I went with a Thermasol steam generator for my steam shower.
It was over 6 years ago so no smart features but I was focused on getting one with high reviews digging through plumbing and bath forums.
I didn't want it breaking down after spending that much money.
Kohler was my next choice.
1 Like
On this note seems it's been a minute since this was discussed. How to like it after living with it @dman2306? Everything holding up? Control panel resilient to the humidity?
Lol if I can squeeze it in I'm going to do it..
I saw someone post once that they started buying devices that @dman2306 as a rule. I'm more and more in that camp these days. You do some cool stuff...
Looking to get some of those lg things too..
Yes the Thermasol has held up fine.
Thinking about it it has been closer to 8 years.
No issues at all.
You still have to do an auto generator clean after so many hours of use.
It is an older system so it just gives a code (clean or something it's been awhile) which whenever I see it I think the unit is broken.
I google it every time.
You go into the menu and it does automatic purge cleanse. No manual cleaning.
New models might give a better display instruction.
I built the steam shower myself. Complete cement board and kerdi membrane.
2 things I would do different.
I didn't slope the ceiling in the shower. Not really a big deal but you get an odd drop of water on your head.
Also I painted the ceiling outside the shower with oil based paint to seal the ceiling from the moisture. I was up checking it a few months ago and it has held up fine.
But does get condensation on the ceiling outside the shower when you open up the steam shower. So I should have continued tiling the ceiling for 3-4 feet outside the shower.
I also put in a water softener for the house because we have very hard water and that is hard on steam generators and water heaters.
We live in a very cold dry climate so the wife loves it
1 Like
Still very happy with it. I'll admit I was nervous, Kohler makes great fixtures but I wasn't sure how well they'd be at electronics and software. Overall it works great. Like any tech, I've had a few glitches and software bugs but nothing serious. The hardware itself is well built. The panels have no issue with the humidity/moisture and in fact the touch screen I have in the shower works really well even when you're hands are wet. You have to touch the screen a little harder when soaked than say a smart phone, but it does work.
I did have one issue. After about a year I started getting a thermistor error. The thermistor is a safety device that shuts the shower off in the event the water gets hot enough that it would burn you in case there is ever a malfunction. Well the sensor was malfunctioning so even with the shower at about 105F it would just shut off. Nothing like being covered in shampoo and the shower just shuts off electronically... not like you can just go and turn it back on either, I had to reboot the device. After it happened a few times I contacted Kohler. It must be a known issue because they shipped me a replacement circuit board and thermistor, no questions asked. They said normally they'd send someone out to replace the board at no charge but I live in a fairly rural area and they couldn't get someone here for a few weeks so I opted to do it myself. The directions were clear and it was pretty easy. Since then (3-4 months ago) everything has been working fine again.
I definitely recommend the DTV+, but I will definitely admit the price is hard to swallow. Some of the pricing is ridiculous. https://www.amazon.com/KOHLER-K-99694-BL-Interface-Mounting-Bracket/dp/B00SK0FX9U/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=kohler+dtv+mounting+bracket&qid=1614741161&sr=8-1 -- seriously $105 for a metal bracket? Come on! But the products are quality and Kohler stands behind them.
2 Likes
It’s because Kohler‘s yield is so low on transistors made of porcelain.
2 Likes
I built one a few years back, my wife and I love it. I spent a fair amount of time with the design and choice of fixtures, the hardest thing to find (for a reasonable price, and by reasonable I mean less than $2000.00 lol), were the steam rated colored light fixtures. Finally found a good solution from a company in Minnesota or Wisconsin. Didn't see anything that would integrate well with hubitat, but it has been a few years so who knows.
I would definitely go with a large steam generator, it is difficult to oversize. I went with 12 kilowatts and its nice since I can run cooler shower heads while the steam is on and not lose temperature. Can't beat a steam shower when it is -40 degrees outside.
I also took the steam generator cover off just to see the internals, not that complicated at all. If my control panels ever went, and I couldn't find a replacement, I would just integrate with hubitat through the use of relays, it would be a bit of a project and I don't think it would be that hard.
1 Like
Your steam shower looks gorgeous. Really well done.
I was thinking about using SteamSpa. Would you buy them again?
Yes, I would. No problems at all. Although there are a few items to be aware of:
- They suggest a maximum supply water pressure of 20psi, so in the picture I posted you can see a pressure reducer in the line going to the steam generator. I also put a shock arrestor in the line since its a solenoid valve in the unit.
