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Author:
lorienne22 (IN)
I just bought a house that has lots of DIY remodeling. One shower in my house (and only one) looses some hot water fairly quickly. I have a 48 gallon tank that provides plenty of hot water to the other shower and we have yet to exceed it's limit. However, in the problem shower there is a new, single handle. You know...the more you turn it on the hotter the temp. The handle basically acts as a thermostat setting. I turn it on, nice and hot. I'm in there about two minutes and it's not so hot anymore...another minute in and it's almost chilly, so I turn it hotter. Ah...more hot water...that starts to get cooler; not cold. By the end of my ten minute shower, I turn it full hot and even that will wane in warmth. I no longer am taking a hot shower...just a little more than lukewarm. It's almost like an accelerated body temp adjustment. There is still some hot water pumping in because it's not straight cold...just getting cooler fast. I'm wondering if there isn't something wrong in that handle wherein it keeps adjusting back toward more cold coming through than hot. Sorry...I know nothing about plumbing, obviously.
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Author:
packy (MA)
shower valves (by most codes) must be non-scald. manufacturers accomplish this by either balancing the pressure between the hot and the cold or by using a thermostatic cartridge.
so, depending on what brand valve you have, there is a problem with the non-scald function.
good news is that it is usually a simple fix.
you need to identify the valve first. then, some manufacturers will send you free replacement parts.
sometimes you can take the valve apart and soak the parts in vinegar.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Why is the water getting COLDER a problem with the "non scald" function? The "non scald" feature just limits how hot the water can get, but does NOT "cool it down" to do it. He is using more hot water than the tank can provide, probably because of a high volume shower head.
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Author:
packy (MA)
but he said when the water gets cool he advances the handle and it gets hotter. then it cools and he advances the handle again and it gets hot again.
well, one way to solve this is to turn on the shower and when it cools turn on a hot at a sink. if the sink is cool then hj is correct. if the sink is hot but the shower is still cool then i am correct.
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Author:
steve (CA)
But as the tank starts tempering, the OP is having to adjust the ratio at the shower valve to compensate.
Switch the shower head with the good shower and see if the problem follows the shower valve or the head.
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