This can't be right

sawdust123 · Jul 28, 2009

I just redid the hot water lines for the entire house. I had a weird issue with one of the pressure balance shower valves. The cold water would leak through to the hot water side. Is this somewhat normal or do I need to replace its inner workings?

My guess is that it was leaking at about a gallon or two per hour rate.

Redwood · Jul 28, 2009

What brand is it?

Sponsor · 2022-01-29T12:20:58-0800

hj · Jul 28, 2009

valve

How do you know it is happening?

sawdust123 · Jul 28, 2009

I bought the valve from Home Depot years ago. It was probably their store brand, Pegasus. Of course, that could mean any number of off shore manufacturers. It is a pretty beefy mechanism. It has at least twice the brass of your typical Home Depot valve.

I learned this was happening when I replaced my hot water pipes over the weekend. I left the cold side pressurized so my family could still function. When I cut the hot water pipe to this fixture, the cold water kept flowing out.

Winslow · Jul 28, 2009

sawdust123 said:
I bought the valve from Home Depot years ago. It was probably their store brand, Pegasus. Of course, that could mean any number of off shore manufacturers. It is a pretty beefy mechanism. It has at least twice the brass of your typical Home Depot valve.

I learned this was happening when I replaced my hot water pipes over the weekend. I left the cold side pressurized so my family could still function. When I cut the hot water pipe to this fixture, the cold water kept flowing out.

That is nothing to worry about. The pressure is bleeding through the valve, when the hot is up and pressurized it will be ok. On a side not if you leave it like that too long you could jam the balancing spool in the valve, which will require replacement. Non name brands are ok for faucets and things that are easily changed and upgraded but anything that will require the demolition of a shower wall should be a good name product.

sawdust123 · Jul 28, 2009

I'm not sure what you are referring to with your warning not to leave it like that too long. Do you mean with the hot feed off and the cold feed on or do you mean just having the leak.

BTW, I couldn't agree more about the name brand stuff. However, when your wife says I like that one, you make her happy. It was a challenge to get a brand name valve put in on the second shower but I prevailed.

hj · Jul 29, 2009

leak

If it was just a minor crossover, not full flow, then it probably will not cause any problems under normal conditions. Depending on how the valve's internals work, it could be a sign of minor failure, or just normal for that valve. For example, Mixet valves ALWAYS have crossover flow, while Moen's only do it when they are worn out.

This can't be right

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