Moen 1225 Cartridge Replacement

[bds85466]

Greetings! First time poster. Thank you in advance for any advice.

I'm experiencing some issues with a tub faucet cartridge replacement 1225. The configuration is a pull out plastic knob, rotate for temperature mix.

About 2 weeks ago my tub faucet began to drip from the spout. Prior to the drip, ever since we've lived in the house (2012), the faucet had not been quite right -- there was a chronic condition where you would pull the knob out in neutral, good water pressure, but as you turn towards hot, the water flow drastically reduces. If you turn the knob all the way hot, there was barely any flow. Cold water pressure was/has always been fine. Didn't really require attention since the mix of hot/cold was fine for showers as long as you didn't need "all hot".

It was not until the unit started dripping did I feel the need to investigate. The leak/drip volume was a bit dependent on how the knob was rotated. You could toy with it to make it better/worse. I had even noticed now that the knob/cartridge had resistance to rotation as well as closing (pushing in). For example say you had the flow knob pulled 1/2 way out; as you rotated the knob in one direction, pressure was actually pushing the knob out! And if you tried to close the valve in that position it was extremely difficult. More concerning, there were some times where you would push the knob in and the pressure would not allow you, or sometimes even push the knob back out slightly. The solution was to find the right rotation to push the knob in, then adjust for the smallest drips.

At any rate, I figured this was a classic case of requiring a new cartridge for the unit. I went to my local hardware store and bought the Moen 1225 based on research and old packaging left in the bathroom cabinet. Back at home I removed the knob, trim, limit stop, washer, and the retaining clip. After using the white helper tool to loosen the existing cartridge, it pulled out just fine. No issues whatsoever. As I suspected, I pulled out an existing Moen 1225 cartridge.

Reinstallation was also uneventful, though it took me a few minutes to get the retaining clip back on just right. I did everything in reverse. I turned the water back on and all issues were fixed! No dripping, no reduced pressure on the hot side, no weird pressure on the knob. Everything seemed to be as it should -- and the push and pull of the knob was effortless compared to the older cartridge. Everything was wonderful.

Fast forward about 10 days after the installation; since, we used the faucet about once a day to draw our kiddo's bath, each time it worked as it should. While filling the tub last night, My wife indicates that she heard a small but distinguishable "popping" noise from the valve. All of a sudden, the exact symptoms experienced with the old cartridge was now happening with the new cartridge. Low flow on hot, strange pressure felt in the knob, difficult to get the valve to stop dripping.

I removed the cartridge to inspect the o-rings, etc, nothing looked damaged to my uneducated eye, and everything seemed to be in order. I cleaned out the cartridge housing and h/c inlets as best I could with a toothbrush, then turned the water back on in a short burst (using a bucket, of course!) to flush the valve. Reinstalled the cartridge, but the symptoms were still there.

I'm at a loss as to what I should do to solve this. I'll likely be purchasing a new cartridge and trying again, but I'm wondering if there's something that you can help me with short of calling a plumber. I'm really confused as to why it would work well for a period of time and then revert back to the exact same problems. Could it possibly be a defective one? Should I be using the 1225? or even revert back to the 1200 (house built in 1985)? Could my knob configuration be inherently off somehow (ie, the cartridge is being pushed in too far or something)? Anyway, any help is appreciated. Obviously not a plumber but somewhat mechanically inclined.

Thanks for your time

Brian S
Waconia, MN

 

[Matt30]

No need to keep purchasing a cartridge, Moen will mail you a new one. They are lifetime warranty.

I have gotten my fair share of defective 1225Bs this year., not with the same symptoms you are experiencing though. Contact Moen for a replacement.

 

[bds85466]

Thanks for the response/advice. I did call moen today, and then hung up after the hold time was estimated at 35 minutes. Left em an email with my sob story so we'll see what happens in the next 48.

 

[bds85466]

New cartridge enroute.

 

[Matt30]

Let us know how the replacement turns out

 

[bds85466]

So i got the replacement buuuut....

I got very curious as to the condition thinking it seemed to make sense that there was debris in the hot water line....

So before I got the replacement I actually tried to see if there was a way to inspect that first. I pulled the cartridge out again, and to my surprise it was very difficult to pull out. Keep in mind this was new only a couple weeks ago, greased when I put in.

After some needle nose vise grips and almost a hernia -- I got it out.

Took a look into the housing with a flashlight, and I could see a small black mysterious protrusion coming from the hot water side. I'm guessing o-ring/gasket type material. Probably had partially entered the cartridge hence making it difficult to pull out.

At any rate, I grabbed some forceps and tried to get at it -- no dice, didn't really have a good "pick" tool to go after it. And even so, pushing it back in would probably just allow it to come right back. Couldn't pull it through or break it up either.

So I tried a poor-mans back flush attempt.

1) turned off water main
2) closed hot water valve from water heater
3) opened basement utility sink hot line
4) left cartridge pulled out (but blocked by a bucket)
5) turned on water main, allowing cold water to gush out the cartridge housing
6) went back to the tub and stuck my finger into the gushing housing, blocking the water from coming out the front as well as blocking the hole to the spout. I definitely got sprayed from time to time trying to do this From here I could feel the pressure and cold flow moving through the housing from the cold side, through the hot side. I could also hear the water flowing out the basement utility sink hot line. So success.
7) did this for about as long as my finger could take the pressure (~about 2 minutes and i had a small hickey on my index finger from the hole going out to the spout).
8) turned everything off and inspected

No more black debris blocking the hot inlet! Put the cartridge back in, and it works as it should! No leaking or low hot side flow.

So fingers crossed I solved it for now. I did place a bucket in the sink down stairs to see if it caught anything on the way out, but didn't find any remnants (could've came out and went down the drain, or, there still may be a chunk of something floating around in the hot line, to be found in an aerator or back up at the tub sometime.

Either way, I'm happy to know what the root cause was and a good method to treat it. And I got another cartridge in case.