Using Faucet Cartridge Without Limiter

[DIYphilly2020]

Hello all and thank you in advance for the help. My bathtub faucet has been either providing lukewarm water or running low on hot water fairly quickly the last month or so. I think it was always cooler temperatures than other fixtures in the house, but it has become a problem recently. All other fixtures, if turned all the way to hot, provide "scalding" hot water.

I thought the problem may be the cartridge, so I changed out the Danco 10670 ceramic cartridge for a new one. Still have the same problem. I know the cartridge has a limiter for limiting the amount of hot water coming in, but the limiter is set as far as it will go for hot water. This was the case for the old cartridge as well.

During installation of the new cartridge, I noticed that if I remove the limiter and turn the handle just a little further than it would normally go with the limiter, the water from the faucet actually comes out at the temperature I want. However, the body of the cartridge has teeth on it that do NOT go all the way around, so the limiter cannot be positioned any further than it already is.

Two questions:

1. Other than for safety reasons, I assume there is no necessity for having the limiter installed on the cartridge for normal use?

2. If I remove the limiter from the cartridge and we continuously turn the handle beyond the "normal" rotation allowed by the limiter, will this damage the cartridge in the end? It rotates the shaft of the cartridge maybe an extra 15 degrees.

Thank you again!

 

[Jeff Handy]

Danco are knock-off cartridges, you should buy original manufacturer cartridges, or call company customer service for a free one.
Sometimes they are fine, sometimes they suck.

EDIT This is probably a Home Depot or Lowe’s house brand tub faucet, which are crap anyway.
I don’t even know if they offer free cartridges, you should call customer service.

Post some pics of the valve body in the wall.
You might have screwdriver slot shutoffs right there, and the hot side (usually left) might be partially closed, or clogged.

I have heard that Glacier Bay (HD junk) hot side shutoffs tend to clog with minerals, but turning the screw stop back and forth several times, then briefly turning house water back on to flush out loosened minerals, with the cartridge out, often fixes the low hot water flow.
This is a two person job, communicate by cell phone or by yelling or pounding on the floor, whatever.
To avoid a flood, or water running back into the wall.

You can leave the limiter off, just don’t crank hard on the stem to coax out hotter water.
As long as the cartridge still has its own stop at full hot.

Meanwhile, all this does not explain the gradually decreasing hot water.
Hopefully it is just the clogged hot side stop, if it has that.

What kind of water heater do you have?

It might need flushing or service.

 

[DIYphilly2020]

Jeff, thank you for the quick response. You're correct on all fronts. I purchased the house a few years ago and it already had the Glacier Bay faucet installed. I don't have the faceplate off right now, so took a photo of the back of the valve (GOBO brand?). I can confirm it has the shutoffs on either side at the front. I used them to shut down the hot/cold lines when replacing the cartridge. Both were open all the way, so not partially closed on the hot side. I'll have to try flushing out the minerals/clog on the hot side tomorrow to see if it helps. Is it possible the gradually decreasing hot water happened because the hot side clogged more and more over time to the point of eventually being at a minimum? If it was clogged all the way, why does it still provide really hot water when the handle is turned beyond the limiter?

 

[DIYphilly2020]

Jeff, follow up question. Since the hot water is coming from the hot water heater, to flush the line, can i just leave the cold water shutoff in the off position at the valve, leave the hot water shutoff in the off position at the valve, and then just open the hot water side to flush it without turning off the main house water? Would simplify things if it has the same effect.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Hot side cartridges and valves usually tend to clog up faster than cold.
Maybe because of minerals that settle out in the water heater, or because heat accelerates the chemical reactions, or both.

The pic of the back side does not show the stops, but I would try turning the hot screw stop back and forth while some water was flowing through, even at weak pressure, meaning having house water only partly turned on.

You can make a little skirt from foil or a trash bag, to guide the water into the shower and not behind the wall.
And having a helper at the house water shutoff helps to.
Communicate by cell phone. Or yelling, whatever.

A partially clogged hot supply stop will still provide fully hot water, but at less volume, less flow rate.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Yes, leave cold side shutoff right at the valve.
You might get better luck with the house water just partly open, then you can stand there and fully operate the hot shutoff several times, without getting soaked or flooding behind the wall.

Fully operating the hot shutoff might better grind up stuck minerals.

Two people are still a good idea.

 

[DIYphilly2020]

Thank you again! Will give it a try tomorrow. Just confirmed that without limiter, cartridge does have it's own internal stop so not an issue.

 

[Aloha Mark]

I use big 4 brand faucets (not GB), but a lot of them have wire screen filters at the two ports (on the rear of the cartridge) for hot and cold. Gludge and deposits from the hot water filter can clog the screen filter. Can we see a photo of the back of the cartridge and another one of the rough in assembly from the vantage point of the removed cartridge? If you are using the new cartridge, then ignore this question.

Assuming this is made oversees in a low cost country, there are probably rough edges in the brass that allows crud to be captured in the hot water route. You can use a pipe cleaner to feel around that area for debris. Jeff, when is it warranted to disconnect the hot water line to see what is happening inside the rough-in kit, where it is theorized the hot water flow restriction is happening?