Why

These valves are really useful. If you don't know about them, they control the mix of hot and cold water and produce "warm" water at a temperature you set.

This eliminates fiddling with the hot and cold knobs to achieve the perfect (constant) temperature. More importantly (especially for kids), it protects against scalding hot water (180 degrees or more) at the faucet coming from the engine heat exchanger in the hot water heater.

The Job

This installation was pretty straightforward. The only real decision was whether to put it locally at one (or each) of the sinks that needed it, or to put it right after the hot water heater and having it serve the entire boat. I chose the latter.

Here is a picture of the unit installed right above the hot water heater. I labeled the hoses going to and from the unit. Click the picture for a large version.

This model has an adjustment knob on it to select the output temperature.

You can buy the thermostatic valves at just about any fully-stocked plumbing store. I bought this one over the internet.

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