Customer Reviews

American Standard 1660.717.002 FloWise 3 Function Water-Saving Showerhead, Chrome

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I first saw the flowise in a TV documentary about energy consumption and things alike. After trying a few of the lo-flow showerheads in my house (mostly because my wife likes the water really hot - and she would run out of hot water before the end of her shower) we were making do with them (we have 3 full bathrooms) - they weren't bad, but they weren't good either. FloWise is definitively a step up. Even in the "mix mode", it is still 2gpm, which is great. But the savings mode is good enough for a pleasure shower - and we now have enough left over hot water so I can shower right after her, if I want to - impossible to do before. I love the fact that once you turn the mix mode on (2gpm), it will automatically revert to 1.5gpm after you turn off the water - which is great, because she showers on 1.5, I shower on 2.0 (I use half the hot water she uses) - we would definitively forget to put it back, and she would probably end up with "warm water" at the end of her shower...

I saw this shower-head on The History Channel. It replaces a shower head that used about 4 gallons a minute. I love the Flow-Wise as it uses so much less water. I save money on the water bill, the sewer bill, and the natural gas bill (used to heat the water) I should have gotten it months ago!!!!

We got a polished brass and a satin version of this showerhead for our parents for Christmas. The showerhead seems huge to me - my hands are not large, but this is twice the size of my fist. For that hugeness and the price, I was expecting that there would also be an analog adjustment of the water stream, but there is not. There are exactly three settings: one saver setting, and two full flow settings.

My brother installed the first one using a white plumber's(?) tape to ensure a good seal on the pipe. The base setting is the water saver setting. I measured the water flow by seeing how long it took to fill up a large pot, and it was around 40 seconds. The other two settings took about 30 seconds each. This reflects the 1.5 vs. 2 gpm flow that others have quoted. At first it seemed odd that the shower wouldn't retain an arbitrary setting, but it does make sense if one thinks about it from a water savings point of view. In other words, if you want a fuller water flow, you have to adjust for that on each shower. I'm not hugely picky in my shower flow preferences, and I thought all the flows were fine. I have been using the first two settings depending on my mood.

What I cannot fathom, though, is the customer support. Firstly, the box that the showerhead comes in contains (1) the showerhead (2) a small white plastic tepee like filter (ie. conical with a washer like portion at the larger end) (3) a single sheet of paper with a customer support number. There is no drawing, no instruction page or manual, and nothing extolling the virtues of the showerhead. In particular, there is nothing to say or indicate in which direction the filter should go. And it could fit into the showerhead in one of two ways. I'm not a plumbing kind of a guy. But to my mind, if I insert the filter with the pointy end going into the showerhead, it becomes quite difficult to remove, which would be a real problem if the filter needed cleaning. This is born out by the way the filters are in the faucets at home. Product management - are you listening?

As mentioned, I'm not a plumbing kind of guy, so my logic might be completely wrong, but in any case I have to install the second showerhead now that bro is away. Fortunately, there is a toll free customer support number. I opted for technical support. Can you imagine, at technical support for American Standard, they had NO IDEA in which direction the filter should face. Ashley spoke with her supervisor. Jim had no idea either. They couldn't find a schematic for it on the internet, they said. I double checked to make sure that this wasn't a 3rd party contractor I was speaking with. No, no, it was definitely American Standard technical support. They didn't have an answer for how it was that they didn't know their own products. They said that they would have to research the matter. I got a call back in half an hour, and the first thing I heard was O-ring. I asked, "What O-ring?" After the rep again consulted with a supervisor, she came back with: insert the pointy end of the filter towards the showerhead. In other words, it will be a real bear to remove. However, there was such uncertainty in her voice that I asked to speak with a supervisor and have been dumped into his voicemail.

Update: I wound up talking to American Standard again (I think I eventually called back after no return call), and after complaining that I wasn't getting an answer to a reasonable and straightforward question, I was transferred to Level 2 technical support (woah!) in New Jersey. I got the answer that the pointy end of the filter should be towards the showerhead, but after pointing out that this would result in difficulty with removing it, the tech allowed that I had a good point. This tech, though, was much more innovative (that's level 2 for you) and said that the designers were just down the road, and that she would confer with them.

