Thread: Super sensitive shower taps

when I bought this place the water was literally boiling. it has a Rheem ( I think ) water tank.250 litre
I got a plumber in and in the area where the electric gets connected there was a temperature control unit which was stuffed he replaced it for $35.
just pulled one out and put one in.

the $35 was for the part not the labour.

Are these ceramic type taps or normal type? The reason for the question is that ceramic taps can be had with different amounts of movement like 1/4 turn, 1/2 turn etc.

What Brand is the tap?

If its a relatively new house (less than 7 yrs) undo the shower head at the wall and remove the flow restrictor, problem solved. The restricor maybe at the shower head end.

I don't think the thermostat is broken, the hot water feels like about 50-60°

The house was built late 80s/early 90s, so no restrictors and no ceramic.

Taps are unknown brand, the sink and bath are Fowler, so they might be the same

Another option is and very common, the hot water tap is not opened up fully on a regular basis hence there is a buildup of calcite and very fine sediment deposit around the spindle, especially in areas that have typically hard water, by opening up the tap fully this will eliminate this buildup. It usually presents as either a greenish or brownish deposit on the spindle. Turn the water off at the meter, remove spindle, clean, lubricate with plumbers grease or Vaseline and replace.

It's not gravity feed hot water is it? If so the tank would be in the roof. If it is gravity feed then what's happening is that the mains pressure of the cold water quickly overwhelms the low pressure hot water. Regardless of the situation the problem could be improved by inserting a reducer in the cold water tap seat. The ones I'm thinking of were a nylon/plastic item made by Delrana and came as a set of push in reducer and washer, but I'm not sure if they are still available. They reduced the diameter of the hole through the seat to under 5mm and made a huge difference to the control you had over the flow. If you can't find any send me a PM and I'll send you a couple.

Cheers,
David

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

Does anyone have any ideas on how to reduce the sensitivity of taps? Can you buy them with a finer pitch thread? There's only a few degrees of rotation on the cold tap between a Siberian winter and the surface of the sun and it's been getting more and more sensitive as we get to winter.

The hot water is an electric tank with no apparent way to adjust the temperature.

Any solutions need to be minimally- or non-invasive as it's a rental property.

I suggest you make it the landlord's problem.
From what you describe the temperature limiter on the hot water has failed.

Originally Posted by ian

I suggest you make it the landlord's problem.
From what you describe the temperature limiter on the hot water has failed.

I don't think it has. I can hold my hand under straight hot water for about a second before it gets too much; I'd imagine that's 50-60 degrees, which is quite normal.

Originally Posted by aldav

It's not gravity feed hot water is it? If so the tank would be in the roof. If it is gravity feed then what's happening is that the mains pressure of the cold water quickly overwhelms the low pressure hot water. Regardless of the situation the problem could be improved by inserting a reducer in the cold water tap seat. The ones I'm thinking of were a nylon/plastic item made by Delrana and came as a set of push in reducer and washer, but I'm not sure if they are still available. They reduced the diameter of the hole through the seat to under 5mm and made a huge difference to the control you had over the flow.

Nope, not gravity fed (more like anti-gravity 'cos the bathroom is upstairs ). Those reducers sound like what I'm after, I shall do some hunting.

If they are using regular washers then you may well find that fitting an anti-hammer washer will solve the problem of the sensitivity in turning the taps. They are very simple - just a normal washer that has a spring that pushes against a small plastic disc, and you should be able to find them in any hardware store. The spring drops over the washer shaft and pushes back against the disc so that more pressure is applied to the washer - that eliminates the hammering.

When the plastic disc starts to wear out you will notice that the taps squeal like stuck pigs.

I had to replace them in the shower here a while ago, which is how I found out about them. Now, the cold has a regular washer and the hot has the anti-hammer. The cold tap requires a micro touch to change the flow, and the hot tap requires much much more turning to get a result.

It sounds like a pressure imbalance. Look for the valve on the top of the water heater and insure that it is almost fully open.