No hot water from Moen shower faucet

**timwise999** · 07-29-2010, 02:14 PM

I purchased a Moen shower faucet L82691 from Lowes and installed it behind my nice new Sterling shower surround. When I turn on the water, I get lots of cold water and only luke warm water when it is turned all the way to hot. I don't have the handle on yet, so the plastic limit pieces are not installed. Moen has sent me 2 cartridges and they do not fix the problem. When the handle is turned to hot the water pressure is half the amount the cold is. I know there is hot water at the faucet, because I left out the rubber piece of the cartridge on the hot side and hot water bypassed the cartridge and came out the showerhead. One cust support person at Moen told me I need to "balance" the water in my house. I have two other showers that work fine in my 40 yr old house. What do I need to do before I tear out my new surround and replace it with a different model faucet? Thanks for the advice.

**jadnashua** · 07-29-2010, 03:21 PM

The pressure balance spool may be stuck. This might be internal to the cartridge, so changing it would have fixed it, but in some models, it is separate (don't know on this one). The valve expects the pressure on both sides (hot and cold) to be the same, and if it isn't, it will start to shut down the supply (and can turn it off).

What kind of water heater do you have? A tankless could have significantly lower water pressure than a tank type. Do you have a hot water pressure issue anywhere else? Are the inlet supply water pipes the same size for both the hot and cold? Is there any galvanized steel piping in there (it can rust out from the inside)? If the cartridge is removed, and you turn the water back on, to you get a good stream out the the valve body on both sides? Some valves use filter screens on their input. It could be plugged up on the hot side.

**timwise999** · 07-29-2010, 04:42 PM

There is a piece internal to the cartridge and it is not stuck. When I shake the cartridge, it makes a noise like a can of paint which is good according to Moen. I think the problem is the pressure, but the water pressure for hot and cold is fine on all faucets in the house. I have a regular water heater. All copper pipe and same size. I did remove the cartridge with the water on and the water came out with strong force. Maybe I should remove the cartridge and turn the water on slow and see what happens.. Does anyone know if there is a screen on the inlets?

**johnjh2o1** · 07-29-2010, 05:37 PM

With out the trim and the handle stops installed you could be turnig the stem beyond the hot water point. You could also have the stem in upside down.

John

**timwise999** · 07-29-2010, 08:20 PM

Good point, but I have the black plastic piece on the stem and I can see how far it needs to turn CCW for hot. I have tested it several times with the handle on. One side of the white plastic has HC and I have that on top. I've tried it upside down without success.

**jadnashua** · 07-30-2010, 07:09 AM

Are you positive you have the hot/cold inputs on the proper port? It might be, given the configuration you have, that it was reversed. On some, this means that the cartridge needs to be installed 180-degrees off. The installation instructions usually describe that for 'back-to-back' installations, but it just may have been more convenient regardless. As you look at the valve, hot should be on the left, and cold on the right. If they are reversed, either the cartridge needs to be rotated, or it needs a different cartridge.

**timwise999** · 09-05-2010, 08:15 PM

I finally decided to cut into the sheetrock and remove the side of the shower surround so I can remove the Moen shower faucet. My friend that did the plumbing discovered the problem. All the plumbing is copper and he used shark-bite T's. Well, one of the copper pipes went in too far and was blocking the hot water from reaching the faucet. After fixing this and repairing the wall, the shower is great. Moen customer support was great, although I didn't think so at the time. They sent me two cartridges thinking that the first two were defective. Thanks for your suggestions.

hj · 09-06-2010, 08:01 AM

All the Sharkbite fittings I have used have internal stops to prevent the tubing from going in too far, so I am not sure how he managed to screw one up like that, but since he used Sharkbites, I assume he was not a plumber, nor a handyman.