hot shower??

[lemmon]

To all,
I have a 50 gallon gas water heater, and in my only shower I have a delta 1700 Monitor set up. My problem is that I only get about 40 seconds of hot from shower then I have to adjust the heat up some and repeat every 40 seconds or so. This problem started last fall/winter and I replaced the valve with some very minor results. It gets worse with the lower incoming water temp. then after the 10 min shower you have to wait about 20 minutes to get the same heat. I upped the temp on the hot water to 135 and I do get about 130 coming out of the tub faucet. this helped only a little bit... I am fairly good at troubleshooting but this has me stumped. Also when I get out of the shower I get plenty of hot water out of the vanity sink. any direction would be appreciated. Also I have balancing valve set to highest temp
Thanks
Lemmon

[johnjh2o]

Most of your problem has to do with the incoming cold water temperature. When you first turn the shower on the cold water is coming from the water in the piping within the house, followed by colder water coming from your outside source.

John

[lemmon]

John,
Thanks. The thing that has me questioning that is that its a new issue. meaning 3 winters ago with all same system.... I did not experience the constant having to adjust shower temp. Its mostly just annoying at this point...hoping it deosnt get worse.
Thanks for the reply
Lemmon

[johnjh2o]

You may waste a little water but try letting it run for a couple of minutes then set the temperature to your liking. It should at that point stabilize. If that doesn't work then I would change the cartridge in the faucet. There is a balancing spool in there that may be sticking. Call Delta's 800# and they will send you one free of charge.

John

[lemmon]

John,
Thanks. I'll try letting it run.
I did change the cartridge although I didnt know they would send me a free one. I bought it from Lowe's...
So I'll let the cold run for few then set temp and see if that helps.
Thanks
Lemmon

[LiQuId]

run water for a few mins from a different fixture to see if you get the same results.. could be a busted dip tube in the hwt.

[johnjh2o]

Originally Posted by LiQuId

run water for a few mins from a different fixture to see if you get the same results.. could be a busted dip tube in the hwt.

Good point Liquid never thought of that. That could be the problem.

John

[lemmon]

Liquid,
I dont seem to have the problem at different fixtures. Althought since the shower puts out more water and i am not under the water to feel temp changes....
I'll run some tests with a temp gauge to see if the temp falls off.
The dip tube pulls hot from the bottom of the hwt rather than the top...correct

Thanks
Greg

[johnjh2o]

The dip tube is on the cold side. It puts the incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank. The hot water rises to the top of the tank. If the dip tube fails then the incoming water takes the path of least resistance and goes out the hot side. To check to see if the tube failed turn on the hot water and feel the pipe on the hot water side of the tank if it feels cold then chances are the dip tube is bad.

John

[lemmon]

I used an infrared thermometer on the copper coming out of the hwt.
Temp was 81. I then turned on hot water at closest fixture...after about 10 seconds the temp of the copper went to 94...I then checked the water temp at fixture 134.
I think I need to re check when no one is at home since someone may have been recently using hot water.
Re check...copper is 72 after 10-15 seconds climbed to 90. water temp at closest fixture is at 134 again. Am I missing something. I expected the temp of the copper to be close to the water temp. Any insight?
Thanks
Lemmon