Posted: 3/12/2011 9:09:44 PM EDT
I hope someone can shed some light on this...it's a serious plumbing question and not the "laying the pipe" type plumbing question 
All of a sudden there's no hot water coming out of the shower head. There is hot water coming out of the lower faucet, but when I pull the knob to have the water come out of the shower head it's only lukewarm. I pulled off the shower head and tried it again, this time hot water was coming out of the straight pipe. I figured something was gunked up in the shower head and I've been wanting to replace it anyway, so I installed a new one and the problem is still there. Where does the hot water go? The day before this happened the pipes were knocking, but went away later that day. I plan on hitting up Home Depot tomorrow, just wanted to see if someone can give me a better idea of what's going on before I get suckered into spending more money than I should at the store. Thanks! |
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Quoted:
do you have a tankless water heater? On mine when i activate the head the pressure spike makes the heater shut off then turn back on causing a temporary gap of warm water? Nope, just a regular water heater. In fact, it's less than a year old since the last one crapped itself in our garage. |
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To make sure I understand the question, you had luke warm water coming out of the shower head, but when the diverter on the tub spout is not pulled up and the mixing valve is set to the same temp, it is hot?
If I have that right, that is strange. They make shower heads with anti-scald devices in them, but they just have thermostatic springs in them, should the temperature reach beyond a certain temp, say 120, they shut the flow off. What brand of tub/shower faucet is it? pic? My only guess, and it is a stretch, is that back pressure, from the restriction of the shower head, is playing havoc with the pressure balancing portion of your tub/shower faucet. |
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Quoted:
To make sure I understand the question, you had luke warm water coming out of the shower head, but when the diverter on the tub spout is not pulled up and the mixing valve is set to the same temp, it is hot? If I have that right, that is strange. They make shower heads with anti-scald devices in them, but they just have thermostatic springs in them, should the temperature reach beyond a certain temp, say 120, they shut the flow off. What brand of tub/shower faucet is it? pic? My only guess, and it is a stretch, is that back pressure, from the restriction of the shower head, is playing havoc with the pressure balancing portion of your tub/shower faucet. I don't know all the technical terms, but yes, that is what's going on. The brand name on the old shower head is Price Pfister, but like I said it also shoots out lukewarm water in the newly installed shower head. I heard some knocking pipes while taking a shower this morning, I'm gonna try dealing with that issue first to see if it remedies the situation. |
| Do you have a single handle faucet? Many single handle faucets have a pressure balance design these days and there could be an issue with the cartridge. The flow restrictor in your showerhead, if there is one, reduces the pressure output of the cartridge, and may cause the malfunction. It could also be a malfunction caused by the backpressure from the diverter. |
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Yes, it's a single handle design.
So I gingerly took the faucet apart, and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with my untrained eye. The cartridge seemed fine, then again this is the first time I laid eyes on it. No buildup on the cartridge. My wife takes apart the diverter and not knowing how to put it back together, she hands it to me in pieces. Typical. I was somewhat familiar with the re-installation from when it fell apart on me over a year ago, but now no water gets diverted to the shower head. The water just goes past the diverter and sprays out the spout. I didn't do anything different and even compared it to the other diverter in our 2nd bathroom. So it may be the diverter after all. So we've decided to get a new shower faucet set because we've grown tired of the old, gold colored ones. Hopefully the replacement of the old parts will fix things. |
#1 is the pressure balancing portion of most Price Pfister tub/shower faucets. That is the only item I can think of that would do as you describe. If you change out the parts, be sure to post a follow up. Also, Price Pfister warrants their faucets for life as well. 1-800-pfaucet While I am not a huge fan of their faucets, they do stand behind them fairly well. |
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Quoted:
Jake, I really appreciate that info. We bought a new Price Pfister shower faucet set. I replaced everything, to include parts 1 thru 4 from the diagram and it now works at it should! It really wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be. Thanks! They would have given them to you free. You might want to send the bad ones in and get spares, as it will save time next time. 
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