We have a unit upstairs in a 4-plex. There is one shared water heater and the other units don't have any issues, but hot water recently stopped working in this apartment. Rarely water might get hot or warm but goes cold again. When the plumbers came and we played around with the fixtures we found out that the sink in the bathroom would get hot if the shower was on. When we turned off the shower/tub water the sink lost heat. I believe it was the same with the kitchen sink, but I could not figure out when or how to get the shower hot. The plumbers were also dumbfounded but one thought something was wrong with the shower cartridge so we replaced the entire faucet set including the rough in valve with another delta single handle set. I'm not sure how that would effect the other fixtures, but regardless it did not help.
Also we noticed that the shower handle was installed backwards once again (part of the reason the plumber thought it was the cartridge) i.e. the valve is off when it is supposed to be hot and vice versa, but how could that be causing, or allowing the other fixtures to get hot water? Won't reversing the valve still mean that the other fixtures will still be dependent on that valve when they should be independent from it?
We've already called several of the best plumbers around, and no one seems to know what's going on. The possible explanations make sense individually but not together. The water heater can't be broken because there CAN be hot water. If something is wrong with the way things were piped, why would the problem only occur now after so many years? The fact that the sink gets hot when the shower is on is what I think confuses most people. I will try playing around with the temperature limiters, but I assume it will not help, because again, why would one fixture affect the other ones?
I hope someone can provide some sense or help us troubleshoot the problem. We've already spent quite a deal of time and money and our tenants are getting annoyed. Thanks!
Also we noticed that the shower handle was installed backwards once again (part of the reason the plumber thought it was the cartridge) i.e. the valve is off when it is supposed to be hot and vice versa, but how could that be causing, or allowing the other fixtures to get hot water? Won't reversing the valve still mean that the other fixtures will still be dependent on that valve when they should be independent from it?
We've already called several of the best plumbers around, and no one seems to know what's going on. The possible explanations make sense individually but not together. The water heater can't be broken because there CAN be hot water. If something is wrong with the way things were piped, why would the problem only occur now after so many years? The fact that the sink gets hot when the shower is on is what I think confuses most people. I will try playing around with the temperature limiters, but I assume it will not help, because again, why would one fixture affect the other ones?
I hope someone can provide some sense or help us troubleshoot the problem. We've already spent quite a deal of time and money and our tenants are getting annoyed. Thanks!
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