What temp are you all tempering to?

[kb0nes]

I'm in the midst of re-plumbing my laundry area to provide an extra connection and correct some existing shoddy work. I am considering adding a tempering valve as the cold water here in MN gets pretty chilly in winter.

I think I have decided on a Watts MMV series valve. The minimum temperature appears to be 80 deg F which seems a tad high but it seems to be the lowest I have seen.

What temps are others tempering to? Are there any other valves I should consider?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Way to go!

78-80F seems to be about as low as they go, but check with Jeff to see what the expensive one he bought does. The thing is that all of these are really meant to temper hot down, more than cold up so 80 is about right for most of them when fully cranked down. It still feels cool to the skin so it is much cooler than warm which is closer to 100F, maybe less if you are mixing hot and very cold water with a non-thermostatic fill valve. It is a nice temperature for washing dark colors, too. Mine is a Sparco, since discontinued, one of three John found at the Habitat for Humanity thrift store for $3 each and the range of output goes from 120F to 80F, but the water is between 78 and 80F.

Once you put backflow preventers on both sides, this assembly grows. I have hose thread adapters after the BF valves so mine really grew. What is the flow rate through this one? If more than two FL machines are filling through mine, they fill slowly. It feeds a 4 valve manifold for all of the FLs' cold water requirements.

 

[yogitunes]

what you have there pictured is a tempered valve to reduce HOT water to a cooler temp, like in a anti-scald situation....thats why the temp is only going down to 80 degrees.....most are labeled for this application.....

you may have to hit a plumbing supply store......because what you really want is a valve that will increase, or allow you to increase, the COLD water temp......

also making sure backflow preventers are included.....

one like this WATTS can be reduced to 60F degrees.....but is 60 still too warm....and certain models give you complete control of both sides.....

there may be others available....

http://www.pexsupply.com/Watts-0559110-3-4-LFL1170M2-UT-Lead-Free-Threaded-Lo-Temp-Mixing-Valve

 

[frigilux]

Those tempering valves reminded me of something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Then it dawned on me:

 

[frigilux]

Phil and John: See my "Questions For John And Phil " thread in the green forum.

 

[pulsator]

I like mine a bit on the warm side...

I keep my tempering valve at 85F. The water still feels cool to the touch but it's warm enough to do a good job rinsing! My boyfriend can tell when I've washed the towels in my machines in the basement (with the tempering valve setup) or in his machine upstairs (without the tempering valve setup) and he much prefers when I wash towels in the basement! We're counting down the days until his extended warranty is up and I start at Whirlpool so we can replace his Electrolux Wave Touch set with something nicer!