Shower head /arm compatability with 3/4" BSP mixer outl

[nbullus]

I'm in the process of installing a concealed shower mixer valve that has 3/4" BSP female inlets and outlets. The hot and cold pipework from my balanced pressurised system is 22mm so i have teed new feeds off to the shower in 22mm (rather than reduce to 15mm) and connected to the valve using 22mm x 3/4" male couplers.

The issue I have is that I have been hunting round for a nice shower head and arm for mounting onto the ceiling. Everything I seem to find specifiy 1/2" BSP fittings on both the shower head and the arm. Is this the common standard or I have I just been unlucky on where I have been shopping?

Now I can easily continue to install a 22mm outlet pipe from the valve and connect to the shower arm with a 22mm x 1/2" female coupler, but would I get a reduction in flow rates out of the shower head due to the slight restriction in the smaller 1/2" coupler? Just seems strange that the valve is 3/4" BSP outlet, but all the shower heads/arms I have found are 1/2" BSP.

Any thoughts on whether the 1/2" BSP would be a bottle neck and should try and find a 3/4" BSP shower head/arm, or am I just worrying about nothing?

Nigel.

 

[Ruggers]

I've bought a mixer unit which has exactly the same size outlets. and the shower head i bought has the 1/2 inch inlet to it as well. I'm having the same questions about putting iso valves before my bath taps.

Do you have a combi boiler as if you do, you'll only have 15mm feeding the mixer unit anyway so reducing down to the 1/2 head wont matter.

 

[nbullus]

I have a system boiler with a megaflo cyclinder, and not a combi.

Both my mains cold feed to the boiler and the branch to my shower is all in 22mm pipe. My hot is served directly from the presurised cylinder which again is output in 22mm pipe.

This is the reason why I wanted to understand the flow implications of reducing the shower head to a 22mm x 1/2 BSP outlet rather than a 22mm x 3/4 BSP outlet.

 

[nbullus]

Anybody got any ideas yet on this?

 

[andylu]

It is normal, I have come across the same problem.

Just fit 22mm from mixer to heads and use a reducer, it will not affect flow that much, if it did then a 22mm head would be an option.

Getting the flow up is all about reducing the no of bottlenecks, not necessarily getting rid of all of them, which is usually difficult.