So the final answer that took me half a day to get to, and only three paragraphs of verbiage for you, is that the pointy end faces away from the showerhead! Thus, it is easier to remove for cleaning. To say it another way, the tepee points against the flow of water.

Conclusion: The water flow of the showerhead is good in my book. I took one star off for the large price vs. minimal settings, and one for the disconnect between customer service's technical support and the product. In my opinion Product Management has created the problem by having not even an image of the filter + showerhead. But at least we finally know in which direction the filter points.

I heard about this on a television show and liked what I saw there so I decided to check it out a little more. After reading the reviews on Amazon I decided I would try it. I love it and I have had guests comment on it also they wanted to know where I got it. It totally meets up to my expectations. Wonderful. One thing I wish it had is the option of a being a hand held. American Standard should make both types available.

I got this Flowise shower head about a week ago to replace a traditional one that wasted too much water. I was afraid that a low-flow head wouldn't feel nearly as good as a traditional head due to reduced pressure. The Flowise head proved otherwise, at least in one of the modes:

The turbine mode is the one the shower head defaults to when you turn off the water. It saves the most water by mixing the water with air. This is supposed to feel like a traditional spray, but it really doesn't. The mixing cools down the water significantly, so you have to increase the temperature of the water. Using more hot water just wastes energy. The turbine action chops up the water which makes it feel like you are being scratched. The water all turns to mist by the time it reaches the bottom of the tub and I can't even feel it on my feet. I don't use this mode.

The combination mode turn turns on both the turbine and the sprayer nozzles. When you do this there isn't enough flow to keep up the pressure that I desire, but it delivers the most water. Some people may like this mode, but I don't use it. Suggestion for improvement: only turn on one of the spray rings on this mode.

The last mode turns on just the sprayer nozzles and feels the best. It uses more water than the turbine, but still saves enough to be low-flow. The spray feels just like a traditional shower head, and is the mode I use every day.

I picked it up because of a ConsumerReports review. Unlike 1.5g/min showers I've used before, its lowest flow setting is not a skin stripping experience, but a very acceptable shower. I use the lowest flow, the higher flow (2g/min) is good for people with long hair... just needing more water to rinse.

I'm going to replace the other shower head in the house with one soon.

I have tried several water saving shower heads (none over $100) and this is definitely the best one. It is still not quite as nice of a shower as the 12 Gpm shower heads we had in the PSU dorms (not sure exactly how much they were, but it was a huge amount of water), but still quite an enjoyable shower. I could have saved a couple bucks and go with something Decent like the Peerless Single setting shower head (i found something almost identical at walmart for $10):
http://www.amazon.com/Peerless-76154-Water-Amplifying-Showerhead-Chrome/dp/B0017ZB9C0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1251803119&sr=8-2
But I take a shower every day so i figured it was worth spending a few extra bucks for a more enjoyable shower.

For anyone who is curious i check consumer reports testing for shower heads and this is one of the highest rated even though it uses less water then all the other highly rated shower heads.

I have had trouble finding a good shower head for low-pressure systems. My well pump only provides 40-60 psi and most shower heads deliver a weak stream in that range. This one has the perfect balance of water volume and strength of spray. Also, the pressure doesn't change dramatically when someone turns on another faucet. Plus, the price is right! I plan on getting another one for my second shower.

Used this for about 2 months now, and it works very well. During the week we use the water-saver setting, and on the weekends we use one of the other two settings. This showerhead combines water and air. Friends of ours have one of those oxigenics heads, and that thing is LOUD. Not this one. It automatically resets after the water is turned off, so the default is always water-saving. There's more than enough water coming out even in the saving mode. Easy to install. Quite large, which cost it a point, but not bad-looking.

PS We use a Rinnai on-demand water heater, and there are no issues with this showerhead triggering the Rinnai, even in the saver setting.

Just wanted a low flow shower head to be able to allow my wife and I to take our morning showers without the second person getting short changed on hot water. The first setting flows at 1.5 gal/min and offers us both more than enough time, the spray feels decent and pressure is very good. The center setting at 1.7 gal/min is perfectly comfortable for when I do not need to conserve as much. Great shower head.