No cold water, shower only, any plumbers?

I already replaced the moen valve assembly, I cleaned out the pipe, nothing seemed to be in the way. Note: its never been this cold here since I have been alive? Could the shower pipes be ran separately from the bathroom sink, seems unconventional to me, house was built in 84 and maybe the shower pipes are just closer to the outside wall. There is a protruding wall in the garage, I might put a camera snake in there to see what I am dealing with.

You cannot see or trace the pipes in the basement, they just go up through the ceiling, I checked under the kitchen and bathroom sink, cant see anything, not sure where the pipes are ran.

when you had the cartridge apart, did you (or have someone else) turn the water back on to flush the line and see if you had cold water? Turn the hot water off so that it only tries to blow water through the cold side.

That's actually a great idea.

I however did figure out it was a frozen pipe. I put the space heater facing the pipes in the basement overnight. Not the best idea I've ever had, but it did work (built in thermostat so it was somewhat safe) It was thawed this morning and seems to be working.

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Originally Posted by allbaugh_04

That's actually a great idea.

I however did figure out it was a frozen pipe. I put the space heater facing the pipes in the basement overnight. Not the best idea I've ever had, but it did work (built in thermostat so it was somewhat safe) It was thawed this morning and seems to be working.

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I read a story yesterday about a guy who burned down his house doing that...wasnt you was it? :rotfl:

...one other thing to keep in mind, i know my shower valves are the single lever posi-temp type, there is a temp adjustment stop located behind the handle (basically it limits the amount of hot water into the mixing valve), ...if the water feels too cold, which it can in winter months, you might see if you can move the stop to allow for higher temp (assuming it's not already maxed out)....

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Originally Posted by theorangeguy

I read a story yesterday about a guy who burned down his house doing that...wasnt you was it? :rotfl:

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Lol, no, not me. There's a trailer park a few miles away, and I guess they had clothes in front of it or something, killed 2 kids. Several houses around here have burned down, but every time they have something in front of the damn heater. I'm not that dumb, plus there's a detector right above it. Should be warm enough not to have to do this again, I'll get a camera in the wall and properly insulate the piping.

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Originally Posted by wileyCoyote

...one other thing to keep in mind, i know my shower valves are the single lever posi-temp type, there is a temp adjustment stop located behind the handle (basically it limits the amount of hot water into the mixing valve), ...if the water feels too cold, which it can in winter months, you might see if you can move the stop to allow for higher temp (assuming it's not already maxed out)....

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Do you perhaps have a pic of this? I just turned the water heater up a few degrees a few months ago. It's set at the noon position (recommended i suppose)

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Originally Posted by allbaugh_04

Lol, no, not me. There's a trailer park a few miles away, and I guess they had clothes in front of it or something, killed 2 kids. Several houses around here have burned down, but every time they have something in front of the damn heater. I'm not that dumb, plus there's a detector right above it. Should be warm enough not to have to do this again, I'll get a camera in the wall and properly insulate the piping.



Do you perhaps have a pic of this? I just turned the water heater up a few degrees a few months ago. It's set at the noon position (recommended i suppose)

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...well, if your system is similar to this one, ...it's the part labeled "D" (look in the user manual linked here), ..it limits how far the handle will turn, controlling max temp... one day i discovered mine could be set a little higher, thus preventing me from turning up the flame on the water heater... ;)

Eva Brushed nickel Posi-Temp® tub/shower - T2133BN

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Originally Posted by wileyCoyote

...well, if your system is similar to this one, ...it's the part labeled "D" (look in the user manual linked here), ..it limits how far the handle will turn, controlling max temp... one day i discovered mine could be set a little higher, thus preventing me from turning up the flame on the water heater... ;)

Eva Brushed nickel Posi-Temp® tub/shower - T2133BN

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Found it, I do not have that type. I had the 1200 I think.

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Originally Posted by allbaugh_04

Should be warm enough not to have to do this again, I'll get a camera in the wall and properly insulate the piping.

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Being military I wind up moving every couple of years and have just made it a habit of insulating the hot water piping from the heater as far up as I can get to before the pipes disappear. Cuts down on how long it takes the hot water to get to the faucet and saves a bit on energy consumption. In your case it would probably fix your freezing problem.

You can get the foam insulation in 8 foot lengths pretty cheap ($3-4 a piece) and it usually has a perforated split down one side. Just open the split and slide it on the pipe and it will close up again. You might need a couple wraps of tape at any bends but you can probably just push up quite a bit of length inside the wall if you can see up in there.

Great idea, I will do that. I have worked with the stuff before.

Forgot to mention, it usually only takes me 2-3 pieces of the 8 foot length insulation but if you buy too much the remainder can be re-purposed as indoor samurai swords or light sabers.

"the remainder can be re-purposed as indoor samurai swords or light sabers." That made me laugh!! I dont care who you are, that's funny right there.

...i think that's purpose enough to get the pipe insulation :lol:

That is a good idea. I don't have many mornings when I wake up to frozen pipes (although, it's happened, along with frost bitten, ruined landscaping) but the idea of keeping the hot water pipes insulated throughout the length (ours runs the length of the attic) is something I think I'll do if only to cut the time it take when it's cold out for the hot water to get to the faucets.