I've set my water heater such that the water coming out of the bathtub (2 valves, 1 each for hot and cold) is about 125F. It comes out of my bathroom sink faucet (single valve) at about the same temp. All Moen.

My shower valve, also Moen (posi-temp?) only allows water up to about 95F. I checked the temp limiter and it's set to the default max temp.

I'm not sure what temp has historically been coming out of the shower but it hasn't been feeling sufficiently hot. I know that shower valves are supposed to limit to non-scalding temps but 95F seems a little low. Even hot tubs get to 104F.

There doesn't seem to be any adjustment I can make to allow hotter water. Is this valve defective? Needs to be recalibrated (it's 15+ years old)? Needs to be replaced? Or is this just the way it is - typical?

ETA: I just checked temps for two other showers with the same valve - water is about 110-112F. So, seems like this one shower is low for some reason. I'll contact Moen.

IIRC....
If you loosen the locking screw, and remove the handle, there should be a white plastic thing... Remove the screw, and the white plastic thing can be adjusted. That's what gives you hotter water at the faucet.

Is the water hot enough at other faucets in the house? If not, you may have to adjust the hot water heater.

We had this happen with a Moen shower setup. It turned out that a black rubber gasket on the valve had eroded and gummed up the hot water feed for the shower.

quote:

Originally posted by CPD SIG:
IIRC....
If you loosen the locking screw, and remove the handle, there should be a white plastic thing... Remove the screw, and the white plastic thing can be adjusted. That's what gives you hotter water at the faucet.

Is the water hot enough at other faucets in the house? If not, you may have to adjust the hot water heater.

Thanks - I looked at that and I believe it's set to allow max temp; I can only rotate that limiter to reduce temp. At least as far as I can tell for my valve.

I have two more of the same valve in other showers -- they read about 112F vs the 95-100F I'm getting for the shower in question. Other faucets (ie - bathtub with separate hot/cold valves) is seeing 130F. So the water from the heater is sufficiently hot and arriving at POU okay.


Sounds like Moen website recommends replacing the cartridge. Unless there is a quick fix I'm missing (don't much much about these things), I'll try contacting Moen on Monday.

quote:

Originally posted by Censored:
We had this happen with a Moen shower setup. It turned out that a black rubber gasket on the valve had eroded and gummed up the hot water feed for the shower.

Thanks. Hopefully just a cartridge replacement and nothing complicated for which I need to hire a plumber.

I can’t answer for Moen. I just changed a single handle Delta faucet cartridge that has a slider/switch that allows you to control the amount of hot water available when it’s in use. If Moen offers a similar control, that may be the issue.

Moen does have a rotating limiter but currently I believe it’s set to allow max temp; I can only adjust to lower temp.

I don't have any kids or elderly living with me but even when I did I kept my heater set to 140 - 150°. Heck, heaters used to come factory set on 155 for years back in the 70s - 80s. I installed an average of one a week back then. 125 isn't hot water, just warm.

Nub on limiter should be pointing straight up for maximum temp. Otherwise it's the pressure balancing spool. 1-800-BUY-MOEN will get you a new cartridge.

They can be a bear to change depending on water and age. If you can't pull it out, email me and I can loan you Moen puller to get it out. Even then you may have trouble. Email is in my profile.

Wreckdriver is correct. Moen will send you a FREE cartridge if you are the original home owner. The spool is not a warranty item, but can be taken out with a screwdriver after the water is shut off. I have had success with loosening them up with WD-40 or the like and just working the spool back and forth until it works freely by itself.

Is the on/off on the Moen push pull or does it rotate 270 degrees? If it rotates it is a Posi temp. If it is a positemp, try rotating the 270 degrees plus a few more with the handle off. If it gets hotter the stops, white inserts, worked. If not it's likely the cartridge.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Hopefully just a cartridge replacement and nothing complicated for which I need to hire a plumber.

I did one of these replacements last year. The replacement went fine, but having seen videos of what could go wrong, I prefer not to buy any products with this particular cartridge/design again. If it is the one I am thinking of, make sure you get a good tool that works, not just the plastic one that comes with the replacement cartridge. YMMV.

quote:

Originally posted by rexles:
... Moen will send you a FREE cartridge if you are the original home owner. ...

Moen really impressed my earlier this year. The finish on my kitchen facet started to bubble in a couple of spots. It was in the house when I purchased from the builder almost 15 years ago. I sent Moen pictures of the facet and asked if it was covered under their warranty fully expecting them to say no. They called me back - it was covered and they send a replacement part out pronto.


When I need to purchase another facet in the future, I know what brand it will be.

Winter cold water entering water heaters changes your water heater performance. An issue for me, with my basic Moen single handle shower valve, but not for you.

Last November I had a Kohler exhibit similar issues. A new pressure balancing spool sorted the faucet out. The only issue was a tiny drip from the valve body. The drip went away after the cartridge o-ring seated itself into the slightly pitted valve body interior.

This was a new customer who seemed impressed with my knowledge. When in fact, I was shooting from the hip, repeating hypotheticals learned on this forum.

Have a few pics ready to email; the Moen rep may ask for them to confirm the faucet model you had installed back when you got the house; a new cartridge will likely be sent to you no-charge.

The things you learn on SIGforum! I didn't know showers had their own limit on hot water.

I thought it just mixed the hot water supplied (at your own hot water heater setting) with the cold based on your C-----H valve setting.

I can see an advantage for situations where you don't have control of the hot water setting (apartments, e.g) and it may be set higher than you'd want.

Has this kind of feature always been around, or have I just been blissfully ignorant?

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Thanks. Hopefully just a cartridge replacement and nothing complicated for which I need to hire a plumber.

