Help: ISO shower valve that goes true cold in addition to regular hot
deb mackim
4 years ago
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Comments (13)
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Cold Showers are no fun! Tankless System
Comments (7)iF YOUR PLUMBER followed goverment regulations, your shower faucet will have a stop which limits the max temp of your shower. It does this by limiting the percentage of hot water that comes out when the faucet is turned all the way to hot. What that percentage is depends on the temp of your hot water AT THE TIME THE PLUMBER IS DOING THE ADJUSTING. If the temp is very high, you would get a very small volume of water flowing thru the hot water pipes when you have the faucet wide open and turned all the way toward hot. You would at the same time get a relatively large volume of water flowing thru the cold water pipe. This can be "fixed" by removing the temperature stop from your faucet. I have a 2400 sq ft single story house with the shower at the oposite end from the water heater and low water pressure. I get hot water in about 2-3 min. If your's takes 10 min you have other problems besides poor plumbing design. Another thing to check: Some single handle faucets will allow cross flow between hot and cold. When you turn on the faucet in your shower, hot water pressure drops more than cold due to restrictions thru the water heater and extra corrosion in the pipes. This can cause cold water to flow into your hot water pipes thru the faucet or shower in your other bath or kitchen. This is usualy easy to check and sometimes fix. Just turn the unused faucets all the way to hot or cold. If this is not possible, close one of the shut off valves under the unused faucet....See Morehot water runs cold after 5 min. Help please!
Comments (8)Success! After a long battle, we finally figured out the problem. It turns out, there was a bad check valve, near the recirculating pump that allowed the cold water to get into the system. the same check valve failed on both systems. We opened it up, and both of them were encrusted with calcium deposits and hard water debris not letting the valve close. Just for future reference to anybody with a similar problem here is how we tackled it: -We checked the dip tubes on both hot water heaters , and both of them were fine. -next, my plumbers isolated the hot water heater to make sure the heater was running properly. all checked out fine. -We turned off the radiant heat systems and bypassed them with the built-in valves. -My plumbers opened up each shower fixture and closed off the water valves to take those out of the equation. the hot water still ran cold. - Next, the plumbers removed the recirculating pump and checked the system. the water still ran cold. at this point it had to be the check valves, since nothing else would cause the cold water to come back into the system. - The plumbers then starting removing the check valves beginning with the one near the recirculating pump and discovered the broken valve. If this still didn't work, they would've kept going to check every check valve in the system(three total). the plumbers installed a temperature gauge to be able to see the change in water temperature. now the temperature holds solid and 120� when the hot water is turned on. I can't wait to take a piping hot long shower. Below is a picture of the plumbing system if you were curious. Two water heaters, one for each unit with the radiant heat manifolds. Radiant heat system by Warmfloors, Napa Ca Installation by AG Quality Plumbing San Francisco, CA(the best plumbers in San Francisco by far) Thanks all! Here is a link that might be useful:...See Moreneed help for parents: hot/cold water balance problem
Comments (9)Thanks for the additional thoughts. First, an update. I did replace the washers, inspect the seats, and replace the gland/packing material. The good news is that the leak was fixed, but the bad news is that balance problem persists. The pipes are copper, all 1/2". The cold side looks original (heavily oxidized exterior), but the hot side looks like it may have been replaced at some point (less oxidized). (Or maybe that is just from greater condensation on the cold?) The water is not hard, and there are no buildup problems elsewhere. It is indeed a two-handle faucet that looks very similar to the diagram to which you linked. I removed the shower head, and get a very strong flow from both the hot and the cold supplies (Many many gallons/minute). However, even with no head, turning the cold on just a bit kills the water temperature. It seems to me to be a balance/pressure problem, right? That the cold side has a higher pressure that suppresses the flow from the hot side? I contemplated patching in a pressure reducer on the cold supply to that bathroom, but did not do it. Does that sound like it would be in order? THANKS!...See MoreIs hot water needed for dishwasher, or does it heat cold water?
Comments (31)you’re either referring to the law (in Washington State, anyway) regarding rental properties, or you live in some place that has uber nanny legislators. And seriously? YOU don’t think YOU are smart enough to know what temperature YOU want YOUR hot water in your home? Any who, I don’t want the dishwasher to turn the electrical heating element on. Electricity (unless your using magnetic induction) is an inefficient way to heat water. It is better for my house to use hot water from my tankless HWH. I have a tankless HWH that will produce 190° hot water if I set it correctly. I have a dedicated line from the manifold that natal led between the heater and the Case Acme temperature regulator. I send 160° water to my dishwasher, and washing machine. (I also have a dedicated line that supplies 160° to a separate faucet on my sink that takes the place of the under sink contraption that crapped out a while back. (120° is the legal limit? Don’t tell InSinkerator. I doubt those gadgets they make can even go down to 120°.) I would use 180° water but I am afraid the water temperature alone might melt some plastic ware and also damage some synthetic fabrics. Here’s a thought, when it comes to how YOU choose to live in YOUR house, man up, and grow a pair....See More
deb mackim
4 years agodeb mackim
4 years ago
april
4 years agodeb mackim
4 years ago
K R
4 years agogirl_wonder
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
Angel 18432
4 years ago
badabing2
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago- PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
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