with lime deposits--then it exhibits issues like sudden temperature fluctuations and "hammering".

Cleaning and rebuilding its innards always fixes the problems until the next time the water company lets our system go to poop and the spindle becomes contaminated yet again, and I have to swap it out.

I do have a licensed plumber (who has been my plumber for 15 years now) for things that are beyond my abilities, or desires, to perform myself. He always comes the next day, if not the same. I <3 my plumber!

Q: As a plumber, I ask you this: I see that Kohler also has pressure-balancing valves. How do these compare to the Symmons design (which I believe originates from the 1930's)?