Lately the pressure in our shower has reduced, I have changed the easy stuff , vacuum valve , hose and cleaned shower head . I now suspect calcium build up in the main valve , I am reluctantl to start dismantling the valve without having the tools / rebuild kit . Has anybody advice
The only thing you can do with a shower head after sitting it in CLR to remove calcium etc is take it off the hose and take out the little screen in base of handle. Below this may be a restrictor and you can remove these by using a set of needle nosed pliers. Grab the restrictor and gently pull it straight out. You do not need it and this alone will make a big difference on volume of water.
It may not have one of these in due to age but at least look for it.
JohnH
Is the shower valve simple to dismantle, I can see , remove plastic handle and brass trim plate , then i am unsure
There may be a screen where the hose attaches to the wall. It might be a Moen valve, maybe not. If you can find out the brand and model you can find service instructions on the internet. In any case they are not too hard to service. Replacement cartridges ahould be easy to find.
Haven't figured out how to add photo, but it's a tear shaped plastic handle which turns anti clockwise for hot , clockwise for cold and pull out for on/off
Jimmy. I have fixed many many of those showers in my reno and building years and the times it was a cartridge was almost nil. Take the hose off hand shower part and look at the screen in head and see if a restrictor is in it , if so remove it.
JohnH
If you still want to remove cartridge, take the cap off the plastic tear shaped handle and remove screw. Pull handle off then remove the 2 screws that hold plate on. Pull all that off the remove the metal sleeve( and any plastic spacers/stops) and you will see a copper clip. Use pliers to pull it up and out and then you can slide the cartridge out. It may have 2 long oval rubber seals on it, do not damage them and make sure you put it all back same way with some silicone plumbers grease smeared on it. Rebuild is opposite to remove.
Thanks John
Appreciate that and will tackle it tomorrow if nothing else breaks in mean time . Jim
Your valve handle sounds like the one on my U295, so it may have similar plumbing in the rest of the line.
Does the connection for the hand shower hose have a blocky-looking 90 deg elbow right out of the wall and then what looks like an adapter between that elbow and the hose? If so, I discovered that the "adapter" has a flow restrictor within. When I put a new shower head on with on/off valve the pressure with the shower head valve off started pushing the plastic restrictor right out of the brass "adapter" body causing a leak.
I just took the adapter off and connected the hose directly to the elbow (same threads in my case). Now I use the shower head valve to pause flow while soaping and to modulate flow when rinsing off.
Edit: My mistake. After finding a magnifying glass to read the fine print I see that the "adapter" is actually the vacuum breaker that you have already addressed. Never encountered one of these before.
Okay, it's my turn. The shower pressure has been getting dismal. There is a vacuum breaker (and I assume backflow preventer as well) located at the hose connection to the valve outlet. Is this the culprit? I can get a replacement in the shiny silver as the brass color is no longer available. About $25 plus tax.
Delta Faucet U4900-PB-PK Universal Showering Components Vacuum Breaker,... (http://www.amazon.com/U4900-PB-PK-Universal-Showering-Components-Polished/dp/B0064TX99A)
Did you try showing the thing in CLR for a few hours?
Roland
I did not try the cleaning approach. For $25 I figured I could replace it and hope that fixes the problem. Thnx.
I also finally took a few pictures of the shower head that is original to show in this case how a small O ring is actually playing the part of a flow restriction. The first one shows looking in the end of spray. second the few bits that go inside and the third the little O ring that can be left out to give a bit more water volume. When taking the tabbed washer off do not worry if one or more of the little tabs get bent as you just bend them back and push it back in to locate in the tiny groove you can see before taking it out. Simple 5 min job that will make some difference. Sorry for the blurring in pics.
JohnH
Hmm...I am not at the coach today, but I will check tomorrow. I do not recall seeing that setup in my shower head. I think my 97 shower head does not have any of those parts there. If there are any restricting o rings, they may be up top of the dispenser.
