I had a shower installed on my main floor in 2012 and it has a turn lever to move temp from hot to cold (not two separate ones). I haven’t used it for at least a year- it’s a spare. I turned it on today and all I got was cold water, and even when I turned it to hot, it stayed cold. I let it run for about 20 minutes before I gave up and shut it off.

Does anyone have any thoughts on troubleshooting this? It is a Kohler product, installed by a company with a good rep, but we are obviously out of warranty... and naturally I’d have to tear out tile to get to the plumbing. Yes, I checked the other spigots in the house to make sure the water heater was working.. Hot everywhere else I asked for it. This is the newest plumbing in this old house.

Pull the cartridge. It’s probably stuck from lack of use.

All my Kholer cartridges went bad over the 20 years I've been in this house. A few were easy replacements, a couple were not.

Did you test it when it was installed?

Generally, those type of valves have a cartridge that you can replace without tearing into any tile. FIRST, Shut off the water to the house and open a lower valve to drain pressure. Removing the cartridge with the water turned on would result in a hell of a mess. Then take off the handle, the escutcheon (plate), the trim tube, and any other trim stuff.

Now, you may find that the stops are a result of the inside of the handle interacting with the trim tube. If so, try putting the handle back on and turning it 180 degrees. See if that fixes your problem. If so, GREAT, you didn’t need to turn the water off after all. Still, better to turn it off when you didn’t need to, ...

If simply turning the cartridge 180 degrees in the housing didn’t solve the problem, you probably need a new cartridge. Some planning is key here as Murphy says if Kohler has six different cartridges at the first hardware store you go to and you bought all six planning to return all but the one that matches, the one you need will be the seventh, available at the other hardware store. Best to plan to have the water off long enough to go take the cartridge out, go to town, get a match, and install that. Best to make sure the rest of the family understands the plan and can deal with no water for a while.

There is typically a C clip or an E clip that holds the cartridge in the housing. Double check that the water is off, then find and pull that clip and you should be able to pull the cartridge straight out the front of the valve.

Let us know how you make out.

Kohler mixing valve. Typically Hot water forms crystal precipitation clogs the mixing valve.
The stem part # K-GP77759
Pressure balancing unit GP500520 has been replaced with GP800820.
Shut water off. Remove lever -Allen screw at 6 o’clock. Unscrew faceplate. Now you’re looking at the stem. 2 screws hold stem in place. Stuff a towel below the valve to absorb any water . Take a picture of stem at this time. Pull stem out. Water drains. Take picture of pressure balancing unit. Remove pressure balancing unit with needle nose pliers. Note back and front of pressure balancing unit . There may be precipitation on the back of the unit in the wall,which needs to come off. A gentle polishing compound - Flitz on a gun patch on your finger works. Install rubber o rings with Vaseline . Old PBU had round holes- New PBU has oval holes. Put new stem valve in. Tighten 2 screws. Turn water back on. Confirm no leaks. Replace faceplate and lever.

Turn off the water at the street, Bleed the pressure in the kitchen sink, then begin working on removing the cartridge from the shower....

Just you tube Koehler cartridge replacement..

Super easy.

I’d wager it’s just stuck from not being used and he o rings have lodged in place.

Once you pull 5w old one take it with you to the local big box and see if they have a replacement, if not you might find a Ferguson plumbing outfit nearby...last chance is the Internet.

Temperature balancing spool behind the cartridge is frozen. Replacing both might be wise, then open/close every few weeks. Kohler may send out replacements for free.

Good suggestion on contacting Kohler. I had problems with our kitchen faucet. I called Delta and they sent out all the replacement parts I needed, free of charge. I got them in like three days. Hell, that faucet was almost 15 years old too. I bet Kohler will do the same.

Thanks so much for your thoughts, guys. Some days you just feel kicked in the ass one too many times. This is one of those.

I’m hoping this will be an easy fix. I ran water into the shower drain regularly, but never thought to turn it to hot.

If it's the cartridge, which it probably is, then it's an easy fix.

Just remember to turn off the water to the house before taking off the handle and removing the cartridge.

Your faucet my be different, and I've not performed daily residential service work in decades, but the last time I encountered this - 4 years ago - the temp balance cartridge was frozen. Same thing. A seldom-used bathroom in a rental house of a retired client DYI'er. He didn't hesitate to buy both the temp and water control cartridges (balancing spool and stem) and I installed them.

The brass faucet body was slightly corroded and the new stem o-ring passed water slightly. A "weeping" amount of water. As the o-ring conformed, the weep stopped after an hour. A quick wipe with a 3M pad inside the faucet body might help if you see boogers on the brass.



Kohler Part GP800820 Rite-Temp Pressure-Balancing Unit Cartridge is highlighted

Ha! Thank you again, guys. Last night, after I went to bed, my husband got home and took a look. He told me “the hot water worked fine“.

Arghhhhh! Felt like I took my car to the mechanic and said “there’s a noise”. I suppose a gasket or something had dried out, and then swelled back up when I ran it for so long? Or maybe pulling the lever back and forth unstuck it?

I don’t know, but I’m grateful for all your responses, and grateful, too, that it seems to have “fixed” itself. I’m going to look up the mechanism of the cartridge so I can understand how this frickin miracle happened. And it’ll be turned on weekly to hot now for a few minutes so this doesn’t happen again.

ETA: you guys are amazing- I walked away from the screen to go deal with something, came back, finished my post and saw that Woodman had put up the schematic for me!

quote:

Originally posted by Bassamatic:
Good suggestion on contacting Kohler. I had problems with our kitchen faucet. I called Delta and they sent out all the replacement parts I needed, free of charge. I got them in like three days. Hell, that faucet was almost 15 years old too. I bet Kohler will do the same.

Kohler WILL do the same....Kohler has a LIFETIME Warranty!

I had to fix a leaking Hot water valve/stem on a bathroom sink and purchased the repair/service kit at Home Depot, but despite my best efforts I was unable to disassemble the valve. I contacted Kohler for help as I didn't want to destroy the housing of the valve in the process. They informed me of the Lifetime Warranty asked me for a code on the valve body and shipped me a complete set of replacement valves, Hot and Cold! I'm a Kohler customer for life!