- Their steam heads are ugly. I didn't use them, I went with steam mist:
- The unit has a pressure relief valve (required), and also has a solenoid activated drain valve that drains the tank inside the unit after each use. Once the temperature has cooled down enough for your plumbing to handle it, the unit drains its tank to reduce sediment buildup. You need to plumb a drain for the unit.
- As you can also see in the picture, there are two control panels for the steamspa, one in the shower, one outside. This is very nice, as you don't need to go into the shower to turn the steamer on. But I wouldn't even know where to start if I was to try integrating this panel with HE.
On another note, I have had lots of guests use it and everyone loves the waterfall I put in. It was very hard to find, since any shower heads needs to be low flow. The waterfalls were all several thousand dollars. Found this one for way less, the quality is good (brass and chrome) and it works great:Waterfall shower head The pictures on amazon don't do it justice. When I turn my tap wide open there is way more water coming out of the fixture then what is shown in the amazon pic. Nothing like sitting in a 105 degree Fahrenheit steam shower and then standing under a 12 gallon a minute cold waterfall, lol.
I went with Grohe for all the other items in the shower. I am very happy with them as well.
As far as a sloped ceiling in a "RESIDENTIAL" steam shower, many people (myself included) believe it should be removed from the building code and the tile council should stop requiring it. It makes sense for commercial, many of them run all day (think of the steam room at the gym) and without a sloped ceiling it would be dripping a lot. I have never had my flat ceiling drip, I simply don't run it long enough for it to happen. For a test once, I set it at 110 degrees (a little hotter than I normally have a steam shower) and it took close to 2 hours for the ceiling to start to drip, even then it wasn't much.
1 Like
Frankly, it's so much bigger and nicer than ours is going to be (space limitations) that I'm kind of upset now.
@Stephan.J, a couple questions if you don't mind:
-
What's your total steam shower square feet? Curious how big a space you're serving w/the 12KW unit
-
What are these three items?
-
This is the steam head, correct?
Time to expand the scope of the project, add on a Steam Shower Room.
The picture of the three items are two volume control valves and a thermostatic mixing valve, one valve controls the waterfall and the other valve controls the body sprays and overhead rain shower head.
Size of the steam shower is just under 5feet x 8 feet. With a height of a little over 7 feet. Around 280 cubic feet.
In the years before I built my shower, I was responsible for taking care of two grandparents as they neared the end of their life. I wasn't prepared for how difficult life can become in the last few months. Both my grandparents had nursing staff come to the house to help them with bathing. It was always extremely difficult since their bathrooms where not fully accessible. When I built my bathroom one of my paramount concerns was making it fully accessible so if I ever am in the same condition the nurse will have lots of room to just wheel me into the shower and we can both have our space. The shower door is a few inches wider than normal so that a wheel chair will easily fit through, the glass company took a while to source the extra heavy duty hinges required and where a little grumpy about my request. The hardest part about the construction was I made the shower curbless, very difficult considering I didn't raise my bathroom floor. Also the volume controls I mentioned above have square handles (1/4 turn), so when I am elderly I will have no problems.
The big home automation project in the bathroom was the mirror, had lots of fun with that, still having fun. Running it off a Pi, currently trying to get it to show a video of last nights hockey highlights, the first time in the morning the Jasco zwave light senses motion. LOL
Thanks very much.
We want to go curbless as well, for the same reason as we intend to retire in this home and stay put. Those tiny little steps when you're younger do become much more of an issue...my mom is over 90 and everything gets harder all the time.
Did you use 2x2's on the floor, and 4x4's on the ceiling?
2x2 on the floor, and 3x3 on the ceiling.
1 Like
Thanks for sharing so much, really appreciate it.
No problem, are you planning on doing the work yourself or hiring a contractor?
Contractor...this stuff is not my forte at all. I have zero experience w/tile and don't think it's a good idea for my first project to be a steam shower. 
1 Like
LOL, no definitely not a novice type of job. I would make sure to know what kind of tiling substrate system the contractor is using to ensure a steam rating. Kerdi is fairly popular membrane system used in showers, but if you want a continuous steam rating you need to use the Kerdi-DS. Personally, I went with foam tile backerboard that has a membrane on both sides, was really easy to work with (very light) and has a continuous steam rating, more expensive than Kerdi but I found it nice to work with.
1 Like
Thanks - that is great info/advice. I've been worried about that, making sure the construction is sufficient. We're doing porcelain tile, 12x24 on the walls, 2x2 on the floor, and ceiling undecided, but either the same 2x2 or 3x3 (if we can find a good match).
This topic was automatically closed 365 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.
