[Deandome]

We had the dreaded disintegrated intake tube problem, so we replaced the gas HW heater about 4 weeks ago... flushed every outlet (faucets/tubs/showers) and things were great. I even removed two bath cartridges to get maximum, right-outta-the-pipe pressure for the flushing.

The debris stopped coming out, the pressure was great (equal to cold) and I thought we were all set.

Well now, we're getting significantly less HW pressure, and that's everywhere, so it's not a point-of-use problem, it's the system. I'd guess it's about a 25% less pressure than the cold... in Moen-faucet-speak, the temp-dial needs to be at about 10 o'clock positiion for a nice warm instead of a straight-up 12 o'clock.

What do you think this could be? Perhaps a big chunk of intake tube particles (that had stayed put during the flush) shifted & is now blocking an 'aorta'? What should I do... maybe another gush-flush (I take the pressure balance cartridgeout of a Grohe tub faucet & then open the cutoff, giving max. HW flow)? Should I maybe first turn up the heater to the max temp, thinking super-hot water might unclog better than normal? SOMETHING ALTOGETHER DIFFERENT?

Inquiring minds want to know... and will greatly appreciate your input :)

Dean

[speedball1]

Flush the hot lines again and let me know if more trash came out. Regards, Tom