Limited hot water in the shower

[wbwanzer]

Our master bathroom (oops, I mean primary bathroom) has hot water in the shower but not real hot. The sink setup which is about five feet away can get blistering hot. That water is being fed from a different interior wall than the shower. And this bathroom is on the same side of the house as the water heater which makes it a good bit closer. The other second floor bathroom gets very hot water even though it's on the opposite side of the house from the water heater. I don't understand how the shower on the same side as the water heater gets barely warm in the winter yet the other shower gets hot even in winter. I have insulated the hot water pipes from the heater towards the upstairs but that has not helped.

Any thoughts?

 

[Mainia]

Is your shower adjustment valve a single handle or a split dual handle, cold and hot that are separate? If single and modern in the last 25ish years it could be set to only allow 110-120 deg water. Pull the outer handle and you will see an adjuster for temperature.

 

[oil pan 4]

Does it have a mixing valve?

 

[hemitom]

Bad mixing valve or cartridge .
most likely the cartridge.

 

[wbwanzer]

Single handle. So I need to look at mixing valve or cartridge. I'm not much of a plumber. I'll find a guy.
Thanks guys.

 

[Kestas]

I have a similar problem with my shower. When I return after being gone 6 months, I find the (single rotating handle) mixing valve is stuck from the deposits that dried internally. I need to take it apart and unstick it. The mixing valve is basically a short brass plunger that moves back and forth.

 

[97prizm]

Our master bathroom (oops, I mean primary bathroom) has hot water in the shower but not real hot. The sink setup which is about five feet away can get blistering hot. That water is being fed from a different interior wall than the shower. And this bathroom is on the same side of the house as the water heater which makes it a good bit closer. The other second floor bathroom gets very hot water even though it's on the opposite side of the house from the water heater. I don't understand how the shower on the same side as the water heater gets barely warm in the winter yet the other shower gets hot even in winter. I have insulated the hot water pipes from the heater towards the upstairs but that has not helped.

Any thoughts?

Do you have one or two knobs to adjust temperature? If one it's likely the cartridge has gone bad and isn't allowing for good mixing. I've also seen where the valve on a two know system can get hard water build up causing restrictions.

 

[dbias]

There is a scald protection mechanism on the front of single handle shower valves. It will look like a small circle with teeth on the back of it that meshes with teeth on the valve stem. By taking the handle off you can slide it off slightly and in most cases rotate it counter-clockwise so the square bump stop on it moves to the left so the valve stem can be rotated farther left to get more hot water into the mix.

Here is your guy….

 

[wbwanzer]

Thanks everyone.

 

[DCDG]

Bad mixing valve or cartridge .
most likely the cartridge.

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