Shower wand mystery?

[zepper]

Hey guys,

I'm installing a shower wand in our new shower. The rod is in, so that's no problem:


However, there are no instructions, and there are a couple of mysterious things about it:


There's this brown plug at the end of the hose:


With the metal sheathing temporarily pulled away:


I thought it was a dust plug, but there's a hole all the way through it. So does it take the place of a washer, and should be left in? (Even though it's not flexible, but hard plastic?)

And there's this small white filter-looking piece, with a tiny gasket on its back side:


It doesn't actually fit into the brown "stopper". Am I supposed to put that in the hose before I connect it, e.g.:


Or maybe I'm supposed to remove the brown piece and fit the white one into the hose instead?

Finally, these two mysterious objects were included:


The gray one's the same diameter as the rod where it attaches to the wall, so I'm guessing it's for marking attachment points. Any idea what the black one is though?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Jeff Handy]

You made the mistake of buying weird off-brand stuff, this is what you get.

Look on Google for answers, put in your brand name and any model numbers or style names on your packaging.

Good luck ever getting repair or replacement parts in the future.

 

[Eddie_T]

The brown plug is probably a gasket and hose end flex protector. The white and orange gizmo has the appearance of a flow restrictor and may fit in the shower head before connecting the hose. I can't see all the box label, is the brand Rohl Boccini? If so it is a high end device and there should be some good customer service available..

 

[zepper]

You made the mistake of buying weird off-brand stuff, this is what you get.

This is actually our second wand. We got both at this specialty plumbing store in Vancouver that, for the last 60 years, has been owned and operated by a family of working plumbers. The owner personally helped us, and my wife and I chose the first wand—one of those "on-brand" ones you mentioned—on his recommendation, along with our other new shower parts.

When we got back to the house, we found the wand's height mechanism was defective. Our house is up on BC's coast, a 40-minute ferry trip from Vancouver (plus a drive halfway across town to the shop)—so because I had to return it from such a distance, the owner gave us this nicer, considerably more expensive one for the same price.

It's obviously better-made than the first one (e.g. it has all steel parts, where the first one was partly plastic), and is a sturdy, good-looking product. Bossini, the company that made it (website here) has been around a long time, has an international reputation for quality, and has an extensive line of fixtures, many of them pretty high-end.

Unfortunately, as I mentioned, it came without instructions. I'd never encountered this particular design, and wanted to install it correctly. Because it was after-hours when I realized this, I thought I'd post here in case anyone had a quick answer ("wife points" were involved too).

If you have nothing better to do than criticize the hardware people are trying to use properly, maybe you need more constructive things to do. Or maybe the admin here could set you up with your own little corner of the forum where you could post your critiques of anything you wished. Then the rest of us could address problems and share advice with fewer distractions... Just an idea.

Look on Google for answers, put in your brand name and any model numbers or style names on your packaging... Good luck ever getting repair or replacement parts in the future.

Yeah, thanks again.

The brown plug is probably a gasket and hose end flex protector. The white and orange gizmo has the appearance of a flow restrictor and may fit in the shower head before connecting the hose. I can't see all the box label, is the brand Rohl Boccini? If so it is a high end device and there should be some good customer service available..

Thanks, I appreciate it. I've gotten hold of the store owner meanwhile and figured everything out. I'm always glad to know I can come here, though (occasional negative responder notwithstanding), and have recommended HRT to many friends seeking help. Cheers!