Dave, any flow restriction will be in the handle end as that is where all makes/styles I have removed it from. Some are a small plastic piece that fits into same area (usually about the size of a watch battery). Since these became common addition in plumbing fixtures I can with all honesty say I have removed 20 or more for people who want a better flow. In taps it is same location ( next to Aerator)
JohnH
Took another look at the shower handle, and for sure John is correct. So, I removed the rubber o-ring and drilled a 1/8" hole for good measure. I should have just left the pressure reducer thingamajiggy out, but decided to leave it. Don't ask me why.
I have the vacuum break submerged in distilled white vinegar. We'll see the results when I de-winterize Forrest. That should be a week or so.
What is the function of the vacuum breaker? I can maybe see why you would need it if you left the shower head laying on the floor or in a bucket of water.
I am in the process of replacing the wall plate and handle, the wall elbow, the hose and the shower head. No one at the plumbing place said anything about a vacuum breaker.
There was a bit of crusty stuff in the pipe leading to the wall elbow but not enough to limit flow. Cleaned it all out.
Roger the reason I believe it is there is because in some States there are rules that they must be in the system to stop the very unlikely event of any siphoning of water somewhere in the system you are hooked up to (ie RV park/city water tap). IF this were to happen affected water would possibly go thru the whole system and pollute which could be costly and dangerous.
As we hardly ever are tied to city water I have removed that piece.
JohnH
Not to mention kill you! I spent thirty years in the water industry, pushing for regs; The "Clean Water Act" was a great idea, but most purveyors and suppliers (R.V. Parks) ignored it. We have a "back flow device" in the coach, big deal, we're carefull, but who knows what "cross-connections" can poison a water system? We use shore water for everything , but drinking water gets boiled, which means we've run out of bottled water. The biggest problem, as I see it, is people don't realize what a dangerous situation this is, and it will continue unless the Feds lean on the locals. Bottom line down here: "NO TOMAR AGUA"
I agree with you Mike. I used to drink water from the tank or shore with the charcoal filter under the sink on, but not any more. I still sanitize the tank every year, but now we drink bottled water. I hate the idea, but it is prudent to do so any more.
The $50 for the ADC filter now goes to buying bottled water for drinking and cooking.
John, i have one of those that connects between the cg faucet and the coach water line if there isn't one there already. This prevents sucking water from the coach into the CG supply.
I was asking about the vacuum breaker in the shower. Does the same thing ... If you leave the shower head in a bucket of nasty water. I'll get one just to be safe.
Roger, I realised that and I was talking about the shower one all the time. I just added to CG supply to try and explain the reason for one on shower system
JohnH
Thanks John,
I guess the one for the hand held shower it to protect the coach's water system. We don't have one at home in the shower and the plumbing person never mentioned it. The coach had the original one that I removed in the brass to brushed nickel change over. In any case a brushed nickel vacuum breaker will be here tomorrow.
When we hook up to an external water supply I am careful to disinfect the spigot and connections and run a bucket of water before connecting to see what it looks like. I put a tablespoon or two of bleach in the large particulate filter which then goes through everything on the way into the coach which includes the three filters and a water softener. We have never had a water problem, maybe we have been lucky.
Peter, are you just being careful or have you run into bad water? The worst water we have ever seen was in Parker AZ. It was salty and very nasty. They sold "good" water for 25ยข per gallon or five gallons for a buck, bring your own jug. There were people there almost all day, every day filling their jugs.
Roger,
We've been using bottled water for drinking & cooking for about 3 years. The recent incident in Flint, MI only supports our decision. I can't put my trust in localities to ensure their drinking water is always safe; fracking, etc..
Also, we do not camp enough to support replacing the ADC filter every year. It costs the same to purchase bottled water as it is to purchase the filter.
It's not the skanky taste that concerns me, that's usually organic and not a health problem. It's the pollution that is tasteless & odorless that freaks me out. One of the newer problems is the contamination caused by discarded prescription drugs entering a water system, either by what's called "Backflow" or "Back Siphonage", both dangerous, but not enforced in a lot of States and small water systems. As you said, Peter, Flint, MI SHOULD be a wake up call to the entire nation concerning the shape of our water systems!