The K-876 Bellwether tub (60x32) requires a "minimum 7 inch spout" to clear the tub overflow because of the sloped front and ledge. Or less if the spout is angled. Or you can go spoutless (just the ticket for bathing in the tub backwards…or 2 people) with a spoutless filler such as the Kohler Laminar Flow tub filler. I spent some time investigating the Kohler Laminar Flow tub filler, but not only is it very expensive (over $500) but it may require a drip catcher if installed on a wall (typical installation is ceiling, and you shouldn't mind a few drips outside tub unless it's a very large tub). I'm sure ceiling plumbing would be very expensive and require cutting and repairing sheetrock. Plus it must be run at full force, 8 gallons per minute. Less, and it might not flow smoothly.
My way of starting to shower in a bathtub is to first run the water a little to bring up the hot water, then adjust temperature, turn down level, then pull diverter, then stand back, then let the old water in the shower line clear, then adjust everything. That wouldn't work well with a filler that requires 8 gallons per minute minimum or else. So scratch the Laminar Flow, and backwards bathing.
Next question is whether bathtub spout should have diverter. Just figuring things out, it seems to me that if you get a diverter builtin to a spout for $20, or have to buy a diverter valve for $130 plus all the extra plumbing it needs, you're going to be spending a lot more money for the separate diverter. Plus there's also the user lever (fancy ones go for hundreds of dollars) and having the diverter lever panel set into the tile. Obviously it's a lot cheaper and simpler to have the diverter valve built-in to the spout, and that's why it's nearly always done that way. (That would have applied to the Laminar Flow, since it has no diverter.)
Well that scratches all the Kohler made non-diverter angled spouts. Kohler makes several in the $100-$200 range. They look not much different (other than the bend for the angle) like a short piece of pipe. Which seems less strong (though that could be misleading) or prone to damage tile if you bump it. Which also might hurt something if you bump it. Anyway, I can't get those anyway since they're non-diverter. I haven't found an angled diverter spout.
Old fashioned spouts are bigger and less likely to damage tile or human. So that's what I'm down to. Well Moen makes a nice 7 1/4 diverter spout.
But there's some question as to whether this would meet the spec. It just barely does. Moen describes the "reach" as 7.25 inches. So I think it would. But other people online wonder too (I haven't found anyone actually getting back and saying whether it worked or not).
So some people do go with an 8" spout. Conveniently, Kohler makes one, and charges quite a bit more for it than Moen's 7.25.
I like the looks of the shorter spout, it's cheaper, and I may even have more respect for Moen than Kohler as far as making valves, though Kohler is ultra premium and Moen merely premium. And if I can use a shorter spout, I probably should, on the principle that it's less clumsy and in-the-way. When I'm doing my water adjusting, if the spout flows directly into the overflow it doesn't matter--since it's going down the drain either way. It's only for tub filling that you have to be sure little goes down the overflow, since then it's waste. But then you can turn the water on full force, and it's more likely to flow straight.
It's also useful NOT to have the spout long enough to be directly above the bottom drain. A longer spout is going to be that much closer to the bottom drain. But maybe that's not a big deal when the drain is 11 7/8" in from the bathtub edge to the center of the drain. Where is the edge of the drain relative to the tile? Well figure the tile and adhesive are 3/8, then figure half the diameter of the drain hole is just under 1". So roughly 1 1/4" back, or 10 5/8 inch in from the tile wall. That means an 8" spout with water spray of 1" diameter will come within 2 1/8 of the drain hole. I think 8" length is fine on this score.
So there are two options, anyway, and I think I'll try the Moen. Changing a bathtub diverter spout is fortunately not that big a deal, I think. I can even test it before the tile is put in.
My way of starting to shower in a bathtub is to first run the water a little to bring up the hot water, then adjust temperature, turn down level, then pull diverter, then stand back, then let the old water in the shower line clear, then adjust everything. That wouldn't work well with a filler that requires 8 gallons per minute minimum or else. So scratch the Laminar Flow, and backwards bathing.
Next question is whether bathtub spout should have diverter. Just figuring things out, it seems to me that if you get a diverter builtin to a spout for $20, or have to buy a diverter valve for $130 plus all the extra plumbing it needs, you're going to be spending a lot more money for the separate diverter. Plus there's also the user lever (fancy ones go for hundreds of dollars) and having the diverter lever panel set into the tile. Obviously it's a lot cheaper and simpler to have the diverter valve built-in to the spout, and that's why it's nearly always done that way. (That would have applied to the Laminar Flow, since it has no diverter.)
Well that scratches all the Kohler made non-diverter angled spouts. Kohler makes several in the $100-$200 range. They look not much different (other than the bend for the angle) like a short piece of pipe. Which seems less strong (though that could be misleading) or prone to damage tile if you bump it. Which also might hurt something if you bump it. Anyway, I can't get those anyway since they're non-diverter. I haven't found an angled diverter spout.
Old fashioned spouts are bigger and less likely to damage tile or human. So that's what I'm down to. Well Moen makes a nice 7 1/4 diverter spout.
But there's some question as to whether this would meet the spec. It just barely does. Moen describes the "reach" as 7.25 inches. So I think it would. But other people online wonder too (I haven't found anyone actually getting back and saying whether it worked or not).
So some people do go with an 8" spout. Conveniently, Kohler makes one, and charges quite a bit more for it than Moen's 7.25.
I like the looks of the shorter spout, it's cheaper, and I may even have more respect for Moen than Kohler as far as making valves, though Kohler is ultra premium and Moen merely premium. And if I can use a shorter spout, I probably should, on the principle that it's less clumsy and in-the-way. When I'm doing my water adjusting, if the spout flows directly into the overflow it doesn't matter--since it's going down the drain either way. It's only for tub filling that you have to be sure little goes down the overflow, since then it's waste. But then you can turn the water on full force, and it's more likely to flow straight.
It's also useful NOT to have the spout long enough to be directly above the bottom drain. A longer spout is going to be that much closer to the bottom drain. But maybe that's not a big deal when the drain is 11 7/8" in from the bathtub edge to the center of the drain. Where is the edge of the drain relative to the tile? Well figure the tile and adhesive are 3/8, then figure half the diameter of the drain hole is just under 1". So roughly 1 1/4" back, or 10 5/8 inch in from the tile wall. That means an 8" spout with water spray of 1" diameter will come within 2 1/8 of the drain hole. I think 8" length is fine on this score.
So there are two options, anyway, and I think I'll try the Moen. Changing a bathtub diverter spout is fortunately not that big a deal, I think. I can even test it before the tile is put in.
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