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Hot Water Knob is Hot

ncowan

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Jul 16, 2021
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I know this is probably a stupid question, but I ain’t no plumber. My shower has separate knobs for hot and cold. The hot knob is getting so dog gone hot that it takes a towel to turn it off emergency plumber. It is a combo tub/shower unit with separate hot and cold handles and yah turn the shower on by pulling the thingie in the spout. Oh Yeah, there’s hot water running out the handle when the showers are on.
 
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Soo… I’d fix that…

If you have hot water flowing around a metal handle… it’s going to be hot… as is the water flowing around it… so, fix the handle…
Better call a plumber!
 
I know this is probably a stupid question, but I ain’t no plumber. My shower has separate knobs for hot and cold. The hot knob is getting so dog gone hot that it takes a towel to turn it off. It is a combo tub/shower unit with separate hot and cold handles and yah turn the shower on by pulling the thingie in the spout. Oh Yeah, there’s hot water running out the handle when the showers are on.
If you fix the leak the problem should be much less noticeable. However as in the previous post the temperature of your hot water must be dangerously high. You should turn down the temperature of the water or have a mixing valve put in so someone doesn’t end up being scalded in the shower if a piece of debris suddenly bocks the cold water supply of the shower.
 
Soo… I’d fix that…

If you have hot water flowing around a metal handle… it’s going to be hot… as is the water flowing around it… so, fix the handle…
Yes, possibly very simple to fix: Remove the handle and check if there is any hot water going out from the axle.
If so, just tighthen the axle screw to stop the leak. If not working, turn off the hot water using the emergency handle under the sink.
Remove then the hot water faucet mechanism, replace the coaxail joints and put everything back together.
 
When I read this on a solar forum I thought you meant it had electricity flowing in it and was 'hot' in that way hahaha. Yea, I'd be reaching out to a plumber about this one.
 
Definitely agree you have your hot water heater set to produce too high a temp. Assuming you have a regular tank hot water heater there will be some heat loss through tank insulation. The higher you heat water to, the more heat loss you are going to get, wasting energy.

If you have a small tank size and need to heat the water higher so you can dilute it with cold water to stretch out the amount of hot water for showers/baths you should get a larger tank size hot water heater.

Most efficient is hot water heater temp just slightly greater temp then you need for shower or bath water temp. Dish washers usually have their own hot water heater these days.

Most hot water heaters default to heating temp of 120 degs F which is okay. If you have a large tank you might be able to lower below 120 degs F and still have enough hot water.

Worse case your hot water heater thermostat is stuck ON and if water gets too close to boiling it just spits out the pressure relief valve.
 
If your water is heated by a solar system, perhaps the solar installer could advise you on how to turn the temp down.

Temps over 120 F can scald and do much worse.
 
As the previous posts have implied, your hot water is too hot. Purchase a temperature gauge to determine the hot water temperature. It should be less than 120 f. If you are dripping hot water all the time, then it is costing you a lot of money. If that is the case then if you are not a do it yourselfer like me then you will need to call a plumber. It takes a bit to change out the fixture on a tub shower combo. You need access to the back to do it. The other issue is if your water heater is to hot and it is an electric water heater then you need to turn the power off and remove the two access panels. After you move the insulation out of the way then you will see the temperature gauge. It is a dial type that is marked with temperature. You just rotate it counter clockwise a bit and then wait for an hour and measure the temperature again until you get it under 120 degrees f.
 
In the spirit of DIY, changing a washer (or 4) in the old style 2 handle shower/tub valves can save enough money to buy a panel or two.

@ncowan Any chance you can take a nice clear picture of your Hot & Cold handles?
The more info you provide, the easier it will be from this end.
 
Since this is in the solar water heating area... I'd bet he has little control over the water temp...

But the leaking valve can be fixed or replaced.
 
Since this is in the solar water heating area... I'd bet he has little control over the water temp...

But the leaking valve can be fixed or replaced.
I respectfully disagree, there must be some control over the temp. You may be correct but I sure hope not.

@ncowan How much do you know about your solar water heater?
Did you build & install the system or was it built and installed for you?
 
I know this is probably a stupid question, but I ain’t no plumber. My shower has separate knobs for hot and cold. The hot knob is getting so dog gone hot that it takes a towel to turn it off emergency plumber. It is a combo tub/shower unit with separate hot and cold handles and yah turn the shower on by pulling the thingie in the spout. Oh Yeah, there’s hot water running out the handle when the showers are on.
The valve stem is leaking, fix or replace the valve. And the water heater is set higher than necessary, wasting energy.
 
In solar hot water systems you need a tempering valve-that valve (the great ones are made by Watts) has a cold water and hot water going in and you dial the outgoing hot to make sure its not over 120 degrees so no scalding hot water in in the house . You need to fix your faucet and put in a tempuring valve into the system
 
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The valve stem is leaking, fix or replace the valve. And the water heater is set higher than necessary, wasting energy.
If the valve stem is sealed tight the water would have to be extremely hot to heat the handle when the shower is off. I think the problem is just the valve stem leak.
 
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