I've installed a single lever shower mixer with lever type tub diverter mounted just under
The mixer arm on the faceplate. I decided to run a second shower head off the tub diverter
Out port. The idea seems sound yet I am not getting a good response from the installation.
When I turn the diverter from tub to shower the heads in use don't completely stop working.
Is it possible that a tub diverter valve can't handle the back pressure from a shower head but can from a tub spout? Please help me out as I don't want to try the logical solution of replacement if the application won't ever work.
Thank you,
Paul46

Are you using a diverter spout with a side outlet to supply the second shower head? I find this sentence confusing. "When I turn the diverter from tub to shower the heads in use don't completely stop working."
Did you mean that when you switch from shower to tub the shower heads still have pressure?
Even more confusing is the fact that if you have a internal diverter located inside the valve body when you divert to a shower head it shuts the pressure off to the spout so how do you get pressure out of it when both diverters are activated? What am I missing? Regards, Tom

I used a single lever shower / tub valve with a cover plate that hosed a small lever for
switching between tub and shower. My client wanted to use two heads in her shower and I thought this would be a great method to meet her needs. I placed the over head shower
on the tub spout outlet and the hand held shower on the shower spout out let on the top of the valve. Everything soldered up nice and the assembly is fine. I guess the real question is...
is running a two head system off a shower/tub valve cool? Or is the back pressure on the tub spout side (when activated) too much to keep all water flow redirected.
I didn't want to replace the valve if the problem would re occur?
Can this type of a application work? I have asked a number of people and the are unsure.
Please let me know your thoughts.

Ps. The application is placed in a single slab 6' x 4' feet of marble. To modify the installation further is possible but problematic and costly.

I am like Tom I am not sure what you are asking but I am going to take a stab at it. Are you wanting to run the two shower heads at the same time or do you want to run one at a time. If the answer is two I think the diverter can withstand the back pressure OK. If you are trying to run one at a time use a shut off valve at each shower head and then open the valve to which ever you want to use.

I don't think ths answered you question but it is all I could read into it.

Thank you for your responses. I want to run each shower head separately. I want the
Shower diverter lever to be able to switch back and forth to the active shower head. Can the diverter valve handle keeping each shower head separate with no water passing through to the inactive head? (The inactive head would be the shower head the diverter valve is not
Turned to), on my mixer cover plate the shower diverter lever has a label which reads... tub / shower. I want to only use one shower head at a time. I am getting water out of each head when I'm switched over to either tub or shower. Thanks
Paul

" I placed the over head shower on the tub spout outlet and the hand held shower on the shower spout out let on the top of the valve."

You swapped the regular shower head down to the tub spout and installed the hand held shower where the shower head normally goes?
Now I'm really confused. Before we take this any farther I want to know your reasoning behind this and how it was accomplished since the shower head raiser is located inside the tile wall. Logically you would leave the shower head coming out of the wall and install the hand held 0ff the spout.
My question still remains. What am I missing here? Regards, Tom

Tom,
You are missing the fact that it was a brand new application. The valve and new plumbing where installed prior to the slab marble wall placement. I think you are hung up on which outlet the shower heads are operated from: does that matter in a new shower application? My question still remains... Is there a reason why a tub/shower diverter lever located on the shower trim (not the tub spout pull type) will not successfully operated separate heads when engaged to do so.

The problem may have come for you in understanding my question with a plural on: head(s)
In the very first asked question; Sorry about the typo! The plan is to run 2 shower heads, one at a time and I felt this idea was better than adding a separate diverter valve in the shower wall. The marble is beautiful and the home owner wanted the least intrusions on the stone as possible to preserve the look.

I am getting back flow when one or the other head is engaged... is this just a bad cartridge or valve?
Paul46

I know this was 4+ years ago, but how did this ever work out? I am planning on doing the same thing: Standard shower head/shower hose on the wall AND a Rain Shower type shower head in the ceiling and want only one flowing at a time