Rain shower: shower head with real rain

Recommendation points

• What is the essence of a rain shower
• The subtleties of the arrangement of the shower cabin
• Laying of communications
• Installation of a concealed mixer
• Installation and connection of a watering can
• Operating parameters of the water supply system

We can talk for a long time about the attractiveness of a stationary ceiling shower, but it is much easier to feel the comfort and anti-stress effect of its use at least once. If the choice fell in the direction of a tropical watering can, let’s deal with the intricacies of installation and the device of rough plumbing for its correct connection.

What is the essence of a rain shower

Unlike a simple shower head that emits thin, continuous streams of water, a rain shower works differently. Due to the special design, water mixes with air and is immediately thrown out. Due to aeration, the flow is divided into many small droplets saturated with air bubbles, the direction of which is usually strictly vertical.

Do not confuse multi-mode hand heads and headsets with rain showers. Despite the similar effect, there are a number of significant differences. First of all, the difference in size is striking: the tropical watering can is much larger than the combined one, it creates a dense curtain of drops that practically do not dissipate. The width of such a rain column can reach half a meter, and sometimes even more. It is also impossible not to notice that most of the “zakos” for a rain shower do not have aeration, and this is a very significant factor of comfort.

Another characteristic feature is the relatively low water consumption. Despite the fact that the watering can covers a really large area, the flow is represented by small droplets, the density of which is reduced by air bubbles. It turns out that almost the whole body is in contact with a dispersed suspension of water in the air, but the flow is less than that of a standard watering can with a similar scattering area and flow density.

The subtleties of the arrangement of the shower cabin

But let’s focus on the nuances of editing. Planning the installation of a rain shower should be done in advance, while ensuring the required shape and dimensions of the shower compartment. Here, a major pitfall lies in the fact that a sufficiently long connecting pipe runs between the mixer and the shower. Because of this, the temperature setting, even with a thermostat, occurs with a significant delay, respectively, you almost always have to move away from too hot or cold “rain”.

In its simplest form, a tropical watering can can be part of an external installation – a stand with a mixer, which has an internal channel for supplying water to the watering can. However, this method of installation requires even more space inside the shower cabin, because the installation already requires an additional indent from the wall. An alternative installation method involves laying the connecting channel hidden under the finish, respectively, it is necessary to provide for grooves or the corresponding values ​​of the gaps in advance when finishing the shower with false walls.

It should be noted that it makes no sense to use concealed installation, if in the end the connecting fittings are not completely hidden behind the decorative trims of the finishing plumbing. Therefore, it is important to ensure the correct protrusion of the nozzles for fixing the mixer and the shower head itself. Ideally, if the shower installation kit is purchased in advance: this will reliably know the required conditional pipe clearance, the diameter of threaded connections and other conditions necessary for correct installation.

Laying of communications

For concealed installation, the tropical watering head is connected via a flush-mounted mixer, for example, a Hansgrohe iBox or any of its analogues. It requires the arrangement of a niche or false wall cavity with a depth of about 35–50 mm. This type of faucet is ideal for installation in the bathroom: in addition to the main outlet for a tropical shower, it has an additional one, to which you can connect a regular shower head or a bath spout. The need for an additional drain is understandable, because it is impossible to wash a certain part of the body or clean in the shower without an additional watering can.

The water supply to the mixer is usually carried out from the bottom and from one of the sides. With hidden installation, the most preferable option for the water supply system will be polypropylene pipes on press fittings as the most durable. Hot and cold supply pipes go to the mixer niche from below, then one of the pipes is turned for side connection. On the other, free side of the mixer, another pipe is laid, connecting the additional outlet with the wall-mounted branch pipe for connecting a shower hose.

In the surface-mounted version, the tropical rain headset has a standard connection with 150 mm spacing of nozzles. Such an installation is connected like a regular mixer and at the same time has additional attachment points to the wall. Very often, an open-mounted connecting rod (gander) is specially hidden in the wall instead of a draft-type connecting tube. This is explained by the high rigidity of the installation and the ability to carry out installation without an additional fastening system and numerous threaded connections. The mixer and the watering can are connected with a regular water pipe if the latter is installed on a threaded outlet fixed to the ceiling.

Installation of a concealed mixer

The so-called “ibox” has a cross connection scheme. The internal mechanism can be turned in any way to change the destination of the nozzles. As a rule, the water supply is carried out from the bottom and from one of the sides, the outlet of the additional spout is connected on the back side, and the tropical watering can itself is on top..

The mixer body is a cylindrical glass, which is attached to the wall with four adjusting pins. To simplify the exit to the final plane of the wall decoration, high-quality plumbing has a crossover ring on the outside of the body, which serves as a back stop for trimming the false wall. Ultimately, a layer of trim and trim is clamped tightly between this ring and the bezel. If the mixer is walled into a solid wall, the ring is removed.

The mixer connection is made on threaded fittings, which are packed with anaerobic sealant. The diameter of the connections is usually 1/2 “, respectively, there is no obvious need to use a pipeline with a wider nominal bore. After connection, the mixer is finally adjusted with pins to bring the front wall into the finishing plane, then brickwork or cladding is performed. In the latter case, the remaining gap between the body and the sheathing is densely filled with sanitary silicone, then a waterproofing cuff sits on the sealant around the protruding sides.

The installation is completed after the shower tile is tiled. The details of the internal mechanism are covered by an overlay panel, which for many manufacturers has up to a dozen variations in the appearance and ergonomics of the controls. Protection of the interior of the mixer from water ingress is provided by one or more circuits of gland seals or gaskets along the contour of the panel. The panel itself is attached by twisting the decorative sleeves of the handles or using hidden clips.

Installation and connection of a watering can

The final part of the installation is the installation of the watering can itself. The least problematic is the installation on a bar that comes out of the wall. It is enough just to put a sealing gasket into the threaded connection and screw on the watering can itself. After tightening the screw connection, the shower head is positioned for its correct orientation (especially important for square shower heads) and horizontal position. Both tasks are accomplished with a ball joint adapter.

The installation of the shower head to the threaded ceiling outlet is somewhat more difficult due to the limited space. This problem can be partly solved by a decorative insert that acts as an extension cord. Its installation is not always possible, in some cases the ceiling height is a limitation, although an extension cord even 20-30 mm long will greatly facilitate installation.

Operating parameters of the water supply system

A rain shower is not suitable for every plumbing system. The first and most important criterion is the operating pressure of the system: for proper operation, both the upper and lower limit thresholds are limited. For different shower models, specific values ​​may vary slightly, but the average is about 3 to 4.5 atmospheres.

To solve the problem of overpressure, you can use water reducers. For apartments with hot water supply, you will need two of them – each for the riser for the mixer to work correctly. Lack of pressure is more difficult to eliminate, while at low head aeration may not occur at all. You can build up pressure using a low-noise water pump with a soft start system or an individual water controller.

In addition to the noise from the operation of the pump itself, pressure shocks during start and stop can be a significant obstacle, so you will have to take care of the correct setting of the pressure switch and the addition of a hydraulic accumulator of the appropriate volume to the system – 5-7 times more than the displacement of the entire water distribution system. Also, installing check valves at the inlet and outlet of the pumping unit will help to get rid of water hammer..