Plumber

PsyOps

Pixelated
I had an issue with my water heater. Called Mays on 23 Dec and the guy came out on Christmas Eve and fixed the problem. Replaced both heating elements and thermostats. The price was far less than I expected; especially for coming out on Christmas Eve.

May's :yay: :yay:
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
What are the details or is it too much work to write?

I'm not sure, the diverter on the shower does not seem to be working right, water is coming out of the showerhead, but, also out of the faucet in the tub. Not sure if its my imagination or not, but seems to run out of hot water a lot quicker since this has been happening. Hubby has tried to fix it, however, he's not...whats the term...mechanically inclined.
 

tommyj

New Member
I'm not sure, the diverter on the shower does not seem to be working right, water is coming out of the showerhead, but, also out of the faucet in the tub. Not sure if its my imagination or not, but seems to run out of hot water a lot quicker since this has been happening. Hubby has tried to fix it, however, he's not...whats the term...mechanically inclined.

the diverter will un-screw from the piping in the wall. A new one will cost about $20.00, and get some teflon tape. wrap the treads on the new diverter and screw it back in.
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
the diverter will un-screw from the piping in the wall. A new one will cost about $20.00, and get some teflon tape. wrap the treads on the new diverter and screw it back in.

Yes, he's done that but doesn't seem to fix the problem. That's why I said I wasn't sure if was just the diverter or not. I would feel more comfortable calling a plumber and knowing the job is done right.
 

softtouch

Member
My diverter is a pull-up knob on top of the faucet. I have been jamming half of a wooden clothes pin under it for 20 years.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
I'm not sure, the diverter on the shower does not seem to be working right, water is coming out of the showerhead, but, also out of the faucet in the tub. Not sure if its my imagination or not, but seems to run out of hot water a lot quicker since this has been happening. Hubby has tried to fix it, however, he's not...whats the term...mechanically inclined.

Is the diverter like the first one or the second:

spout_diverter.jpg shower_diverter.jpg

Running out of hot water is a different problem that a broken shower diverter won't cause. This may point more to your water heater.
 
Last edited:

softtouch

Member
Why wouldn't you just replace the spout?
Looking in an access panel in a bedroom wall, I can see the copper pipe from the faucet. It is soldered and not a threaded at both ends nipple. When I replaced the faucets in the bathroom vanities they were built with 1/4" copper tubes that soldered directly to the copper supply pipes. No place to disconnect anything. So, not knowing how the 1/2" pipe is attached to the tub faucet, I was afraid to put too much pressure on it trying to unscrew it.
Last year I had my hot water heater replaced. I asked the plumber to take a look at the tub faucet. He tried pretty hard to unscrew it with no luck. If I have to tear into the wall to fix it, I would rather use the clothespin.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
Looking in an access panel in a bedroom wall, I can see the copper pipe from the faucet. It is soldered and not a threaded at both ends nipple. When I replaced the faucets in the bathroom vanities they were built with 1/4" copper tubes that soldered directly to the copper supply pipes. No place to disconnect anything. So, not knowing how the 1/2" pipe is attached to the tub faucet, I was afraid to put too much pressure on it trying to unscrew it.
Last year I had my hot water heater replaced. I asked the plumber to take a look at the tub faucet. He tried pretty hard to unscrew it with no luck. If I have to tear into the wall to fix it, I would rather use the clothespin.

The spout either screws on to a threaded fitting or slides on to the 1/2” pipe and tightened on with an Allen wrench set-screw on the bottom side of the spout. The threaded type will be either a long stem pipe or a short stem, and should be pretty easy to unscrew with your hand. It sounds to me like yours is the type with a set screw. If you look under the bottom of the spout you might see the set screw. Unless you have a really old house with an original tub that has the spout soldered on. It would have to be dated back pretty old; perhaps the 50s or so.

deep_threaded.jpg short_threaded.jpg set_screw.jpg
 

softtouch

Member
The spout either screws on to a threaded fitting or slides on to the 1/2” pipe and tightened on with an Allen wrench set-screw on the bottom side of the spout. The threaded type will be either a long stem pipe or a short stem, and should be pretty easy to unscrew with your hand. It sounds to me like yours is the type with a set screw. If you look under the bottom of the spout you might see the set screw. Unless you have a really old house with an original tub that has the spout soldered on. It would have to be dated back pretty old; perhaps the 50s or so.

View attachment 106646 View attachment 106647 View attachment 106648
There is no allen set screw. The house was built in '78. Because of the way the faucets were "hard" connected to the supply pipes I am reluctant to put too much pressure on it to try to unscrew it. The tub/shower is a one piece fiberglass unit. If it doesn't unscrew, the work would have to be done through the access panel in the bedroom.
 

luvmygdaughters

Well-Known Member
Forgot to post this earlier, we called Mays Plumbing, they came out the next day and solved the problem. Hubby said they were great and very reasonable. Thanks for the tip and I would recommend them to anyone.
 
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