Shower Valve
A shower valve controls the rate of flow and temperature of water to one or more shower functions, e.g. shower head, slider rail or body jet.
Flow Control
A flow control controls the rate of flow of water to a shower valve outlet. The rate can be finely controlled from full off to full on.
Temperature Control
The temperature control on a shower valve mixes the cold and hot water coming into the valve in different proportions top control the temperature of the water being supplied the valves outlet(s).
Diverter
A diverter on a shower valve is a control that switches water flow between different outlets. A two way diverter has three settings, one were both outlets are off, one with one outlet full on and the other full off and another vice versa. Diverters usually just switch between outlets and do not allow fine control over the rate of flow.
Thermostatic
A thermostatic shower valve is one which shuts off the flow of water if the temperature exceeds a pre-set value. This is a safety feature designed to prevent scalding if the flow of cold water to the valve is reduced or stopped during use, this can happen if other cold water outlets plumbed into the same system as the shower are used during the shower being used.
Manual
A manual shower valve is one that is not thermostatic.
Exposed
An exposed shower valve is one which when installed has its water outlets on the outside of the wall. This means that all the pipe work carrying water from the valve to the other parts of the shower will be visible and will need therefore to be decorative (usually chrome) rather than copper or plastic piping.
Concealed
A concealed shower valve is one where the water outlets from the valves are, when installed, hidden inside the wall.
Twin
A twin valve is one which has two controls and where those controls are either side by side along the wall or one above the other on the wall, this contrasts with a dual control valve, although the difference is aesthetic only and not functional.
Dual
A dual valve is one that has two controls combined onto a single control body with one control nearer the wall when fitted and another sitting on top of it further away from the wall.
Triple
A triple valve is simple a shower valve with three controls. This may be a temperature control and two flow controls or a temperature control, a flow control and a diverter.
