We've had to adjust our hot water heater to accommodate a new dishwasher that requires hot water to be between 120-130 degrees so we've turned it down from somewhere in the HOT range on the dial to exactly at WARM.

Our main shower and our second bathtub/shower both feel barely warm but all other places in the house supply hot water. This includes the sinks in both of these bathrooms as well as the separate tub in the main shower bathroom. Our clothes washer has hot water and so on.

What could be up with our plumbing to our two showers to explain such a drop in temperature from the rest of the house?

(To be clear, the second bath/shower's water being noted is coming directly from the tub faucet, not the shower head to rule out issues with the shower heads themselves.)

Thanks!

Yes length of pipe and cold on the pipe acting like a radiator, pipe being radiator and cold hitting pipe and hot through pipe is to low and can't over power the cold around pipe. Size of pipe can play a big roll and cold hitting that pipe. Was it good before? Can that line be insulated along the way to tub? "good note" The "warm" on heater is low. The "warm" is the key that when it starts it (warm/at it hottest warm) but not "warm" enough to sustain that on a long run of cold pipe. A sink in a bathroom can be hot but really drop if pipe to tub is getting colder temps to tub,
Was it good before you turned down the heater?
The catalyst is turning down the hot water heater and now it changed the start temp.
Test turn heater up ( don't run dishwasher) and see if that is the culprit.
Signed 21 boat

We'd noticed a year or so ago that our main shower will lose hot water sooner than we'd expect while the tub in the same bathroom will have really hot water still.
The house is only 6 years old.

What the size of your hot water heater? Gas or electric? Electric one of there elements may be getting build up with lime ar just getting old. Reaheat of water is to slow and will get slower as time goes on let me know. Are you well os city water?
21 Boat

Not sure the gallon size, it's what came with our 2000 sq.ft. house and runs on gas. We have city water. It's not hard and we don't think it's more prone to calcification than normal.

[QUOTE=DMK;1448665]We've had to adjust our hot water heater to accommodate a new dishwasher that requires hot water to be between 120-130 degrees so we've turned it down from somewhere in the HOT range on the dial to exactly at WARM.

Before adjusting you gas valve setting to the warm how were the showers were you getting hot water or just the same like now?

Check the Image below and tell me where is your gas valve setting now, Thanks.

John

Do you know if you have scauld guard faucets in your showers, if you do these can be adjusted to let hotter water flow through the valve and still have the scauld guard protection.
Let me know if you have them and I will tell you how to adjust the tempature.

We were getting hot water but it wasn't as hot as the water coming out of the separate tub. This is when our normal (pre new dishwasher) setting was 140' (per your image).
I turned it down to the 120' marking for the dishwasher and that's when we started getting the outright lukewarm shower (with the shower dial turned to max hot).

Thanks by the way to everyone for helping with this.

My 2 cents: 120 degrees is not enough, especially during winter time. In the winter, we usually raise temperature to higher setting bcs water cools down lot faster during delivery. Raise you temperature at the w/h thermostat and you should be OK.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by letmetellu

Do you know if you have scauld gaurd faucets in your showers, if you do these can be adjusted to let hotter water flow through the valve and still have the scauld gaurd protection.
Let me know if you have them and I will tell you how to adjust the tempature.

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Not sure how to tell if we have scauld guards.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Milo Dolezal

My 2 cents: 120 degrees is not enough, especially during winter time. In the winter, we usually raise temperature to higher setting bcs water cools down lot faster during delivery. Raise you temperature at the w/h thermostat and you should be ok.

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I agree with Milo 120 degrees is not enough the weather is cold, set it 130 degrees if that would not work then set it back to 140 degrees, good luck.

John

DMK..

Only way to tell if you have a scald guard is to remove the TRIM around the shower valve and see if you see anything with gradations/adjustability at the valve. You do not need to shut water to valve to make this adjustment.

The symmons temptrol valve has a SET SCREW that can be adjusted. Other valves, like kohler or delta have disks with gradations that can be removed, spun a couple degrees and then reset.

Check for the scald guard before resetting the temperature higher than 125 F... this seems most logical to me.

ALso... how have you confirmed temp. is between 120-130F? Just curious?

Let us know...

MARK

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

DMK..

Only way to tell if you have a scald guard is to remove the TRIM around the shower valve and see if you see anything with gradations/adjustability at the valve. You do not need to shut water to valve to make this adjustment.

The symmons temptrol valve has a SET SCREW that can be adjusted. Other valves, like kohler or delta have disks with gradations that can be removed, spun a couple degrees and then reset.

Check for the scald guard before resetting the temperature higher than 125 F...this seems most logical to me.

ALso...how have you confirmed temp. is between 120-130F?? Just curious??

Let us know...

MARK

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Thanks Mark, I'll have to acquire some caulking material before I remove the trim to check this out. I might call our builder Monday and see if they know if scald guards were installed.
Will check back in when I've got this info.

DMK...

Can you tell us the name on the shower valves?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008

DMK...

Can you tell us the name on the shower valves?

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Delta Monitor, 1700 Series

Quote:

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Originally Posted by massplumber2008
DMK...
Can you tell us the name on the shower valves?
Delta Monitor, 1700 Series

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A Delta 1700 series,( see image) has no skald guard. Turn your water heater back up. Regards, Tom

Delta Faucet is a Scald Guard type faucet. It cannot be adjusted as some advice could be nor can it be removed at all. Your builder did not "...put it in ". Delta explains as follows:

".....A Scald-Guard valve is a Delta® shower valve feature that keeps you and your family safe from dangerous water temperature fluctuations in the shower and bath. These fluctuations may occur when a toilet is flushed or an appliance, such as a dishwasher, is turned on when the shower is being used. When set correctly, the Scald-Guard valve keeps water temperatures within a pleasing ±3º F, When inlet water temperature is set correctly. This feature is found on all Delta Monitor® Series tub/shower faucets....."

However, what you want to look for is a Temperature Limit Stop Ring. It is usually a plastic ring that is inserted directly behind the handle. It prevents the handle to turn hot water on maximum. That ring can be easily removed: Remove handle, remove the plastic Temperature Limit Stop Ring with needle nose pliers, reinstall handle - and you will be able to turn handle all the way up to the hot water side.

Let us know what you've found out...

So there's no skald guard per se but there is a Temp Limit Stop Ring? Anyone else want to chime in and confirm this either way? If not I'll probably open up the handle assembly and take a look.

Thanks again everybody!

(By the way, massplumber - you might remember this a little bit, I posted an issue under the name Dereckk back in May or so about our shower losing hot water while other areas in the house had full hot water. The issue seemed to go away at the time but I failed to note a reply and Ive felt bad about that since then. I wanted to thank you. Thanks. )

Update: I called our builder and they said all showers they install come with scald guards. Apparently it's a law here in Oregon.

Once I get some caulking material I'll get behind the dials and see about removing them.