Any way to bypass Delta anti-scald shower valve?

[quaco]

I have a Delta Monitor 13/14 shower valve. It's a single-handle type and works OK. The only problem is it has an anti-scald protection on it, so when you turn it to be hotter, it gives you less water. I've got it set sort of a happy medium (still gets hot but doesn't cut the pressure too much), but I wish it could be bypassed altogether.

I'm renting, so I've been hesitant to switch to a different shower valve altogether. I've seen some videos of people pulling out the cartridge and drilling through the plastic on the "hot" side of the valve, to make a hole so more water will come through that side. Have you had any luck with that? Any other possible solutions?

Thank you!

The cartridge looks like this. The white disc at the top is the adjustment.

 

[Geofd]

You can't legally alter that valve,not sure if you can physically either you can't bypass it either,someone could get burned, you are also a renter, not the owner

 

[Twowaxhack]

Turn the hot water temp up. That'll fix your problem or make it better. It’ll balance the hot vs cold load better and get you in the max volume range of the valve while meeting the mixed temp requirement. If your cold water temp varies through the year you may need to make slight temp adjustments to the hot water.

If you can tell me what your typical COLD water temp is, I can tell you what temp to set your water heater to give you a more equal mix between hot and cold in order to get a 110 degree mixed shower.

Typically at normal hot water temps you’re always going to be using more hot water than cold to achieve a shower temp.

But it depends on several factors. How hot your hot water is, how cold the cold water is and what temp you like your showers. Most people like 105-110.

There is a non pressure balanced cartridge available for that faucet but that wouldn’t solve your problem.

 

[quaco]

Turn the hot water temp up. That'll fix your problem or make it better. It’ll balance the hot vs cold load better and get you in the max volume range of the valve while meeting the mixed temp requirement. If your cold water temp varies through the year you may need to make slight temp adjustments to the hot water.

...

There is a non pressure balanced cartridge available for that faucet but that wouldn’t solve your problem.

I thought about that idea of turning the hot temp up, but every time I've done that, the kitchen faucet gets pretty hot when doing dishes etc. Maybe there's a good balance though.

Is the non-pressure-balanced cartridge the same as this one, but just straight, no restricting the flow when it's turned to the hotter side? Why wouldn't that solve the problem? Seems like that would be a great idea.

Thanks you guys for the responses so far

 

[Twowaxhack]

The pressure being balanced is not the problem.

The problem is you’re having to use a lot more hot water than cold to reach your ideal shower temp.

Because you’re using more hot water the volume of your shower is reduced.

If you increased the temp to about 130 it would create a more even mix between hot and cold.

Maybe you need to space your showers out, maybe you’re running out of hot water and you’re having to use all hot.......this would reduce your flow volume.

 

[Twowaxhack]

A non pressure balanced cartridge would only act different if either your hot or cold was restricted in some way.

For example, if you had a non pressure balanced cartridge and someone flushed a toilet the cartridge would NOT match the reduced flow of the cold on the hot side and would NOT keep your shower temp to within + or - 3 degrees.

Or if you had very low hot pressure with a non pressure balanced cartridge you would be able to get more cold water volume out of the faucet than hot side.

What’s your cold water temperature?

What’s your hot water temp ?

Answer those two questions if you’d like me to continue.

 

[quaco]

A non pressure balanced cartridge would only act different if either your hot or cold was restricted in some way.

For example, if you had a non pressure balanced cartridge and someone flushed a toilet the cartridge would NOT match the reduced flow of the cold on the hot side and would NOT keep your shower temp to within + or - 3 degrees.

Or if you had very low hot pressure with a non pressure balanced cartridge you would be able to get more cold water volume out of the faucet than hot side.

What’s your cold water temperature?

What’s your hot water temp ?

Answer those two questions if you’d like me to continue.

Ah, yeah pressure balanced isn't the problem. Now I see what you mean. I'll see if I can figure out the temperatures, maybe I'll buy a thermometer.

It doesn't have to do with running out of water because it happens on the first shower. The anti-scald cartridge just limits the water flow when you turn it to 'hot'. I guess it's a safety feature.

