Diverter Valve [un]Soldering

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RWG

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Working on a Koehler shower faucet from around 1987. Basic 2 knob, diverter in the spout. The problem I'm chasing is that the tub has 1/2 the flow of the sink right next to it (same supply). My best guess here is a corrosion clog in the valve because well water. Probably some shredded washer pieces in there too. Next step is rip it outta the wall to repair / replace and that's where I need a little hand holding.

Not my first rodeo, I've sweated 1/2" copper before. I know any water in the line will suck up all your heat and I know heating up a brass (shut off) valve takes longer than heating up a copper pipe. What I think I'm running in to here is the big hunk of brass sucking all the heat away from the copper joints.

see pic. Put the basic Bens-O-Matic propane torch on the spout elbow for a couple minutes and no where near hot enough to melt the solder and yeah, the brass was heating up. So what's the trick here? Will MAPP make a difference? I kinda wanted to sweat it apart, see if I can unclog it and solder it back it. Plan B of cut the pipe and put it back together with straight couplings seems likely to have the same problem.
 

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Started at the diverter spout, cleaned the water deposits out of the gate, did all subsequent flow testing with the spout off. Maybe I'll take the valves out of stems, hook a water source to the spout and try to back flush that center valve.
 
Turn the water off.

Take the stems out, wipe out any obvious crud, and then with a partner’s help to avoid flooding, just turn the water back on partway for a few seconds.
Do that a few times.
Communucate by cell phone, or yelling, or pounding on the floor.

Create some shields with foil or plastic bags, if you need to divert water from around the valves down into the tub, so it won’t run behind the wall.
 
You have pretty good access there.

Maybe just take that old beater out, and install a new single handle valve like Moen or Delta, they make a nice oval trim kit that will hide the old two hole scar in the tile.

You will have to do some tile cutting free hand, a Rotozip can do that, other ways also.
 
If I remove the stems, unscrew the valve and put the stem back in I've got a hollow stem sticking out of the well and the only place for the water to go is in the tub. I really doubt my blockage is on the supply side of rough in valve - I'm really thinking it's past the valves and in the baffles / flow restrictor where the hot / colt / tub / shower come together.

Hence my idea to about hooking a garden hose to the sink down the hall (like for filling a water bed) and using that for back flushing up the tub spout and out the hollow stems.

As for ripping the pig out and replacing it, been shopping for a couple days and yeah, there aren't many options for an old school setup like this. I think I settled on a Pfister but the inks not dry yet. Still leaves me the challenge of sweating it all together but I think compression fittings might be my friend here.
 
Push to connect with copper pipe ??

So, I just back flushed it and got a hunk of broken washer out of both sides. Flow just like the other one now.
 
Yes, copper pipe works with Sharkbite and other push fittings.
And they have all kinds of elbows, threaded adapters, whatever you need.
Not cheap, but no risk of fire, and no need to brush up on soldering skills.
 

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