We installed a new Moen shower head. New install on rebuilt plumbing. The water was not coming out very hot. The man who installed it came back and took it apart and made some adjustments. Now it is too hot to shower. The HW heater puts out water at 123 to the tub in the same room. The shower in an adjacent bathroom is fine.
How does one adjust the hot water mix on them? We're calling the supplier in the morning, but thought I'd ask here first.
Steve
Can't you adjust the temperature using the bathtub faucet, whether it be single handle or double? And what model is the shower head?
The first phone call you should make tomorrow should be to Moen and nobody else. They are extraordinarily helpful.
Steve,
I assume you installed a complete Moen shower valve assembly, not just the shower head?
Our Moen valves are a few years old, but inside there is a plunger than slides back and forth to balance the pressure of the hot and cold supplies (to prevent scalding if someone flushes a toilet). Like you, one of our valves had a stuck plunger and only supplied cold water. Because of grit and other debris from the new plumbing, the plunger didn't move properly. I took the valve apart, cleaned everything well, and applied a thin coat of silicone plumbing lubricant. Reassembled and it has worked perfectly since then.
But, it's possible you have a faulty valve. In which case I received great service when I contacted Moen about other issues. Give them a call and see what they say.
Anthony
Anthony,
I too serviced a shower pressure balancing valve, in my case a Kohler "Rite-Temp" valve which had the same symptoms as your Moen. The valve in my case had a rubber diaphragm which allowed a floating valve to move back and forth between cold and hot orifices. The rubber had torn / disintegrated after a few years of daily use.
I am writing to ask you if the Moen valve also has some sort of flexible diaphragm, and if so, did it seem at all deteriorated? I regret installing these Kohler valves which were expensive, do not give very precise temperature control, and seem to fail too quickly. I have considered putting new pressure balancing valves in to replace the Kohlers, and wonder if Moen or anybody else has a really superior design.
Thanks for any info,
Smarty
I assume this is a single handle. I poked around a little online, but couldn't find the instructions on setting the temp limit stop. There are two splined parts that can be adjusted to limit the high temp. If you take it apart, you might be able to figure it out without the instructions.
I am confused that you say it is "too hot to shower". You should still be able to take a cold shower, or adjust the temp from cold up to whatever the temp limit is set for. If your choice is off or too hot, there is something wrong beyond a bad temp limit setting.
JK
My 5 year old Moen "positemp" shower valves have a plastic cartridge that fits inside the metal shower valve. After turning off the water and removing the handle, you simply remove a retaining clip and pull the cartridge out. There is a plunger inside (Moen calls it a "balance spool") that normally slides back and forth inside the cartridge. If it doesn't move freely, you can pull a cap off the back of the cartridge and take out the plunger. Clean the plunger and the inside of the cartridge, apply a little silicone lubricant, and reassemble. If that doesn't fix it, Moen has a lifetime warranty for the original owner and will send you a new cartridge free of charge.
There's no "diaphragm" in the Moen cartridge, only a few O-rings on the outside of the cartridge. I installed three Moen shower valves in our house, and except for the one stuck plunger immediately after installing, we haven't had any problems in the last 5 years.
It's a pretty slick system overall, and the cartridge can even be turned
180 degrees to reverse the hot and cold connections if someone plumbed the fixture wrong.Anthony
Thanks very much for your informative reply Anthony. No doubt the Moen is a much easier installation / repair than the Kohler, since the Kohler replacement process takes well over an hour, requires very careful alignment and lubrication of the "PBV" (pressure balancing valve) with the surrounding valve body to avoid leaks, and just does not hold up well in daily use.
For my larger PBV, used in the high flow are bathtub/spa, which has a 3/4" set of inlet connections, the PBV costs $167, just for the replacement piece. The entire valve including the PBV is now $377. I paid $240 a few years ago.
Looks like my next "repair" is gonna be a Moen replacement, even if I had to redo the sweat fittings and start over.
Thanks again,
Smarty
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