I have replaced the cartridge on a moen shower head valve but still only little water coming out but not hot water

Shut the water off and remove the cartridge, Now turn the hot water back on for a minute to flush out the supplies. You should see a strong stream. Now do the same with the cold. If you have pressure reassemble and test, Better now? Good luck, Tom

Remove shower head and check flow to insure that shower head is not blocked.

Hey Harold,
I'd agree that it might be a clogged shower head except for this,
moen shower valve replaced cartridge still no hot wateer Doesn't that indicate a fault in the valve? Your thoughts. Tom

Agree Tom
But also this

still only little water coming out but not hot water
Would same strange if both side of valve blocked. Maybe jeking only tried one side, or maybe he means he has a little cold but no hot. Who knows?

Actually with only a little water coming out the pipes and water may not have a change to heat up. That hot water doesn't arrive instantly. I'd remove the shower head just to help narrow the issue.

Oh, I am sorry. What I meant was the cold water side is very strong coming out of the shower head and lower faucet. However, the hot water side is what trickles only and not hot at all.

OK, go with Tom, blocked hot port side of valve.

When reinstalling cartridge do it in the open position to let the air trapped in the body of the valve out. Makes getting the cartridge back in a lot easier.

Yes. All 3 of us would work on the hot inlet of the cartridge. With the water off, cartridge removed, towel tightly held over open valve body, have someone turn the main valve on and OFF to let the water flush the lines and valves. Then clean the cartrdige ports.

My rental hot water tank leaked and flooded my basement. Please advise if it is wise to buy my own water tank than to continue renting a hot water tank.

What are the terms of your rental agreement? The only ones I have ever seen had free repair and maintenance, what's yours?

My rental hot water tank leaked and flooded my basement. Please advise if it is wise to buy my own water tank than to continue renting a hot water t First off, Is your shower valve repaired and working? I wasn't aware that you could rent a hot water heater, How much are they an month? Can you rent to own? I am assuming you own this house so why would you rent a water heater? Sotta like renting a toilet, Cheers, Tom

Hi Jeking

Please answer the questions these guys asked... wondering about the outcome with the shower valve?

Next, please tell us the monthly cost associated with the rental of the water heater. Can the rental price increase over time? Can you tell us the average cost of a water heater installation in your area? If not, call a local plumber and ask. Also, what kind of water heater...gas/electric/power vented, etc. Finally, as Ballengerb1 (Bob) asked, is the maintenance/repair/replacement/labor costs included with future issues?

Let us know, OK?

Mark

Since the hot water tank broke, I can not work on the Moen shower valve yet. Thanks for asking.

It is a 50 Gals, 80,000 BTU Gas Power Vent Hot Water Tank. The tank is 11 years old. I rent it for Cad $37.46 monthly. I got a Cad $1.16 increase last year. Parts and labor is inclusive. Since the tank broke now, I thought I will just buy and have it installed instead of continuously renting.

In the long run you would be better off to buy. However, if parts and labor why no have it fixed? One years rent pays for a heater but not the labor, why did you ever start renting?

It is the usual practice here in Canada. I just continued renting when I purchased the house. The rent increases regularly. Calculating, renting for 2 or 3 years will actually cover the cost of the tank. Also, for a new tank, the warranty is for 6 years. So, the tank is covered on parts for 6 yrs. I think owning the hot water tank is wise enough.

Just some thoughts.

Examine the warranty closely. I think you will find that only the tank is covered after about 90 or 120 days. However, parts and repair of other components is not expensive. While the tank may be warranted for only 6, 8 or 10 years the usual life expectancy is much longer. I don't think I have ever had one that didn't last 20 years. The one in my mother's house, that was sold about 5 years ago, was over 50 years old.

My expectation is for a new water heater to last 20 years, It may not happen but that is my expectation.

There are only about four manufactures of water heaters in the US and Canada. It is my belief that they are all the same. When you buy the 10 year rather than the 6 year you are only buying the warranty on the tank . The water heater is the same, and by that I mean physically the same product.

Therefore, I say buy the cheapest one possible. Swing by the local plumbing supply house, ask if they have any scratched or dented ones. Might be worth as much as a couple hundred savings.

I like Harolds thinking. I see water heaters like Bic disposable lighters. I can swap one out in an hour so I go cheap.

The technician just completed the removal and replacement of the rented hot water tank. The tank is not cheap because our furnace uses hot water in heating the house, the hot water tank must be power vented and adapted for hydro furnace. Also, the vent pipe was changed according to code. I paid $2,825.00 for the tank and labor plus they will return the rented tank to Reliance. It took more than 3 hours. Thank God it's completed. We waited for the technician till 3:00 PM. He had to finish another job before us. We can't use water since 12:00 midnight. I had to shut the main water valve because the valve going to the hot water tank is leaking and continuous water is going into the tank which in turn leaks and causes flooding in the bedroom and around the water tank. It's bad enough without hot water but what more not able to use water at all. It's really a bad experience for us all. Well, tomorrow it's back to the Moen shower valve.

Thanks a lot Guys for all the feedback.

Is this board only for Plumbing queries ?

Is this board only for Plumbing queries ? Yep! This is the place to get plumbing answers. Thanks for your update. Good luck, Tom

Is this board only for Plumbing queries ?
Yes, on this page. But there are other pages for other subjects such as electric and lighting, interior home improvement, construction, appliance repair, under the Home and Garden Category. In fact there is about any subject you can think of discussed on Ask Me Help Desk.

