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It gets better. Posted by Justin VanAbrahams [Email] (#32) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Justin VanAbrahams) on Tue, 15 Oct 2013 10:16:22 In Reply to: OT: Odd Shower + Hot Water + Tankless Heater Issue, Justin VanAbrahams [Profile/Gallery] , Mon, 14 Oct 2013 16:39:46 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
Something is almost definitely in the process of failing. Or has finally totally failed.
Last year, the shower worked fine - it was a little touchy at the exact midpoint such that if it was 50/50 hot/cold the heater had a good chance of turning off, but bumping it to 55/45 hot/cold would completely sidestep the issue. No worries.
Over the last year, the ratio issue has gotten worse. For the past several months, it's needed to be like 80/20 hot/cold to keep the heater running. This morning, after running for maybe five minutes the water went cold and I could not get the heater to start again. As always, turning on the bathroom sink fixed the issue - although I could not get the shower water to anything approaching hot. Lukewarm was it. That implies the valve is simply not passing hot water.
The shower head is maybe two years old. It's not a "strict" low-flow head. California has rules, so it obviously falls within those rules, but it's a multi-mode head with a "rain" setting which is very good flow. Interestingly, the showerhead in the downstairs guest bedroom is an actual low-flow head, and it has no problem maintaining hot water in perpetuity. I don't think the upstairs issue is the head. I will try removing it completely and seeing if that changes any symptoms, though - that seems like a very good test.
If the balancing valve can fail, does "losing hot" seem like a reasonable way for it to do so? I have zero intention of replacing it myself (I do cars and computers, maybe some electrical - not plumbing :) so I'm just trying to gather information so I don't sound like a complete idiot when I have a contractor over. :)
Thanks guys!
posted by 12.195.130...
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