Wimpy Shower Heads/PSA

[Another Reader]

I just drilled the Orifice to a larger size and have a max flow shower head. I dislike that I'm restricted to standards (Calif) that I don't need in my world.

Arizona is just across the border from California. I can order heads on Amazon for delivery there that I can't order for delivery to the California address.

 

[wmc1000]

We have this delta showerhead RP61181OB that has only a 1.75 gpm flow but it has never seemed wimpy and is nice and invigorating.

Our water pressure is about 60psi.

 

[CaptTom]

Thanks for your post. Many of the responses troubled me. I think your analysis is correct. And having lived in an African village .where water was scarce on a regular basis, it was frightening.

Certainly in Africa, or California, I'd behave differently. And I do "respect" all the resources this little planet offers us. But as a practical matter there is no cost to the environment from me using a little extra fresh water, in an environment where it flows freely all around us.

It's not disrespectful. There's no need to deify water. It's just a commodity which happens to be scarce in some places, but not others. Where it's scarce, use it sparingly. Otherwise, no big deal.

...It's just a classic elite overreach. Blenders that don't blend, washers that don't wash.... One size does not fit all.

What about those tiny power cords on appliances, which require you to add an extension cord just to use them? And don't even get me started on those splash-everywhere gas can spouts!

The same "optimization" that gave us daylight savings time...

Living up North, I happen to like Daylight Savings Time. But I understand that it's not appropriate everywhere. The problem is, we all should be on the same time. Whichever way we choose, some areas win and some areas lose. It's not a conspiracy. It's just one solution to a problem. Not the ideal solution maybe, but it seems like a reasonable one. And if it's changed, I'll adapt. Without whining or complaining (too much.)

 

[JoeWras]

Something else to think about in the water rich east... water system capacity.

I live in a fast growing area in the southeast. We've doubled housing units in the last 30 years. Yet, water usage has only gone up about 50%. Why?

Well, it wasn't always this way. I'm kind of a geek on this, and I've looked at the water supply intake data (publicly available) over time. In 1990, it was about 50 cf (cubic feet per second intake). By the early 2000s, it was about 80 cf. Then we had a bad drought, and it was near 100 cf.

This was not sustainable during a drought, which will happen from time to time, even in water rich areas.

It may have been a blessing in disguise, because it got the city to do some serious soul-searching. After the drought, around 2010, it was about 90 cf. So, like it or not, the city started raising rates significantly. They threw a few bones to us, like paying for new WaterSense toilets. I took that bone as did many others. Our water usage dropped from about 120 gallons per day (GPD) to 90 GPD. I also do much of my garden watering from rain water collection. Staying below 100 GPD keeps me out of the punitive high rate tiers of usage.

The city and its utility footprint (also supplies suburbs) is still growing like mad, yet the aggregate water usage today is about 75 cf.

It makes a difference that they don't have to build a new water filtration plant right away, and there is still room for growth.

Just my $0.02 in a water rich area.

Edit: interesting that the board software would not let me abbreviate "cubic feet second". Must be swear word acronym I'm oblivious to.

 

[OldShooter]

Certainly in Africa, or California, I'd behave differently. ... [Water is] just a commodity which happens to be scarce in some places, but not others. Where it's scarce, use it sparingly. Otherwise, no big deal.

Exactly. Here's the view out our living room windows shorty after my (high flow) shower this morning.

​

What about those tiny power cords on appliances, which require you to add an extension cord just to use them? ...

Like it or not, UL has a safety reason for that. They are concerned that long cords on small kitchen appliances will hang over the counter edge and risk small children pulling the appliance off the counter. Short cords on other devices may just be the manufacturer trying to save a few pennies.

 

[savory]

Certainly in Africa, or California, I'd behave differently. And I do "respect" all the resources this little planet offers us. But as a practical matter there is no cost to the environment from me using a little extra fresh water, in an environment where it flows freely all around us.

To carry your argument to the logical end, in a place were gas is cheap, no need to conserve. After all, it flows all around me. Too bad if I take joy rides, encouraging future price increases due to lower inventory. And perhaps eliminating a resource for personal pleasure.

Here is a study that I glanced at that might be helpful specifically about water scarcity. Convincing to me and worth the little contribution I can make to the cause. https://harvardnsj.org/2018/05/water-scarcity-the-most-understated-global-security-risk/

 

[OldShooter]

... To carry your argument to the logical end, in a place were gas is cheap, no need to conserve. After all, it flows all around me. Too bad if I take joy rides, encouraging future price increases due to lower inventory. And perhaps eliminating a resource for personal pleasure. ...

Nope. Bad metaphor. I used the water for my shower this morning, I did not "eliminate a resource." After treatment it will go right back where it came from.

The joy ride metaphor is much more appropriate for the southwest where water is used for lawns and for ridiculous agriculture like growing cotton. Years ago I was in a briefing on the Arizona Salt River Project and the briefer was gushing about bringing the desert to life. I asked her what would happen as the salts accumulated and killed the land they were irrigating. The answer was "No problem; we over-irrigate so that the salts are washed down below the growing level."

 

[l8_apex]

In the Bay Area, water is very expensive.

I have to disagree, at least where I was in Santa Clara. My water + sewer bills were always $20-25 per month. I moved away in 2012. Now here in MT the fixed minimum in my district is $86.

The Santa Clara bill included the sprinkler system, albeit a relatively small system.

 

[Another Reader]

I have to disagree, at least where I was in Santa Clara. My water + sewer bills were always $20-25 per month. I moved away in 2012. Now here in MT the fixed minimum in my district is $86.

The Santa Clara bill included the sprinkler system, albeit a relatively small system.

Santa Clara makes its' electricity too. Utilities used to be cheap in Santa Clara... The city does use PG&E as the natural gas provider.

My water bill in the adjacent city runs $150-$200 a month. Sewer is hidden on the property tax bill. PG&E $4-$600 in the winter and peak summer months.

Up by Sacramento, SMUD provides electricity to the City and some nearby entities. Skipro wrote about that here a number of times.

 

[CaptTom]

To carry your argument to the logical end, in a place were gas is cheap, no need to conserve. After all, it flows all around me. Too bad if I take joy rides, encouraging future price increases due to lower inventory. And perhaps eliminating a resource for personal pleasure.

I'm not sure that's a valid analogy. Water has been plentiful on the this planet for four and a half billion years. There is an established renewal cycle between the atmosphere, surface and underground reserves. When we use it in our homes, we don't break it down chemically. We simply recycle it. Oil is a finite resource which takes tens or hundreds of millions of years to form, and when we use it, it's gone.

Oh, and driving around burning hydrocarbon fuels actually creates water.

 

[Skitso999]

He probably also uses a hundred watt incandescent light bulb.

For those wanting a good head for a low pressure situation, we’ve used this one and is the best we’ve found. No modifications required. Still, they have a tendency to feel like they are blowing air along with the water and it’s hard to feel like the spray is actually warm.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/High-Si...ickid=TRB3qZTh1xyIWyo0d3WPEReoUkGV13XdpwE3Uo0

I have many new 100-Watt incandescent light bulbs. They can be very handy in many situations!!!