Shower Pressure and Temp. Problems

[Mr_David]

Any fixture or visible water piping near the problem area

 

[Mantis]

Got in late last night so didn't get around to testing the hot water by turning off the cold supply, will try to get to that tonight.

Yes there is piping, but there is alot of it and having trouble deciding which goes where. I'll have to do some trial and error by turning them off, one at a time. Unless of course there is a better way?

 

[Mr_David]

Got in late last night so didn't get around to testing the hot water by turning off the cold supply, will try to get to that tonight.

Yes there is piping, but there is alot of it and having trouble deciding which goes where. I'll have to do some trial and error by turning them off, one at a time. Unless of course there is a better way?

pictures ???

 

[Mantis]

Turned off the Cold Water and the Hot Water Pressure is not too strong, but there is hot water.

As far as pictures, my mother has my camera and does not remember where she put it. /sigh

So... lookin for that right now. Gonna see if I can borrow the "work camera" from my company today. If so (which I prolly can) I'll have some pics tomorrow.

Sorry for the delay.

 

[Mr_David]

Turned off the Cold Water and the Hot Water Pressure is not too strong, but there is hot water.


Sorry for the delay.

You did turn off the cold supply to just the water heater?
If it's a gate valve, it probably didn't shut off 100%.




No hurry. I have a regular job I get paid to to do.
It's been pretty busy lately.
This is just something I do when I can for free.
So I may not get back to you right away.

 

[Rebel1]

I believe you probably have a valve problem. I have come across valves where I have tried a couple cartidges and nothing works. What I found is that the hot and cold water are mixing causing the hot water to cool down. The only solution for this is to replace the valve. If the seats and springs are old this will cause the problem also. Hope this helps

 

[Rebel1]

I belive yuo might have a valve problem. I have come across some valves where I put in a couple of cartridges and still do not het hot water. What happens is the hot mixes with the cold and cools the hot water down. Also the seats and springs need to be replaced with every new cartridge. There is also a tempeture control setting on the cartridge that has to be adjusted. Hope this helps.

 

[Mantis]

Ok.. so two people think it's a value problem. How do I go about checking this. Not testing it through shutting off water here and there... I mean actually get my hands on this valve and look at it.

Is this something I should call a professional in for seeing I'm so inexperienced? Can this be dangerous at all to do it myself or even risky in the sense of causing a worse problem?

I like to do things myself to "learn", but I don't wanna create a bigger / more expensive problem either.

 

[Mr_David]

The valve is the unit that holds the cartridge. I suspect that it may gust be a faulty cartridge too, BUT I was trying to eliminate other possibilities. Unfortunately I can't see it.

 

[Mantis]

So your saying replaced an old cartridge with a new one that is faulty right out of the box?

 

[Mr_David]

pictures ???

before you spend money on a 2nd cartridge

 

[Mantis]

Sorry for the delay on the pics, I've been spending most evenings at my fiances place lately, and still have not found my camera. Work camera was taken out of town, but now that II think about it I can use my fiances smart phone, that takes pretty good pictures.

What is it that you want pictures of exactly? Do you want me to take it all apart... and take a picture at each step?

And just a thought, though I know little about all this stuff. It seems far fetched that I even if my brand new cartridge was in fact faulty, that the problem is EXACTLY the same... no better.. no worse. Which, wouldn't that imply that my brand new cartridge is exactly just as flawed as my old one and in the exact same manner? Maybe I just don't understand how it all works, but seeing the problem is no different in any way since the new cartridge, it leads me to believe the problem lies else where. Having a new cartridge (even if its faulty) being just as damaged, no more and no less, seems like pretty astronomical odds to me. But again, it might be my lack of understanding of the process and mechanics.

 

[Mr_David]

Thanks for all the great info. Slow.

I will ask the guy that helped install it if he knows if we replaced the seats and springs, but as I said before, I'm 100% sure the cartridge is all brand new.

But I'm somewhat certain the seats and springs are all new as well because we could not get the cartridge out of the "metal fitting", so we replaced all of it right to the copper pipe. But... I will double check with him next time I speak to him.

From the looks of your PDF files, I think I have the 1700 series. ?

I recently looked at 1700 series but did not have a cartridge to fix it.
I have the cartridge now waiting to return to finish the job.
It is possible the new cartrigde was damaged when the valve body was replaced if the cartridge was not removed before the valve was re-soldered back onto the pipes

Pictures of any visible piping near the problem

 

[Mantis]

Interesting, so you want pictures of the piping where it connects and pictures like the ones above?

 

[SlowDrip]

It is more likely that the cartridge is damaged towards the back (the side closest to the pipes), not the front as pictured above. If the cartridge was left in when the work was done it is possible that the o-rings or something else is melted.


One thing you can do is remove the cartridge and shake it, you should be able to hear a knocking sound. If there is no knocking sound then the pressure balance is damaged.

 

[Mantis]

Last night I was talking with my family, and they said they they have noticed a slight decrease in pressure in the downstairs shower now too. From what they say, it sounds like it's not as bad as the upstairs (the one I use most of the time). But I think it's weird that they should mention that all of the sudden.

I will still check the cartridge, but... does the above statement raise any flags?

No one seems to notice a change in pressure in any other fixtures yet though, but I think it's a lot easier to see the difference in the shower seeing pressure is more important that with a sink.

Just thought I would bring that up.

 

[SlowDrip]

If they are only noticing a slight change in pressure occasionally, it could be because someone else is using water elsewhere in the house. A pressure drop in that case is what you would expect to find in a modern shower (as opposed to a quick scald or freeze)

 

[Mantis]

Here are the pictures from my shower. Btw I shook the cartridge and there was in fact a knocking sound. I left the pictures large so you can see the details easier, sorry if it's annoying.

 

[Mr_David]

Yes there is piping, but there is alot of it and having trouble deciding which goes where. I'll have to do some trial and error by turning them off, one at a time. Unless of course there is a better way?

Awsome. You found your camera. Okay let's back up a little and forget about the cartridge for now. Take some pictures of the water heater and any visible piping near the problem area. That's what I've been trying to get you to take pictures of. Maybe I'll see something that will help solve this mystery.
Have to go do a job now. Your problem is just the kind of jobs I like to solve. It's unfortunate I can't just come over and take a look and go Ta Da!

 

[Mantis]

I actually used my fiances smart phone lol. Picture quality was surprisingly good. I can get pictures of the water heater this weekend, but as far as piping in the "problem area" the above picture is sort of the only thing accessible seeing it's a second story bathroom. The majority of the pipping is in the walls. There is alot of piping running through the basement ceiling, but I dunno if that would be considered the "problem area".

Is there anything in particular that I should look for? Any red flags that I should get a picture of?