Hey, I'm a new homeowner and my hot water to the shower stopped working all of a sudden last night. I've checked, and the hot water does not flow in the shower with either just the regular faucet running or the shower head running, only cold water. I've never had a water pressure problem before either. The hot water works in both sinks in the bathrooms and also in the sink in the kitchen. Not sure what it could be, any help?

Thanks,
Miles

Hi Miles,

Need a little more information then what I have. What brand is the valve? How old is it? One handle or two knobs? What type of water heater? Gas? Electric? How old? Do you flush and maintain the heater on a regular basis? Answer my questions and I'll reply ASAP. Cheers, Tom

Okay, I don't know how or where to look at the valve to tell you what brand it is. But the shower has 3 knobs, 1 for cold water, 1 for hot water, and 1 for tub or shower flow. I've got a US/Craftsmaster electric heater that is 40 gallons. The latest date I can find on it is 1994, which is what the kilowatt per hour usage is based on. So at least no older then 10 years. The house is 20 years old so I guess the valve is that old as well? I just moved in here 4 months ago and haven't flushed the heater, how do you go about doing that? Thanks, I appreciate it.

Miles

OK Miles,
Now I have a better idea of what you have. Sounds like you have some crud blocking the hot water seat, ( the opening the washer screws down on to shut and open.) Shut the water off to the valve and remove the left hand knob and plate. You will find a brass nut, (the bonnet packing nut) unscrew that and back the stem and washer assembly out counterclockwise. If the washer's worn or torn replace it. Shine a light down in the valve body and check the seat to be sure it's clear of trash. Now turn on the water. You should have a full stream coming out the open valve body. If you do replace everything and test it out. If no stream or it's weak get back to me. The problem might be mineral build up from the water heater that got sucked up in the supply line. If you do not flush,(not drain) your heater on a regular basis it will build up mineral on the bottom of the tank. Let me show you how to flush your heater. Attach a hose to the boiler drain at the bottom of the tank. With the pressure on, open the boiler drain and let it run until the water runs clear. You will see a spurt of red,(rust) and some white grains,(lime or calcium carbonate). The whole thing shouldn't take more then a few minutes. Don't forget to flush it out every month. Your heater will thank you for it. Hope this helps. Good luck, Tom

All right thanks for the info! Actually what happened was I tried to take the knob off and it broke off the copper stem tube, and it was turned all the way on, even though no water was coming out. So I went over to the neighbors to take a shower and when I got back the water was gushing out and almost overflowed in the tub. So then I turned the hot water valve off to the house and let the tub drain. I unscrewed the broken stem and went over to Lowe's and said "I need a new one of these" and I got one. I came back and installed it and everything is fine now. I just don't know why the hot water stopped in the tub for like a day and a half and fixed itself. The most logical explanation does seem to be that there was something blocking it, but all is good now. I appreciate the advice. At least something good came out of this, I learned something. And plus I bought new knobs for the shower so now my bathroom looks better! Thanks.

Don't forget to flush out your heater or you may be doing this all over again.
Glad you're all fixed up. Tom