Review of American Standard 1660.717.002 FloWise 3 Function Showerhead

[jpluncford21]

I just installed our new low flow shower head last night, and I've got to say that I am really impressed with it so far. The shower head offers three different volume settings, a 1.5 gal/min and two 2 gal/min settings. I bought it for that reason, just in case my wife wanted more water than the lower setting. Now the cool part: it AUTOMATICALLY DEFAULTS TO THE 1.5 GAL/MIN SETTING WHEN THE WATER IS SHUT OFF! How cool is that?!!! So I talked it over with her and we ordered. It was ready to go straight outta the box, all I did was remove the old shower head and screw this one on. We both showered last night and agreed that there is no noticeable difference in the water volume at the lower setting as compared to our old, run of the mill shower head. It also looks great and should actually pay for it self in the next year or so. Just wanted to share my enthusiasm. I paid 29.29 with free two day shipping, so I'm putting this one in the frugality win catagory! Here's the link

http://www.amazon.com/American-Standard-1660-717-002-Water-Saving-Showerhead/dp/B00125V740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354735918&sr=8-1&keywords=american+standard+flowise

[chucklesmcgee]

Hmmm, is it that good? I've been looking at changing my showerhead when I've got some free time. Was considering this $8.40 Niagara instead:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UQ17O4/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1

1.25 GPM. But some reviewers seem to think it's a bit too low flow.

[gecko10x]

We've had the Niagara 1.5 GPM for a couple months and have been quite happy with it. I could see the 1.25 being too low though.

[awlong]

We've got that exact 1.25 gpm Niagara head that you linked to. Had it for almost a year. It took us about a week to adjust but love it now and actually feel like we get drowned by normal shower heads when we stay with family.

I track our utilities meticulously and saw an immediate and noticeable improvement in water and natural gas consumption. 

[Nords]

Another contender in the low-flow category is Oxygenics.  Pricey, but never needs cleaning:
http://www.oxygenics.com/Shower-Heads/Classic-Series-Shower-Heads/BodySpa-SkinCare-2-5-GPM-Shower-Head.html

[jpluncford21]

Hmmm, is it that good? I've been looking at changing my showerhead when I've got some free time. Was considering this $8.40 Niagara instead:

The Flowise was good for what I was looking for. I wanted to make sure that we, and any house guests that stay over, had options for water volume. Still completely satisfied with the way it's working. I can't wait to see how it affects our water bill!

[grantmeaname]

How much water is a normal showerhead? I know Bakari suggested pointing it at a bucket for a known length of time, but that would probably turn into a mess here.

[chucklesmcgee]

How much water is a normal showerhead? I know Bakari suggested pointing it at a bucket for a known length of time, but that would probably turn into a mess here.

2.5 gpm is the max for standard showerheads. But some actually don't deliver that, maybe due to water pressure? MMM has a pretty good post and actually uses really conservative figures about the savings.

[Bakari]

They will often say on the package it comes in, or on the manufacturers website.
Though the bucket method is the only way to be completely sure.

[chucklesmcgee]

Wasn't sure if 1.25 gpm would be too little so I went with the  Niagara Bi-max showerhead for $17.95:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00846E0F8/ref=ox_ya_os_product

It's switchable from 1.5 GPM to 1.0 GPM. Have to say I'm very pleased! It's a very nice stream at both settings, better than the corroded old 2.5 GPM showerhead my apartment had given me. Took about 30 seconds to install.

I do prefer the 1.5 GPM at the moment given the chilly weather, but once ambient temperature is around 70 or so I could get along with the 1.0 GPM setting. The pressure is just fine at 1.0 GPM but you can only get so warm with that little volume of modestly hot water on you.

[jpluncford21]

Update: We got the first utility bill in after installing the new shower head. With the help of replacing the toilet fill valve and setting it to a lower fill level, we cut our water bill in half!...and that is with a one year old that gets a bath every night of the week. At that rate, the shower head will pay for itself in under six months! It is still working well and my wife and I have no complaints! If you're in the market, I would say this shower head is worth the price. It looks good, and is proving to be worth the money!