Hi folks,
I have a new modular home, less than a year old.

I have just determined that the bathtub water won't get hot enough for my wife. The water at all of the sinks in the house gets very hot.

Upon review, I located the CASH ACME mixing valve under the bathtub faucet. I adjusted it per the manual to as hot as it would get, this helped some but it's still not hot enough or as the sinks.

Upon further review, I discovered that I could remove the cap from the mixing valve to get to the square head bolt (?) that can be further adjusted to change the ratio of hot to cold coming into the faucet.

After tinkering with it I determined that it was already turned as hot as it would go.

I have no idea why my bathtub water won't get as hot as the sinks right next to it.

I don't want to turn the temp up on the water heater, as the sinks already get VERY hot.

What can I do short of calling a plumber to get this corrected?

Thank you in advance!!!

one handle or two handle tub fill valve?

if it is one handle it may have an adjustable temperature limit stop built in?
if it is two handle then only a change in the piping will help.
code say the hot water to any shower can not exceed 109-112 deg F.
this is fine for a shower but not enough to take a nice hot bath.

BTW, a handheld shower hose is considered a shower (MA code) so it has to have a temperature limit.

lastly, i looked at the cash acme site and turning up the water heater will not affect the outlet temperature from the mixer.

Thanks very much for your reply.

My apologies - it's a two handle bath only. The shower is a separate unit right next to the tub, and even the shower gets hotter water!

I removed the bath hot water handle to check for a stopper - but found nothing impeding the handle from fully turning.

Wow. I never thought that code would keep my bath tub from working as it should. It's a big garden tub and as is the water will cool off significantly once the tub is filled. Not even close to warm enough for my wife.

So do you think it's worth calling a plumber to have it checked? All the piping is brand new and passed county inspection.

It baffles me that the sinks right next to the tub get VERY hot.....but just warm at the tub???

There may be filter screens that are partially blocked. If true you need to disassemble and clean with a vinegar and water soak overnight.

srloren

Do you mean the filter screen on the end of the faucet where the water comes out? I did take that off and clean it out, but not with vinegar. I had failed to clean this filter out after my water filter was installed so it had some sediment.

Wasn't sure if there is a filter to clean elsewhere in the setup?

Thank you for your response.

Some Cash Acme mixing valve models will output a maximum 130*F, others 176*F.

if, as you state, it is a two handle bath only w/o a shower of any type, you are allowed to simply remove the mixing valve and feed directly

or

change out the mixer for one with a higher upper limit

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638

Interesting. Thank you.

I am only getting 101 degrees at the tub, and I get 123 degrees at the sink.

Is it possible that my valve is defective, and that is causing the temp to max out at 101 degrees?

How would I connect the 3 hoses if I removed the valve?

The cold water connection would be capped off and the hot water and output pipes connected together.

there is a 'split' in the cw supply - one goes to cold inlet of bath, one goes to cold inlet of mixer

the hw supply goes to mixer and the mixer has a 'mixed' outlet going to the hot inlet in of bath fixture

to remove mixer simply cap or remove on of the cold 'split' supplies and run the hot and cold as normal w/o using mixer (abandom in place would be an option)


imo: simply call a plumber as this is a simple job since you evidently have good access



(steve used different terminology, but we have the same concept/instructions in mind)

[our posts crossed]

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"Measure Twice & Cut Once" - Retired U.A. Local 1 & 638



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also remember that if you do this you can reduce the temperature at the water heater to the maximum recommended 135 deg. probably will save some money .

I thought all tub/shower valves had to be pressure balanced in the last decade. I thought he said it was only a year old. I'm confused. For a 2-handle faucet, with seperate hot and cold, to be pressure balanced it would have to have a pressure balanced assembly installed before the faucet. If it is pressure balanced, the outlet temp will NEVER be as hot as the inlet temp. It will always be from 2 to 10 degrees cooler, depending on the brand. That's because there is some cold mixed with the hot. It's the nature of the beast.
This sounds more like a defective cartridge or faucet with that big a difference in inlet and outlet temps. It may be worth a service call to get a plumber out. He may see something you don't.

This tub valve is not pressure balanced. It's a standard 2 handle valve, but the hot water supply to it has an inline temperature regulating valve. IPC 412.5 allows the inline regulator for a bathtub. 412.3 prohibits the inline valve instead of a pressure balanced, temperature limiting or combination pressure balance/temperature limiting mixing valve for a shower or tub shower combination.



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