 

[quaco]

You can't legally alter that valve,not sure if you can physically either you can't bypass it either,someone could get burned, you are also a renter, not the owner

The owner has been open to me making various changes around the place, so maybe he would be OK with me changing out the cartridge. I will look into that. THanks

 

[rhr4223]

What you should do is call Delta, (Tel. 1-800-345-3358). That shower valve is guaranteed for life, and I believe you will find them to be most helpful. They may ask you some questions to try to determine the age of the valve, but I believe that they will send you a new cartridge. You also might want to check with the owner to make sure he's okay with you doing that, and he may decide to do it for you. It's about a 20–30-minute job to change the cartridge.

 

[quaco]

What you should do is call Delta, (Tel. 1-800-345-3358). That shower valve is guaranteed for life, and I believe you will find them to be most helpful. They may ask you some questions to try to determine the age of the valve, but I believe that they will send you a new cartridge. You also might want to check with the owner to make sure he's okay with you doing that, and he may decide to do it for you. It's about a 20–30-minute job to change the cartridge.

Thank you - full disclosure, it is a new cartridge because I already called about an earlier leaking one. They were helpful as you say and sent me a replacement. I installed the new one (easy process, though it was a bit stuck at first), and it's working fine. But I don't really like the lessened water pressure when you turn it hotter, so I wanted to look into changing that.

 

[Twowaxhack]

The faucet starts off all cold as you turn the handle on.

then as you keep turning you get to a point where the hot and cold are equally being mixed. Usually that’s full volume but it’s not the right temp, it’s usually too cold for a shower or bath.

As you keep turning counterclockwise you soon start to cut the flow down as you’re getting way more hot than cold water.

If your hot water isn’t very hot then you’ll need to use more of it to meet the target shower temp.

So by increasing the temp of the hot water you use less hot water and more cold to meet the target shower temp.

This allows you to hit that high flow center range between hot and cold.

Or you can move up to the 1700 series cartridge and trim so you’ll have independent control over flow volume and temp. You would just buy the 1700 series trim kit and it comes with a cartridge.

 

[Twowaxhack]

This trim kit would solve your problem. It comes with the cartridge and has independent temp control and independent volume control.

It will fit your rough valve if the cartridge you posted above fits the valve.
https://www.build.com/product/summa...VBsmUCR18RA9nEAQYASABEgL0ivD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.dsIt comes with everything you need.

 

[quaco]

The faucet starts off all cold as you turn the handle on.

then as you keep turning you get to a point where the hot and cold are equally being mixed. Usually that’s full volume but it’s not the right temp, it’s usually too cold for a shower or bath.

As you keep turning counterclockwise you soon start to cut the flow down as you’re getting way more hot than cold water.

If your hot water isn’t very hot then you’ll need to use more of it to meet the target shower temp.

So by increasing the temp of the hot water you use less hot water and more cold to meet the target shower temp.

This allows you to hit that high flow center range between hot and cold.

Or you can move up to the 1700 series cartridge and trim so you’ll have independent control over flow volume and temp. You would just buy the 1700 series trim kit and it comes with a cartridge.

OK very helpful, thank you for going through that and I see what you mean. I appreciate it.

 

[MisawaGuava]

I believe I've got the same setup and find this anti-scald device pretty frustrating. My water heater is pumping out very hot water but the best I can do in this shower is luke warm. I can either adjust the device so I get an ice shower (I want that once in a while) or barely hot. Or I can get a warmer shower but no cold. I want the ability to have both, a hot shower or a cold shower.

My plan now is to try to set it to get a hot shower in the winter, with the ability to have a cold shower in the summer.

Not sure if I'm making any sense but I'm just glad I found this forum. This shower has been driving me crazy for two years now!

 

[havasu]

Yeah, my Delta valve outdoor shower has been problematic. I over adjusted the hot side, and was afraid the grandkids would scald themselves. I recently adjusted the valve back, and now even full hot, you won't get scolded. Now that the weather is getting colder, I need to go back in one more time and give it a little bit more hot, for those cold mornings.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Post pictures of the faucet and I will post solutions.