Boy, this has gotten to be a drill. I have an American Standared Amerylis shower system that I’ve had since 1997, and the pressure compensating valve continues to fail, cutting off the hot water. I think I’ve replaced this at least four times in the past twelve years. I’m happy that I’m at least within the AS period of life long warranty for parts, but I wonder why this keeps happening.
It starts with the hot water flow gradually diminishing until there’s virtually none. Then I replace the balance valve with a new one, and everything is okay for about another six months. Then the hot water starts to diminish as before. We have hard water here in Wisconsin, but I also have a water softener. Do any of you know if this is a defect, because this shouldn’t be happening again and again?
hanks — Barry
Replies
could the problem be some sort of object inside the hot water line ?
Hey, I get all kinds of black #### in my faucet filters indicating that stuff breaks loose from those galvanized pipes, but should this affect a pressure valve? I have no idea what makes mine repeatedly fail, but I can't believe that I'm the only one in this country experiencing this problem, since it's happened multiple times. Or maybe it could be Norman Bates setting me up?
Not familiar with that particular make and model, but in general crud in the works might well upset the operation of a pressure balancing valve. Do you find the same black crud in the pressure valves when you take them apart?
-- J.S.
The galv pipes, if very close to the valve, could cause some electrolytic action on the valve parts, possibly affecting some critical tolerance.
The other thing I was wondering about is whether it could be that you have too much pressure? What's your water pressure?
I suspect that you are getting crud from the water supply system, especially if you are on a municipal system.
If you're on a private well, it's common for sand and grit to be pumped up.
Look inside the tank of your toilet and see if there's an accumulation of debris lying in the bottom. If so, your water supplier is probably sending a lot of junk that gets sent to all your faucets and fixtures.
If so, you will benefit from installing a whole-house filter on the incoming line.