Alsons 655CBX Fluidics Water Saving Shower Head, Chrome

What I like about it.1-Functions nicely to give you a good soaking shower that feels like a shower massage. Flow feels quite full and powerful with large drenching drops rather than a finer spray pattern found in many other heads. I like the fine spray type as well but the ones I've had seem too weak with their flow restrictors left in place. The Fluidics design of the Alsons seems to have taken a fresh and successful engineering approach to achieve an invigorating shower with lower water consumption. Not sure how well it works at lower water pressures but it works great with my city water connection in Las Vegas.2-Water saving 1.5 gpm rating. Beware. Though the actual flow rate should not exceed the published rating, my measurement showed wide disparity between actual flow and published/labeled shower head flow ratings. Water pressure is a major factor. My research indicates the ratings are maximum flow rates at 80 psi water pressure. I measured the flow on my Alsons 655CBX at 1.3 gpm by capturing output in a bucket for 30 seconds and doubling the measure to get the flow per minute at my Las Vegas residence. My old shower head (a ten year old Delta Monitor labeled at 2.5 gpm with one of the typical plastic removable flow restrictors) actually measured only about 1 gpm. The Alsons 655CBX feels like it puts out twice (or more) as much water as my old shower head even though it's only about 30% more by actual measurement. I just find it surprising that the 2.5 gpm labeled shower head measured 1 gpm while the 1.5 gpm shower head measured 1.3 gpm. I suggest you measure before and after installation to know what you're getting if you're concerned about water consumption. I also suspect that different designs may not react in the same proportion to changes in water pressure.What's not to like?1-The appearance is functional but not striking, inspiring or attention getting. If you want something to elevate your mood in the morning or to impress a house guest, this won't do it until you/they get in the shower and turn it on. Not that you expect fine art at this price point. Alsons was acquired by the same parent company as Delta. It seems that Alsons will be incorporated into Delta labeled products in 2012 according to an announcement by Delta. The Delta H2Okinetic product line features what seems like the same or similar engineering design as the Alsons Fluidics. I expect Delta has some more elegant and more expensive water conserving designs available for consideration in the H2Okinetic product line.2-The adjustment on the 655CBX shower head doesn't move it up and down quite as much my old one. Not bad but I keep the shower head aimed in the most downward position and it still sprays out further than I want. It shouldn't be a factor for 99% of installations and is only minor issue for me.

I bought this because our 14 year old grandson, who lives with us, insists on taking 45 minute showers every day. Our water bill has increased about $15/month since he has been living with us. I hope to save much of that money. My wife was very reluctant to replace our large Moen 2.5GPM head with this water saver. She likes the look and shower feel of the Moen.To me, the showering experience of this shower head is acceptable. It obviously doesn't put out the same volume of water as the Moen. It takes a little longer to remove the soap and shampoo. The water doesn't pool up in the bottom of the tub as it did with the Moen. It drains out as one showers. My wife says it stings a little. I haven't noticed that. The spray seems to pulsate as it comes out.The Alsons shower head is fairly large compared to other water saver shower heads, although it is not as impressive looking as the Moen it replaced.The installation was very easy. I used an adjustable wrench to remove the old head, applied 3 layers of Teflon tape and tightened slightly with the wrench.Hopefully, I will be able to leave this shower head installed and hopefully save some money each month.UPDATE 03/17/2011The connection where the head screws on the arm started leaking today. I had trouble with the adjustable wrench because the flat part of the shower head connection is too shallow and the wrench got stuck. I finally got it loose, but the connection was scratched. When I got the head loose, the rubber washer was deformed. I removed all of the Teflon tape from the arm, replaced the washer and applied more tape than had been on it. Hopefully it won't leak again. I used ChannelLock pliers to slightly tighten the connection. I figured that since it was already scratched, it didn't matter.

I purchased this shower head not because I live in a house with a septic system that is on it's last legs. In an effort to decrease water discharged into the drain field, I switched to a low-flow shower head. I chose this one based on the customer reviews and the price, and I'm glad I did. I was VERY slightly disappointed immediately after switching from my non-restricted shower head to this one, but after a week or so, I didn't really miss the old one. Aside from the Apollo re-entry capsule aesthetic, everything else is great! The 4 water outlet nozzles must have some type of diffuser inside causing the water to spread into a nice, even spray, and even add a little bit of massage type effect.I really didn't realize how much better this shower head is compared to the competition until I spend a weekend at my parents house. They also have a low-flow shower head (made by Delta) which left me longing for my own shower. Later on, my wife confirmed the same sentiments.Maybe the best part of all is the customer service at Alsons Corporation. Recently (after almost a year of use) the shower head began making a high-pitched whining noise during use. I inquired via email as to the cause of the noise and possible solution. Within 2 hours I received a reply email stating that the sound is caused buy a crack in an internal part, and that the shower head would be replace under warranty. Ten minutes later I had a new shower head shipped out to me.The reason that I did not subtract from the star rating due to the failed internal mechanism is because the customer service was stellar, and they promptly remedied the problem.