What is the difference between a thermostatic valve, stop valve, and mixer?
A thermostatic valve controls temperature only and cannot control volume or shut off the water in any way. Typically this valve would be used in combination with one or several stop (volume) valves. A stop valve, also called a volume control or volume valve, only controls the flow of the water and does not control temperature. Typically, stop valves are used in combination with a thermostatic valve, so that several different functions (i.e. showerhead, hand shower, and tub spout) can be turned on at the same time if needed, and at the same temperature. Also, one stop valve can be used to control the hot water and one for the cold water, in which case the user can set the desired temperature by simply adjusting each handle. In this application, no thermostatic valve would be needed, since hot and cold water are each set using their designated handle. A single-lever mixer controls both temperature and volume in one handle. Usually the handle would move up and down to control volume and w
