GROHTHERM® SMARTCONTROL SINGLE FUNCTION 2-HANDLE THERMOSTATIC VALVE TRIM

Bought this to replace a Grohe that died after 15 years. WE LOVE IT. The bottom dial sets the temperature. Since my wife & I like the same water temperature, we set the dial once and we are done for the next 15 years. As soon as you turn the top dial to let the water run, it automatically goes to your preferred pre-set temperature. You can make it hotter or colder if you want, but most times it's set it and forget it. There are options to buy units with one setting (water on/off), two settings (hand held and shower) or three (hand held, shower, bathtub), so MAKE SURE YOU ORDER THE RIGHT ONE. Two complaints: 1) the dial that turns the water on/off could be bigger for those with arthritis or who need a larger thing to grab and twist. 2) the installation instructions are useless -- letters and pictures that meant nothing to me. Luckily, I had a plumber do the installation, so let him figure it out. All in all, though, this is a very good unit.

This review is for the Control Plate which is used inside a shower to control water flow and temperature. I need to be clear, here, that this control system requires a specific valve to function properly and the valve is terribly difficult to install, owing to a cheap/flimsy component on the front of the valve which is designed to be cut away and recycled after installation. Because it is disposable, the company makes it thin and easily breakable. It arrives broken quite often and they claim it doesn't matter, according to my installer, who contacted them for help. However, it does matter. In order to level the unit and set it into the wall with a perfectly round opening, you actually need that disposable piece to function properly, and it doesn't. So, this review, giving five stars, is for the control plate only. The valve is a four star valve owing to how difficult it was to install. On to the control plate.... The control plate for this shower system is quite lovely. It is well made and very simple with intuitive controls and and easy action on the control knobs. I would prefer not to have the temperature labels as, over time, it starts to feel like they are telling you that you have developed dementia. It really isn't that difficult for me, even at my age, to readily recognize controls and remember how to operate them without directional arrows and numerical labels. As such, I feel this portion of the design beginning to irritate me after just a week of use. Others have commented on it as well, finding it innocuous in the first days but, after a few days of use, finding it irritating. They should do away with this design feature as the vast majority do not require constant instruction of how to operate a shower, or, in the alternative, they should market this for people who have difficulty remembering. As an aside, this would work beautifully for a person with dementia, who is having difficulty remembering how to operate shower controls. As to a comparison of the action, I found that the smooth operation of the controls was on par with Delta and Moen, that is to say the action is excellent, both smooth and easy. As this is a control plate only, there is nothing else to review. The installation of the plate is easy, but, again, the installation of the valve is quite difficult, owing to a design flaw. If you opt for this wonderful control plate, please check your valve carefully, upon ordering it separately, to make sure it has no breaks or cracks. Were it not for the difficulty with that valve, I would recommend this to everyone. Because of that difficulty, I recommend this only to people working with experience installers who can work around flaws in the valve and still get it installed properly. Good luck in finding what will work for you and your family.

Our favorite and extremely competent handyman had no trouble installing an almost identical model of this in our other bathroom last year. This time, however, he had to redo the work entirely to get things to work properly, and go with a different model than he first thought would work. He mentioned that the instructions consist entirely of pictures, which he found very challenging. The takeaway is to be extremely careful about exactly which version you order, and also make very sure it will work properly with the required accessory parts. Now that it is successfully installed, it works great, and its anti-scald feature is much appreciated, as is the simplicity of simply turning one knob to start the water flowing, without disturbing the previously-set desired temperature.

I buy and install tons of Grohe products. nearly all of them get 5 stars from me. They are that good... Customer service is always first class as well. IN 25 yrs of installing Grohe, I only had to call in a few times, that says a LOT! First, the trim is every bit Grohe, finish is superb, design, superb. That is what Grohe is known for, so 5 stars there. The pix represent the product well. HOwever, much of this trim kit is unassembled, parts are not labeled well enough IMO, at least for a high end German product, and now, Grohe swtiched some components to plastic ! Grohe fixtures will out live you, so I hate to see more plastic components sneaking in, as plastic will not age like metal! Anyway, I am sure this is a cost saving measure, but I wonder if Grohe should go that route as they are the Rolls Royce of fixtures IMO. Also, for newbs, this is just the trim, not the rough in valve that is behind the trim, that needs to be purchased sepateratly, (GROHE Rapido SmartBox 35 601 000) — add $88. the trim should be installed square, but most good installers know this. I would not tackle a task like this if you are a DIY plumber. Remember, the wall is covered after installation, so any problems, u gotta hack through the wall to get to the valve. If new construction, and an outsie wall, try to place an access panel to the valve outside (assuming you dont live in a frigid area!), specially if you have solid paneling in the shower area such as quartz. When all assembled, its gorgeous, so most homeowners dont care about these details. But reluctantly, I have downgraded my typical 5 star review for the reasons mentioned....which for most people are a non issue. For installers, its an issue. The SafeStop feature is starting to be very commonplace on these valves, to prevent scalding. Will only allow you to go so far towareds hot, then, you press a button to pass this point to hotter, a nice safety feature.