I wish I would have checked back here sooner!!!!

99.9% of the time, you can replace the cartridge yourself.
The replacement cartridge comes with a little plastic thing that helps you remove the cartridge. 10 minute job. (put a towel over the drain, just in case)

Again, 99.9% of the time, easy-peasy...


Then there's me...

The following should go into the RANT section, but I'll tell you my tale of woe.

Last day of vacation, about 2:30pm on a Sunday. There's about 3 or 4 things I need to finish up around the house before I go back to work tomorrow.
Replace 2 light switches with dimmer switches- easy, 10 min job.
Paint trim around stairs- take me longer to clean the paint brushes than to actually paint the small area, 5 min job.
Replace door hinges and knob- again, easy 15 min of work.
Shower is dripping, replace the cartridge in the shower. $20 part, 20 min of work. EASY.... I've done this before!

I'll start on the shower.

Remove the set screw in the handle.
I've got the hex set, found the right size...
It... doesn't... want... to...
DAMNIT, screw broke! (First clues are often disregarded or overlooked)

(Thinks about how it's made... OK, Im good!)
Got to give the handle a few gentle taps & yanks to get it off, and it's off.
remove the C-clip.
Looking at the cartridge, I have enough of the brass stub to gently pull the cartridge out.
I put that plastic thing on it that helps remove it. Well, that just sort of crumbled. (This should have been my second clue that shit aint goin right)


Attempt to twist & pull...
Attempt to twist & Pull...
WTF?!?!?! (Shot some Kroil in there, just in case)
Attempt to twist & pull... twist pull... Twist Pull... Twist Pull... Twist PUll...
***TINK***
Most of the brass center piece just broke.
WHAT THE EVERLOVIN'?!?!?! (Clue #3)

There's still enough brass for me to get some needle nosed vice grips on it. Let's try this shit again...

Twist & pull, twist & pull.... It aint twistin' and....

***TINK***
The rest of the brass piece just broke off. (Here, we have Clue #4. At this point, most smart people would have called someone. Well, I'm not most, and I'm not smart, and I'm not callin!)

The kids are now hearing some words Dad never uses. Wife is concerned.
Mind you, I've checked this damn thing about 27 times at this point, and YES, this is how you remove THIS TYPE of cartridge.

I tried grabbing the plastic with the vice grips, in order to try to get it out...
Well, I think we all know what's going to happen there. So we'll just skip over the part where I pulled out any sort of surface I could grab with the vice grips, and go on to the part where I'm screwing in screws and trying to twist and pull on them in order to get the cartridge out of the fixture. The screws are breaking off... This shit-show has been going on for about 2 1/2 hours now.



Meanwhile, I'm sitting in a tub, shower and bathroom that's all tile & glass... So if I throw something, or punch something, I'm going to break something that I'm going to have to fix, so swearing is about all I got.



Take a break... Go get something to eat. Let's get back at it...

(Hops back in shower with a "zen" like mindset)
Ok, Let's try the screw thing one last time... ***TINK***
The universe just gave me it's middle finger. (I'll try not to go into graphic detail where it's finger landed, but it's somewhere fingers shouldn't go)

I just cracked the fixture casing...

Fuck
My
Life

I'm yelling to myself about how I'm going to burn the house down, I'm making up swear words... Meanwhile, my loving bride, who is not a religious woman, is now praying for me... Kids are outside, I'd like to say out of earshot, but I was loud, REALLY LOUD...

Oh, it gets better!

I have NO EXPOSED PLUMBING! It's all IN THE WALL!!!
YAYYYYY ME! Right?

Ms. CPD SIG thought the cheese slid totally off my cracker when she heard the BANG, BANG, BANG and came around the corner to see me taking a hammer to the wall in the hallway.
"Take the kids to my Mom's house!"
(Thankfully, my Mom lives 10 minutes away.)

At this point, I have about an hour to figure out everything I need, run to Home Depot before it closes and I loose my mind.
Copper pipe, fittings, another thing of solder & flux, more blades for the sawzall. Text pictures back and forth with the bride on "Which new shower fixture do you want, Baby?"

Get it all home, start tearing shit out, It's an older house, so I'm cutting out galvanized pipe, and replacing it with copper. (For those in the know: YES, I used a dielectric fitting )
Im working with a Lathe & plaster wall...
Again, fun shit, right? (F-M-L!!!)

My Beloved Mother comes over to see how her eldest (and best looking) is doing, and starts laughing at me. My Mom's kinda funny like that.
"Mom, If you're going to pour salt in this wound, at least go in the fridge and grab me a beer so I can wash it out, please!"
Mom comes back with 2 beers, hands me one, and starts drinking the other. My Mom isn't much of a drinker, but has half of the beer, and is just laughing away... To the point where I just had to laugh. Thanks Mom!
Dust, dirt, plaster all over, tools laying around...
"Thankfully, you know how to do all of this stuff" as she left my house and me in a somewhat better mood.

T'was just before 11pm when I got everything lined up, pipes sweated, and in... except for the drop ear fitting that the shower head arm fits into... DAMNIT!!!!! Got to wait till morning.

Next morning, got the piece I needed, 3/4in drywall, Thinset... to fix the gaping hole in my wall...

a $20, 20 minute job turned into a $300, 3 day job.


Hopefully, you read this AFTER you put the cartridge in. Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
The things you learn on SIGforum! I didn't know showers had their own limit on hot water.

I didn't know that either.

quote:

Originally posted by Rey HRH:

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
The things you learn on SIGforum! I didn't know showers had their own limit on hot water.

I didn't know that either.

Some do, many don't.