The Moen shower valve is now working fine. After the hot water tank was replaced, the main water valve was turn off and on which caused the calcium clog on the hot water side line to be flushed out and in effect the hot water side water flow became stronger and hot water now comes out normally.
Thank you all for all your input and suggestions.

The new hot water tank installed in our house is the Bradford White Corp. Defender Safety System, Energy Saver, Model # CSW2TW50T10FBN-457, Type: Combi, Cap. 45.0/37.5 (U.S./Imp. Gal.) Rec 56.8. Added to the 3 holes on top, there are two holes on one side of the tank. One labelled supply to heating system and the other return from heating system. The furnace we have uses hot water with blower used to blow warm air via pvc pipes throughout the house. Right now the furnace share the hot water supplied to the hot water line to the house coming out from the top of the tank. The problem with this is when the furnace is running, there is no hot water left for the shower and other taps in the house. We have to shut down the furnace before we can use the shower. My question is: Can the furnace be connected to the hot water supplied on the side of the tank so it is in effect separate from the hot water line of the house. Maybe we can use hot water on the furnace, shower and faucet at the same time.

I got to see some pictures of this. What brand and model is the furnace? And is the furnace heating the water, or is the water tank heating the water? Please post some pics of your epuiptment, as there are many different types.

I gotta see some pictures of this. What brand and model is the furnace? And is the furnace heating the water, or is the water tank heating the water? Please post some pics of your epuiptment, as there are many different types.

Sorry I got back only now. I got busy and had to look for a camera.
Attached are the pixs. Like I said, the Furnace is sharing with the hot water being supplied to the house. The furnace does not heat the water. When the furnace turns on it takes over and only a little is left for the hot water line for the showers and faucets. We have to turn off the furnace before we can use hot water for the shower and faucets. There is it looks like a metal radiator inside the furnace and the blower blows the warm air throughout the house. The air coming out is not really hot, just warm.

You surely could hook the furnace supply and return to the side of the water heater, but Im not so sure it will make any difference. The real problem is that you don't have enough btu's to keep up with the furnace and domestic hot water demand. Give the side ports a try, and see if things improve, just don't hold your breath.

Couple questions. What size and BTU was the old water heater? And when you say no hot water to other fixtures when furnace is running, do you mean no flow out of hot water taps, or just no hot water (cold instead with good flow)? With what I see in your pics, you should still have good flow at the fixtures, just not hot water due undersized water heater.

Cold water is coming out instead of hot or warm. The previous water tank was 80,000 BTU. I am not sure about the new one installed by the contractor. He said he had a hard time looking for the correct tank because of the sharing of the hot water with the furnace. It actually is a big job separating the connection. Plastic or is it pvc pipes are currently used.

The new tank is rated between 60300 and 67000 BTU all depending on your elevation, according to the tag in the pic. So lets say you are above 2000ft elevation wise in your location. This means you just lost 20000 BTU with the new water heater. This could be just enough to cause your issue. Time to get the plumber back in and size the heater correctly, or maybe add another water heater or boiler for the heating equiptment. Sounds like they just hoped the new water heater would do the job of the old one, which apparently it isn't. Wish I had an easy cheap fix for you, but there just isn't one out there (that I can think of anyway). Wishing you the best of luck, and please do keep us posted on what the outcome is.

The new tank is rated between 60300 and 67000 btu all depending on your elevation, according to the tag in the pic. So lets say you are above 2000ft elevation wise in your location. This means you just lost 20000 btu with the new water heater. This could be just enough to cause your issue. Time to get the plumber back in and size the heater correctly, or maybe add another water heater or boiler for the heating equiptment. Sounds like they just hoped the new water heater would do the job of the old one, which apparently it isnt. Wish I had an easy cheap fix for you, but there just isnt one out there (that I can think of anyway). Wishing you the best of luck, and please do keep us posted on what the outcome is.

Actually, even on the old tank we had the same problem of turning off the furnace to be able to get hot water on the water taps and shower heads. I thought, fortunately, the old tank leaked so it gave me the chance to buy my own instead of renting. When I saw the new tank and the two holes on the side, I thought maybe if the furnace is connected separately on the side of the water tank and the house hot water supply line is connected on the top of the tank source of hot water, maybe it will fix our problem of shutting off the furnace in order to get hot water.

Hey, I still think its worth hooking the furnace lines to the side ports. It may iimprove the situation. Im more than a little surprised that the installer didn't do that to begin with. The plastic pipe you have between the water heater and the furnace is called wirsbo pex and has wirsbo fittings and rings. Good quality stuff (imo). Just need the correct tool to install it. Really shouldn't be too big a job for a plumber, and well worth a shot. But, like I said, it really comes down to lack of btus to keep up with domestic hot water and furnace demands all at the same time. There is something a person could do, but it would cost a bit, and it may not even work correctly. If a plumber were to turn the temp of the water heater all the way up, it would give you a better chance of the furnace heating better, and also could leave enough hot water for domestic use. However, in this case, a tempering device would have to be installed on the domestic hot to keep from scalding temperatures, and tempering devices aren't cheap. Have you considered adding a separate heating device for the furnace? Any way you look at it, its probably going to cost more than you would like to spend, but its hard to put a price on comfort and reliability. Contact some pluming companys, have them come out and give you some suggestions and quotes and see if they won't work out a payment plan. As you know by now, this settup was done incorrectly from the day it was originally installed. I wouldn't put too much blame on the recent installer, as it sounds like they were just trying to replace water heater and get you up and running. I would, however, suggest trying a different company, one that will look further into the complete system and come up with a true sollution. Just keep in mind, this may run into some $$$. Good luck, and please let me know what you decide.