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Taking a shower this a.m and suddenly the water became scorchingly hot. As I danced around to escape the steaming beast that was fixing to boil me alive, I cranked the valve toward the cold end…but nothing…still steaming. I cranked it further…and then further…and then all the way. But still, no change. So, for whatever reason, I bagan to rotate the valve back and forth – towards hot, then cold, then back to hot. Suddenly there was what seemed to be a slight and very brief surge in water pressure and the temp returned to normal. I obviously know nothing about how shower vavles actually fuction, and FWIW the valve in question is the type that you rotate counter-clockwise to turn the water on, and the farther you rotate it, the hotter the water becomes. There was no one else home at the time, so I’m sure it wasn’t a flushed toilet or something similar. So is it possible for this type of valve (or any type for that matter) to “stick” and mess with the mix of hot and cold? Or could there be some other explanation? (if it makes any difference, well water and a 10 yr old electric HWH)
Thanks in advance!
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I'm no plumber but I think people will need more info on the valve.
I have a valve similar to what you describe. It's made by Moen. I replaced the cartridge (guts) in it because it was leaking by. There were 2 o-rings and 2 square rubber gaskets on this. As these components age, they erode away, and/or break. It's conceivable that these are damaged and impeding normal water flow throught he cartridge. Or perhaps a big flake of rust scale went through the pipes and temporarily blocked water from the cold side, etc...
There are a hundred different makes of shower valve, and just as many types of "inards" to them. If you shut off the supply valves to the unit and take the handle/cover plate off and pull out the stem handle, it might be fairly obvious to tell what's up.
If you want to leave well enough alone (ie. it works now so why mess with it) then at least make sure your HWH isn't turned up high enough to scald someone the next time it occurs.