pasadena_commut
Well-Known Member
American Standard 3 handle shower issue. In a previous thread I posted about problems with the diverter:
https://www.plumbingforums.com/threads/american-standard-3-handle-shower-diverter.9772/
The last time I replaced the hot and cold cartridges on this system it turned out so that opening the cold handle more than just a little resulted in a cold mix because so little hot water was coming out. Since then the rubber must have mashed down on the cold side (handle needed to rotate up by an extra 30 degrees to shut off) so I changed the seats (Danco 30019E) and the Aqua-seal washers (Danco 80410) on both sides. Result, now the cold must rotate a vast amount, more than a quarter turn, before any water would come out. It was the exact same cartridge on that side, just new rubber. Took it out and compared the old rubber with the new. Other than the usual spreading due to being mashed by use it looked the same. Turned the water back on with the cartridges out and observed approximately equal flow on both sides. Put the cartridges in, same problem with C side, not H side. Loosened the nut which holds the cartridge in place and the cold flow improved quite a bit, still not where I want it.
So, is there some trick to putting these cartridges back in about how much to tighten them? The method I used was to retract the center of the cartridge as much as possible, put it back in place, put the nut in behind it, tighten by hand, then with a wrench until "reasonably tight". I didn't use all that much force, about like I would have used for installing spark plugs. That worked for Hot (this time, but not last time) but not for cold (this time, but it did last time.)
https://www.plumbingforums.com/threads/american-standard-3-handle-shower-diverter.9772/
The last time I replaced the hot and cold cartridges on this system it turned out so that opening the cold handle more than just a little resulted in a cold mix because so little hot water was coming out. Since then the rubber must have mashed down on the cold side (handle needed to rotate up by an extra 30 degrees to shut off) so I changed the seats (Danco 30019E) and the Aqua-seal washers (Danco 80410) on both sides. Result, now the cold must rotate a vast amount, more than a quarter turn, before any water would come out. It was the exact same cartridge on that side, just new rubber. Took it out and compared the old rubber with the new. Other than the usual spreading due to being mashed by use it looked the same. Turned the water back on with the cartridges out and observed approximately equal flow on both sides. Put the cartridges in, same problem with C side, not H side. Loosened the nut which holds the cartridge in place and the cold flow improved quite a bit, still not where I want it.
So, is there some trick to putting these cartridges back in about how much to tighten them? The method I used was to retract the center of the cartridge as much as possible, put it back in place, put the nut in behind it, tighten by hand, then with a wrench until "reasonably tight". I didn't use all that much force, about like I would have used for installing spark plugs. That worked for Hot (this time, but not last time) but not for cold (this time, but it did last time.)