# Hot, Cold Shower



## Cajunhiker (Dec 14, 2009)

Today I had problem that was new to me.

Customer's water would alternate between hot and cold each time the Kohler single handle shower valve was turned on and off, and back on again. There was no warm middle ground. Cold, then hot. Cold, then hot. And so forth. And this started only after a new water heater was installed in the attic 2 days prior.

In 10 years of plumbing, I don't ever remember coming across this problem. 

Turns out, there's was a pressure balance spool sitting behind the cartridge that went bad. More specifically, inside the spool is a metal piston with a rubber diaphragm that pushes open and closed depending how much hot or cold water is desired by turning the shower valve handle. The rubber diaphragm was wore out.

Solved the problem by replacing the entire cartridge and pressure balance spool.


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## Nathan901 (Feb 11, 2012)

Yea I have had to replace a few of the kholer ones before. 

Nothing is as bad as a posi-temp cartridge


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## KoleckeINC (Oct 22, 2011)

If you had asked I would have told you that was the problem. Positemps are easy money.


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## Nathan901 (Feb 11, 2012)

You know when you see a positemp with a brass retaining clip, it's coming out in pieces. 

The wire style clips are newer, and usually pull right out. 
They are an easy cartridge to chisel out. As soon as you realize it's stuck, snap the stem, chip the front section of plastic out, then pull out the center spool. Take a hacksaw blade and cut at either the 12 or 6 o'clock location. After that you just jam a flat head in and pry pieces out. I've broken too many pullers, and they just shred the rubber and force it into the ports.

I'd rather rebuild that style kholer any day


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## SchmitzPlumbing (May 5, 2014)

bill out for the new parts and return the old ones to your distributor for warranty.:whistling2:


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## KoleckeINC (Oct 22, 2011)

Nathan901 said:


> You know when you see a positemp with a brass retaining clip, it's coming out in pieces. The wire style clips are newer, and usually pull right out. They are an easy cartridge to chisel out. As soon as you realize it's stuck, snap the stem, chip the front section of plastic out, then pull out the center spool. Take a hacksaw blade and cut at either the 12 or 6 o'clock location. After that you just jam a flat head in and pry pieces out. I've broken too many pullers, and they just shred the rubber and force it into the ports. I'd rather rebuild that style kholer any day


 ok that's good to know


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## KoleckeINC (Oct 22, 2011)

Drill a few 3" screws into it, or use PBlaster down the shower pipe and work the handle.


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## paultheplumber1 (May 1, 2014)

It worked out cheaper for me to just by a couple cases of those 304 valves and rob the repair parts out of them as needed. Vs stocking the repair pieces individually. And fire the valve body's into the scrap heap.


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

I really hate the Kohlers. Every time I try to fix one, the parts don't work. And they aren't cheap. Worse, I can't figure out why. It's as if the body of the faucet has been stretched somehow. I suppose it's possible that the apartments were left unheated in the winter, though that seems unlikely.


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## Herk (Jun 12, 2008)

paultheplumber1 said:


> It worked out cheaper for me to just by a couple cases of those 304 valves and rob the repair parts out of them as needed. Vs stocking the repair pieces individually. And fire the valve body's into the scrap heap.


That might even be cheaper than buying the parts separately.


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