qosmioamit
Member
Hello all
I come to you with an interesting problem and I am at my wit's end!
The Backstory
The situation is in a house from 1960s with all copper plumbing. In the washroom on the main floor, there was a bathtub with a cold and hot valve and a bathtub faucet. The layout was such that the setup couldn't be used for stand-in shower. The setup was for baths only. The wall containing the hot and cold valves was shared with a bedroom and the bedroom has an access panel. In July 2016, I hired a plumber to extend the lines to install a single handle faucet and cap off the existing hot and cold valve lines. The plumber installed a copper to PEX connector and extended the hot and cold water lines (PEX) to a Delta 4-way flow orifice and setup a single handle mixer. The shower worked for several months. There was sufficient pressure in the hot and cold lines.
The problem
In late November, a tenant was showering and in the middle of the shower, the hot water stopped flowing. The cold water pressure reduced to less than half. If the single handle mixer is turned to HOT, there is no water flow. If the single handle mixer is turned to COLD, there is some cold water.
Unsuccessful Troubleshooting
1) I replaced the Delta cartridge assuming it was plugged.
2) I shut-off the water to the house and I opened the faucet (single handle lever and cartridge) and only exposed the 4-way flow orifice. With my thumb blocking the cold water side, I had an assistant open the valve to the water to the house. Not a single drop of water came out of the hot water side of the flow orifice, and I felt water pressure on my thumb from the cold water side.
3) I went to the access panel in the bedroom sharing the wall. I found the copper to PEX junction that the plumber had installed. I cut the PEX pipe and tested the water flow on the hot and cold water lines. There was 100% flow on both lines. I then installed a ball valve on the hot and cold water PEX lines, so in future I don't have to shut-off water to the whole house to troubleshoot the shower.
4) I uninstalled the shower and used an air compressor to push 100 psi air from the shower and I could hear the air coming out of the 4-way flow orifice
5) I know there is no leak in the hot water line so the only conclusion is that the line is blocked downstream of the ball valve I installed and upstream of the 4-way flow orifice. I assumed calcified solids in the hot water line, so I used a 16 AWG copper wire and was successfully able to insert 4 ft of wire on the hot side of the 4-way orifice into the pipeline. This proved that the blockage is further upstream of that.
6) A frozen line is not possible because neither wall is beside a window and the house is always at 20C or higher.
7) Assuming that the hot water heater has suspended solids, I drained my hot water heater from the drain valve. All of the water was clear.
Every other faucet in the house has hot water except this shower.
Without cutting open the wall and cutting open the pipe, does anybody have any suggestions or ideas regarding what could lead to such a complete blockage?
Is it possible that the PEX pipe was not secured and it has bent? Or it is bent and blocked?
Have you encountered something similar before?
I have attached two pictures. One of the Delta cartridge and another of the 4-way flow orifice. I inserted the copper wire from the left hole and I was able to push 4 ft of wire through it.
Thank you!
I come to you with an interesting problem and I am at my wit's end!
The Backstory
The situation is in a house from 1960s with all copper plumbing. In the washroom on the main floor, there was a bathtub with a cold and hot valve and a bathtub faucet. The layout was such that the setup couldn't be used for stand-in shower. The setup was for baths only. The wall containing the hot and cold valves was shared with a bedroom and the bedroom has an access panel. In July 2016, I hired a plumber to extend the lines to install a single handle faucet and cap off the existing hot and cold valve lines. The plumber installed a copper to PEX connector and extended the hot and cold water lines (PEX) to a Delta 4-way flow orifice and setup a single handle mixer. The shower worked for several months. There was sufficient pressure in the hot and cold lines.
The problem
In late November, a tenant was showering and in the middle of the shower, the hot water stopped flowing. The cold water pressure reduced to less than half. If the single handle mixer is turned to HOT, there is no water flow. If the single handle mixer is turned to COLD, there is some cold water.
Unsuccessful Troubleshooting
1) I replaced the Delta cartridge assuming it was plugged.
2) I shut-off the water to the house and I opened the faucet (single handle lever and cartridge) and only exposed the 4-way flow orifice. With my thumb blocking the cold water side, I had an assistant open the valve to the water to the house. Not a single drop of water came out of the hot water side of the flow orifice, and I felt water pressure on my thumb from the cold water side.
3) I went to the access panel in the bedroom sharing the wall. I found the copper to PEX junction that the plumber had installed. I cut the PEX pipe and tested the water flow on the hot and cold water lines. There was 100% flow on both lines. I then installed a ball valve on the hot and cold water PEX lines, so in future I don't have to shut-off water to the whole house to troubleshoot the shower.
4) I uninstalled the shower and used an air compressor to push 100 psi air from the shower and I could hear the air coming out of the 4-way flow orifice
5) I know there is no leak in the hot water line so the only conclusion is that the line is blocked downstream of the ball valve I installed and upstream of the 4-way flow orifice. I assumed calcified solids in the hot water line, so I used a 16 AWG copper wire and was successfully able to insert 4 ft of wire on the hot side of the 4-way orifice into the pipeline. This proved that the blockage is further upstream of that.
6) A frozen line is not possible because neither wall is beside a window and the house is always at 20C or higher.
7) Assuming that the hot water heater has suspended solids, I drained my hot water heater from the drain valve. All of the water was clear.
Every other faucet in the house has hot water except this shower.
Without cutting open the wall and cutting open the pipe, does anybody have any suggestions or ideas regarding what could lead to such a complete blockage?
Is it possible that the PEX pipe was not secured and it has bent? Or it is bent and blocked?
Have you encountered something similar before?
I have attached two pictures. One of the Delta cartridge and another of the 4-way flow orifice. I inserted the copper wire from the left hole and I was able to push 4 ft of wire through it.
Thank you!
