plumbing question.....

[Gibson486]

straight to cliffs:

-Apt has no problem getting hot water....
-For some reason, showerhead has hard time getting hot water, while the faucet in tub (or any other place for that matter) does not.
-what could be causing this?

 

[waffleironhead]

So your tub spout has plenty of hot water coming out, but then when you divert to the shower head it has no/low hot water? Are you saying the temp drops(strange0 or that the flow drops?

Low flow at shower head could be a clogged head(mineral deposit) or a low flow head. Replace shower head to a new one or hold a cup of vinegar or clr up to sower head and soak for a long time to remove minerals blockage.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
So your tub spout has plenty of hot water coming out, but then when you divert to the shower head it has no/low hot water? Are you saying the temp drops(strange0 or that the flow drops?

Low flow at shower head could be a clogged head(mineral deposit) or a low flow head. Replace shower head to a new one or hold a cup of vinegar or clr up to sower head and soak for a long time to remove minerals blockage.

temp. drops.

 

[olds]

Has it always been like this?

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Has it always been like this?

yes. It's my mom'a apt and the previous tenant has always complained about it. The building is really new also. I am just trying to fix it up before I move out.

 

[SunnyD]

Haha, to this point this thread sounds like a doctor's line of questioning.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Has it always been like this?

yes. It's my mom'a apt and the previous tenant has always complained about it. The building is really new also. I am just trying to fix it up before I move out.

Is it a shower tub combo or a stand alone shower?

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
Has it always been like this?

yes. It's my mom'a apt and the previous tenant has always complained about it. The building is really new also. I am just trying to fix it up before I move out.

Is it a shower tub combo or a stand alone shower?

combo

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
...
combo

There should be no reason for this to happen.
Once you have water coming out of the tub spout, you pull up the diverter handle and the water flows up a pipe and out the shower head. A clogged shower head would cause a restricted flow but not a temperature drop.

I guess it's possible that they now have shower heads that adjust temperature to prevent scalding but I have never seen one. I could see their use when one might be afraid of being sued, like in a rental unit.

I'd take the shower head off and check the water coming out.

 

[IGBT]

..I'll bet it's one of those POS low flow heads the eco-theists mandated like the low flow toilet you have to flush many times and choke with a plunger to make the turd go away.

 

[Old Hippie]

I guess it's possible that they now have shower heads that adjust temperature to prevent scalding but I have never seen one.

Yep. Anti-scald mixing valves come in whole house and shower flavors. The ones I've used have been built into the shower's diverter.

Remove the diverter handle, and there will be a stem that unscrews. They're usually pretty long with "O" rings and other pieces. Similar to a regular facet, but on a bigger scale.

These can be rebuilt or replaced.

 

[jonks]

*immature snicker at thread topic summary

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Pressure balancing valves would have nothing to do with this, because every single one of them mixes the water before it goes to the shower head. Every shower valve made since at least the 70s is pressure balancing.

The problem described makes no sense. It's as if you are saying that the tub faucet and the shower head are on separate water lines.

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: SphinxnihpS
Pressure balancing valves would have nothing to do with this, because every single one of them mixes the water before it goes to the shower head. Every shower valve made since at least the 70s is pressure balancing.

The problem described makes no sense. It's as if you are saying that the tub faucet and the shower head are on separate water lines.

That's why I am asking. It makes no sense to me either.

 

[nakedfrog]

How do you switch the water to the shower? Is it another knob or a lever or what?

 

[Gibson486]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
How do you switch the water to the shower? Is it another knob or a lever or what?

its a lever (I guess you can call it a peg) you lift on the faucet. It's just a standard thing you would find in most showers.

 

[skrilla]

My shower has the same problem.

I recently had a new shower kit installed. The shower control is a single lever pretty close to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Price-Pf...qid=1206980744&sr=8-10

When you turn the lever, it starts with cold, and the more you turn it, the more hot water mixes in (I believe). But for some reason you can only turn the lever so far... and the water comes out lukewarm most of the time. Maybe its just bad design. I dunno... maybe you have a similar issue.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: Gibson486

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
How do you switch the water to the shower? Is it another knob or a lever or what?

its a lever (I guess you can call it a peg) you lift on the faucet. It's just a standard thing you would find in most showers.

Yes. All that does is block the flow of water out of the faucet, causing it to rise up the shower stem to the shower head. This is about 4' of 1/2" or 3/4" (rarely) copper pipe (most brand new plumbing is now nylon hoses). I do not see a way where the water will cool an appreciable amount in the 4'/3 seconds it takes to rise from the faucet to the shower head.

At my house when you turn the shower on after letting the water warm up, the first water out of the head is cooler because the metal pipe was formerly cool, but this only lasts a second or so until the pipe warms, then it's just as hot as the faucet. A clogged shower head, or any part in between the faucet and shower head, would have little or no effect I can think of on the temperature of the water.

Try running just the shower head for a while and seeing if the water warms up after some time. If so, I have no doubt you have two separate sets of supply lines running from your water heater to your shower.

The only other think I can think of is that you have a second and defective prssure balancing valve in between the faucet and shower head, and I have never ever seen or heard of a setup like this, but then again, I have seen some stange things since the DIY boom.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Originally posted by: skrilla
My shower has the same problem.

I recently had a new shower kit installed. The shower control is a single lever pretty close to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Price-Pf...qid=1206980744&sr=8-10

When you turn the lever, it starts with cold, and the more you turn it, the more hot water mixes in (I believe). But for some reason you can only turn the lever so far... and the water comes out lukewarm most of the time. Maybe its just bad design. I dunno... maybe you have a similar issue.

Two fixes for you:

1. The pressure balancing valve has an adjustment screw inside it which allows you to set it to allow hotter water to come out. It does nothing to the water itself, it only allows you to adjust the volume of water that can potentially come from the hot water line.

2. Your water heater (I do not know much about LP/in-line water heaters), has a thermostat which can be adjusted to allow you to make your water hotter. If it is electic, it also probably has a way to change one of the heating elements to higher output, though this might require 220V wiring to accomplish.

Warnings: pressure balancing valves and water heaters are set to the defaults they are set to so that the AVERAGE person in the AVERAGE home does not get burned. These defaults do not take into account, longer than normal pipe runs, pipe insulation, pipe material. It may be that the water on the first floor of your home is just how you want it, and only the second floor fixtures are inadequate because of the longer run of metal pipes it takes to get the water their. More pipe = more heat sink = more time for the water to cool.

 

[Old Hippie]

Pressure balancing valves would have nothing to do with this,

The only other think I can think of is that you have a second and defective prssure balancing valve

its a lever (I guess you can call it a peg) you lift on the faucet.

This is new construction?
I've never seen any balancing/anti-scald valve on one of those simple on/off water valves.

 

[DrPizza]

OP:

Pics of the faucet? (Brand would be important to know) But, maybe someone can track down if there's a "secret" way to adjust it that would have been done during installation.

First thing I'd check though, as has been pointed out, is unscrew the showerhead and see if the water coming out is cooler than the bath water.