Faulty Thermostatic Shower Valve

[delbert]

Hi, Ive just moved into a new apartment and the shower is not working. The builders are not very quick at helping out so im trying to find out myself and maybe do the job myself.

The problem is that the shower valve is not mixing. Basically it is very hot all the time. However i noticed that if i turn the shower to maximum temp, it goes stone.

What could cause this? Faulty valve or maybe are the hot and cold feeds to the shower reversed?

If it is just the latter, can i just turn the valve around to fix the problem.

Thanks Delbert.

[John]

Can you identify the manufacturer and see the instructions?

[Bob Mannix]

Sounds exactly what the problem is but what you mean by "turn the valve round" isn't clear. In most cases it would be easier to rectify the pipe fault. It would depend on the valve though.

[delbert]

Hi, By "turn the valve round" i mean just turn it upside down (rotate 180 degrees) so the hot and cold feeds are reversed to the valve (of course all the markings on the taps will now be upside down). Reversing the pipes is a big job which would damage tiling and would require a plumber, so id be happy with a quick fix.

Thanks Delbert

[Andy Burns]

With some of the Mira showers you /can/ remove and reverse the cartridge to enablee reversed H/C piping where that is easier.

If the shower had been originally fitted like this and someone later replaced the cartidge without realising, it could end up as you describe, but as you say this is a new build, surely it's the builders problem?

[delbert]

I talked to the suppliers of the valve (its there own brand, whatever that is), and the cartridge cannot be reversed. They recommended rotating valve 180 degrees to swap the connections.

Your right , its the builders c*ck-up. However ive signed and they will be slow to resolve. Furthermore swapping the pipes to fix would prob involve damaging some of my tiling, so i think i can live with an upside down valve.

Thanks Delbert

[Bob Mannix]

Yes, that should work fine (aside from the markings etc) if you can do it (but also see other post on swapping the cartridge round on some models). I was suggesting changing the pipes at the feed end rather than in the bathroom though - I wasn't suggesting damaging the tiles! They must be fed from somewhere else - could the swap be done there?

[Ed Sirett]

Classic symptoms of a mis installed shower. Many showers can be easily reversed. Maybe yours too.