piggyback

Perhaps the unspoken reason your wanting a flow/temp valve is because
they look neat over the sink--not a reason I would poke fun at because
such a reason was among several at play when I got mine. I have an old
Power unit, paid $100 for it quite a few years ago, and it was old even
then.

Don't know what used ones go for now, but I know they are available, a
la ebay, various net groups, etc.

NOt incidentally, while admitting my minimal needs are frivolous
justification for the valve, it is nice to have and it does work.

Anyway, don't let the Calvanist darkroom puritian monsters among us stop
you from indulging yourself; you, like me, deserve it. Go for it!! :-)

Yeah pretty much ready for it after processing one roll -- once I realized
what my water bill and electric bill were going to be in the next 12 months
I figure even a $500 controller would pay for itself within 24 months (~$20
a month) even at moderate to low use. An old darkroom guy (what is the
correct term for them?) once told me it's all about controlling your
process. So to that end it's going to speed up mixing chemicals, running
temp baths, washing. When time is the enemy the last thing I need is to be
waiting and worrying about the water temp. So to that end there's an
aggravation factor which gives flow/temp control a value too. No I don't
really want to spend $500 right now. Quick and dirty will do. I'm
contemplating building my own using solenoids and a PIC or STAMP
microcontroller. It would be a neat project, multiple thermometers, I'm
estimating the cost could be less than $200 for the DIYer. The tankless are
a neat idea (I've looked into them for my house) but with the temp
controller added on their cost about $800 to $1000 and then you need to pull
a 50 to 100 amp circuit or run gas lines, and they're noisy. Not practical
in my case.