New shower won't work.

First off, love the forum, you guys are great. I have searched and haven't found an answer to my question..

I'm almost done installing a new tub with the tub surround. (Man the old cast iron tub was heavy)

I got all new handles and faucets, new stems, and a new drain overflow system. The overflow system was a real bear, but that is another post.

The problem I am having now is the shower part. I turn the cold and hot water on, everything is fine, but when I pull the little rod to turn the shower on, I get nothing. Water still comes out of the faucet, but nothing from the shower.

I have the shower head off at the moment, and there is a really loud sucking sound from the shower stem. Don't know if this is normal or not.

I did stick my finger up the tub faucet part.. and pressed against the little lever that slides up and down to switch between making the water come out the tub or the shower. Doing that gives me a little trickle from the shower.

Have I done something wrong, or is it possible I got a faulty faucet?

You probably need a twin ell spout or you have a defective spout. Take some pics and post! Did you use a torch to solder in the new valve?

What is a twin ell spout?
I replaced the old spout, with the same kind of spout..

I did not solder in a new valve.

Assuming you have a diverter spout.Your spout sounds like its defective

Some valves have multiple outlets. Some configurations only allow you to use either the top (for a shower) or the bottom (for a tub), but not both. If you need both, then you need a pipe fitting that has one input, two outputs, usually configured like stacked 'L', thus the name twin-eL. The tub spout gets attached to one and the shower to the other. When using a divertor tub spout, the water could go to either outlet, but since the showerhead is both higher and there's less restriction in the tub spout, it goes out the spout. WHen you block that off, it gets forced out the other port to the showerhead. You've either got it plumbed incorrectly, or there's a blockage.

I went back to ******* where I got the "Plumb Works" Universal fit tub diverter spout to exchange it for a new one..

I went back to look at the new ones.. and sure enough.. upon close inspection of the new one.. I noticed what the problem was. The one I just returned was missing a rubber gasket.

I happily bought the new one and rushed home to conquer my home improvement project which is now running (according to my wife) two days behind.

I put the new one on and pulled the lever, bango presto, the shower works.!
I took the spout off and put some tape on the threads and put it back on. I was just about to declare victory when I tried it one more time.. and the darn rubber gasket came shooting out.

Obviously these Plumb Works spouts are absolute crap and they should be run out of freakin' business. Looking at the label.. "Made in China".. of course.

So now what? I don't trust the sub par stuff at ******* anymore. Should I go to a plumber shop in town? Any recommendations on what kind I should get?

The old spout I had, the shower pull was toward the back of the spout, while the new one, the shower pull is right up front. I now view this as an obvious design flaw.

The plumbers here tend to recommend a pull-down spout from Delta. http://www.deltafaucet.com/search/results.html?q=tub+spout You should be able to find it locally at a bath showroom, or pick it up online, probably cheaper.

diverter

You will pay more for the Delta diverter, but it may be the only one you ever have to buy.

Nobodys gonna call shenanigans on my "design flaw" statement?

I was hoping to hear some calm soothing voices to the effect of ..

"Now now, calm down, you just got a couple of bad ones."
Or how about....
"I've put in hundreds of diverter spouts with the pull in the front, and have never had a problem"

How is it that I got two in a row that have the same problem?
Am I just THAT unlucky?
or
Are "Plumb Works" accessories pure garbage?
or
Do lots of people have the same problem I have?

master_dman said:

"I've put in hundreds of diverter spouts with the pull in the front, and have never had a problem"

Click to expand...

Well, I have to say that this is true in my case.

I don't know what to say other than, becareful installing it. Ease it in slowly

China can build some very good stuff. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen very consistently in more places than it should. One bad one in a batch probably isn't that uncommon, and it doesn't surprise me you got two.

Here is, what I hope, is the ending to the story. (It's not done for SURE yet)

Went to generic hardware store store here in town and got an el cheapo plastic spout for $10 bucks.
This one has the pull in the middle, not the front.

Brought it home, screwed it in.. switched back and forth between tub and shower about 20 to 30 times.. worked every single time.

So.. I took the second identical "Plumb Works" diverter spout back to M e n a r d s. (I may get in trouble for naming specific places of business.. but I feel it is totally worth it at this time. You'll see why in just a few seconds of reading.)

I explained my whole situation to the plumbing manager there. Told him exactly what I did.

Now, since I had two "plumb works" spouts, I cut my tub surround wall for this particular spout. Well.. the new el cheapo spout was a little different, and the hole isn't going to quite match. I could be happy with the amount of filler caulk I would need to make it look good, but my wife probably wouldn't.
OK.. I'm lying. She says it would look like crap.

So I went to M e n a r d s to see how much just one single panel of the tub surround would cost.. ends up buying just one of the three panels would be just about half the cost of all three for just one.

Here is the kicker, the plumbing manager at M e n a r d s insisted that since I bought not just ONE, but TWO faulty spouts, and made the hole in the panel for THAT particular spout, then found a different spout that works, but doesn't look right with the cut hole.. he would give me the surround panel FOR FREE.

Long story short. Third time is a charm. El Cheapo spout from Ace works great. No leaks, works every time, but the hole I cut for the other sub-par yet halfway expensive spout doesn't look right. So M e n a r d s is GIVING me a new panel (and eating almost $100 bucks) to make sure I (and more importantly, my wife) is happy and everything looks good.

Sorry for the book sized post, but just thought I had to repeat my happiness with M e n a r d s and their fantastic customer service.

It will take a week or so for the new surround panel to come in. So meanwhile I slapped in the other panel just to get me by for the week.. and really, it doesn't look half bad. But since it will be free, It will look even better when all is finished.

Glad to see customer service is still being found. I live near ******* and use them often, however Electrical dimmers I don't purchase from them (fan or light) due to problems I have found. I just posted a question regarding shower faucets and Delta 1700 model was noted by two users being very recomended. Reason I asked was I would rather spend some money up front and tell the wife that it may cost more but I am saving on the labor side. I'm glad ******* agree's a few hundred bucks to keep you a happy customer is worth it and worth commenting on the service as well W/O service might as well by it from someone who will or on line. No onto your next DIY project, I'm thinking of having my wife do one, comment when I switched out all outlets and covers was, why is this taking more then I few min. I figured a couple screws and you would be done. LOL, Designer style so outlet and cover were replaced not just the coverplate she was thinking was all that it required.