I have had 2 plumbers out recently to give me a quote to install this shower handle. My current handle is an unidentifiable generic handle that the developer of my condo installed. I desperately want to change it because it's just so ugly. I've upgraded all of my other bathroom figures to Grohe and want a shower handle to match. I have the Grohe rough-in part, which is required for installation of this shower handle and I thought that would be enough. However it is not easy or cheap to get installed. I was quoted $2,000 by one plumber and $4,000 by another plumber because they would have to cut out tiles and then re-tile the shower. They both said that it wouldn't be an easy job and that they couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't turn into a bigger project, depending on what they found behind the wall. Apparently, this is completely normal. If you want to change shower handles, you need to pick the same brand as the original or it's extremely expensive. Since my current shower handle is unidentifiable, I am stuck with it unless I want to remodel my shower. When this pandemic is over and I can deal with the mess involved in re-tiling the shower, I will get this installed. I wanted to warn those shopping for shower handles that you absolutely need to make sure that you already have a Grohe shower handle or this could turn into a huge project. If you're remodeling your bathroom or buying new construction, insist that the developer uses fixtures from a company that you like. Allowing a developer to us a generic shower handle because it's cheaper will cause huge headaches in the future.

All Grohe items are packaged really nicely and they tend to include all the needed accessories and tubings. However, they have turned to using some plastic instead of all metal recently (almost everyone else is doing the same thing though). Something to beware when you buy this one is that you need to buy either their own universal rough-in box or any rough in box that works with this. I won't recommend anything other than Grohe though, unless you take the fixture with you to the store and assure it fits. Long story short, set aside another $100 for the rough in box. Installation is pretty typical if you have done this before but not an easy DYI. We ended up getting help from a plumber since we had a 10" rainshower head and two other fixtures being replaced too. Because of the two handle system, there's a good chance you'll have some leakage initially, so I strongly recommend getting a plumber that knows Grohe. Hopefully you wont need an extension but if you do, that's another 20 30 bucks. After install, everything else is amazing, the Starlight Chrome finish is really nice and in style. Having separate handles for pressure and temperature is a blessing that we are not that familiar with here in US but after you use it a few times, you cant go back to single handle anymore. It's way more convenient, specially in areas of the country with higher average temperature. The handles are protruding for a little more than 1.5 inch so its not much and easily to use. They are not as easy as our longer standard single handle ones we are used to but still relatively easy to use while in the shower. Overall, strongly recommend this if you're looking for a two handle European style. Great product all together.

First, do not attempt to install this assembly unless you are a professional plumber. I have replaced every faucet in my home, grew up with a general contractor, and used to work in construction. I spent most of my young life on job sites, and I’m no stranger to basic plumbing or repairs. In general, I have no problem following written instructions. This assembly has a required rough-in-set sold separately (GROHE Rapido SmartBox 35 601 000) —it currently sells for additional $88. Second, this fixture comes entirely unassembled. There are no less that 30 pieces in the box. That would not have been as much of an issue if said pieces were labeled (they are not) and the directions were clear (they are not) I included photos of the directions to give you an idea. Lastly, while the plate on this unit is high quality chrome, both knobs are made of PLASTIC. I could not believe that a shower assembly at this price point came with all plastic knobs. The assembly is made in Germany and is aesthetically beautiful, but I don’t foresee longevity in this fixture due to many plastic parts. I can’t recommend it in good faith.

This is my fourth and final faucet control that I've installed in my home. The other three are all of similar style and by GROHE. This one I installed in my garage/guest house where I recently had a shower put in, but it had a very basic and cheap faucet control. I decided to try and install this one myself as opposed to the last three that I had a relative do for me. I felt bad asking them to come out for a fourth time, so I figured I'd give it a try myself. Needless to say that it ended up being somewhat of a disaster. When I got all of the parts out, I didn't even realize that I had to assemble all of these pieces myself. I had figured that these came already pre-assembled for the most part, but I was dead wrong. The instructions are long and complicated, which only made things even worse for me. I never even got the faucet control fully put together before having to call back my relative for help. He also commented that these are a bit trickier due to the complicated assembly. He also said that most people are going to need a plumber to have it installed, so that's something to take into account before making a purchase. Once HE finished successfully installing it, it has worked very well just like the others. The separate knobs provide dual control between the flow of water and temperature, which the main reason I like this type of option by GROHE. The other three have held up really well so far and caused me no problems, so I expect that this one should do the same. Overall it's a great alternative to the traditional faucet control, but be sure you know what you're getting into before buying.