Plumbers & DIYers - help - no hot water in the shower, but everywhere else is fine.

[Zeze]

TL;DR-

• Moved to a new house
• Master bath shower head has no hot water. It's the dial handle one. When you dial it all the way to the left (hottest), the water flow reduces by half. I'd assume this is because cold water is closed off (mostly or full?) and there is just no hot water.
• Same bathroom and all other faucets and showers have perfectly fine hot water.
• Same goes for the separate tub in master bath - hot water comes out just fine.
• I've removed the shower head and as I suspected, that has nothing to do with it.

Why would just one shower head not produce hot water?

Moved from OT.
admin allisolm

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Likely cause for stuff like this is the cartridge. Remove and replace with a new cartridge and see if you still have the issue

In my experience this typically happens in bathrooms that don't get used often... so in our case, the guest bathrooms.

 

[Zeze]

Likely cause for stuff like this is the cartridge. Remove and replace with a new cartridge and see if you still have the issue

Before I open it up, how do I know for sure that this is the cartridge type and not others?

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Before I open it up, how do I know for sure that this is the cartridge type and not others?

Not an expert plumber here - so I'm not even aware of a type that doesn't have cartridge...

Regardless, replacing the cartridge would definitely be the first place I would look.

 

[sdifox]

Before I open it up, how do I know for sure that this is the cartridge type and not others?

Eh? Unless you are in a heritage house, it should be a cartridge mixer. Turn off water and open it up to take a look.

 

[highland145]

The rental had a moen kitchen faucet leaking around the o rings (13 years old). Home depot was a bust. Called plumber bro, he said there are a lot of different ones, even within the same company. I had to take a pic of the faucet, called moen and text it to them while I had the rep on the line. She knew the line right off and sent me the whole kit. So...it may not be a quick trip to the hardware store.

 

[bbhaag]

The rental had a moen kitchen faucet leaking around the o rings (13 years old). Home depot was a bust. Called plumber bro, he said there are a lot of different ones, even within the same company. I had to take a pic of the faucet, called moen and text it to them while I had the rep on the line. She knew the line right off and sent me the whole kit. So...it may not be a quick trip to the hardware store.

I was thinking the same thing. A year and a half ago when we moved into our new house the hot side on the tub had a leaky cartridge. I looked high and low for a brand or model # on the faucet itself but couldn't find one even when I removed the access panel.
Thankfully when my wife was cleaning under the sink in the bathroom she found the manual for it which had the brand and model # on it because without that info trying to find the exact one would have been impossible because there are probably hundreds of different types out there.

 

[Greenman]

By new house do you mean new to you, or an actual new home?
If it's a new home, the valve might have shutoffs built in. Pull the cover off and look for a large screw at each inlet. The hot one might have never been turned on.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Some debris may have gotten in somewhere in the valve. Might just be the thing of taking it apart and you might be lucky to find something. When the pipe was installed and being passed through newly drilled holes it's common for it to pickup a bit of saw dust.

 

[bbhaag]

By new house do you mean new to you, or an actual new home?
If it's a new home, the valve might have shutoffs built in. Pull the cover off and look for a large screw at each inlet. The hot one might have never been turned on.

New to us, the home was constructed in 2011.

 

[Greenman]

New to us, the home was constructed in 2011.

Then ignore my advice, not the problem.

 

[Raizinman]

Our master shower has two mix valves (for two people showering). I replaced my mix valve a few years ago. The flow for low and hot water was starting to fade. I had to break up the tiles and then cut out the old valve (copper piping). Since I was already into the shower wall, I purchased a shower spa ($250) at Home Depot and connected this into my shower. Wow, showering now has a new meaning. I also upped the half inch to 3/4 inch piping to my shower so that I have 6 gallons per minutes coming out of the shower head. Yes, my water bill has increased a bit, but its worth it.

 

[feralkid]

TL;DR-

• Moved to a new house
• Master bath shower head has no hot water. It's the dial handle one. When you dial it all the way to the left (hottest), the water flow reduces by half. I'd assume this is because cold water is closed off (mostly or full?) and there is just no hot water.
• Same bathroom and all other faucets and showers have perfectly fine hot water.
• Same goes for the separate tub in master bath - hot water comes out just fine.
• I've removed the shower head and as I suspected, that has nothing to do with it.

Why would just one shower head not produce hot water?

Moved from OT.
admin allisolm

Is it a newer shower valve? Sometimes the "anti scald" adjustments can be out of whack (for reasons related to the former owner).

 

[Zeze]

Thanks guys I haven't even had a chance to look at this further - it's insanely bz here.

I'll report back soon.