Modifying a wood chisel was brilliant. Worked perfectly for me. Thank you! I removed the o-rings and boiled it in a 50-50 mix of white vinegar and water. I also had some rust/lime toilet bowl cleaner on hand so I let it soak in that before boiling.
Jim you are the man! The chisel idea saved my a** today. Tried using the largest screwdriver I had but the blade was only about .5 in wide and it is tapered at the end which allows it to skip out of the slot easily. After a couple attempts and beginning to mar the slot, I went to HD and bought a 7/8" chisel, ground it down on my bench grinder and it worked perfectly!! Thank you, thank you!
Thank you, so much, for recommending using a chisel for removing the balancing spool. Mine was hopelessly stuck! I couldn't turn it with pliers, but I was able to loosen it by hitting the edge of the chisel with a hammer. Until I saw this video, I was losing hope of even getting it to budge.
@@jimmurphy5739 That’s a great idea. I’m trying to remove a 1423 cartridge now. Was googling “XL slotted screwdriver” with no success. I may resort to this. So difficult to remove.
@@FRCP12b6 I haven't ever been able to locate an actual screwdriver big enough to fit properly and transmit enough torque without twisting out of the groove. This thing really is a DIY solution. On the plus side, that "screwchisel" has come in handy for a number of other applications since then. Good luck with the 1423 task!
Besides the usual cautions (shut water off at the street and not mess with the not and cold check valves), used the widest screwdriver/scraper blade plus channel locks to slowly unscrew the balancing spool and gently pull it out intact. Put a new spool in and solved the problem where the shower was only delivering hot water.
A heavier scraper blade would work well. But not a drywall knife, which is what first came to mind when you mentioned "scraper." But of course, a drywall knife isn't a scraper (even though I often use it as such.) A scraper has more meat to it. Good suggestion! Glad it worked.
I thought I finally fixed my problem with no cold water after removing and cleaning (boiled in vinegar) the balance spool and noting it rattled completely freely. But I'm still not getting cold (yes I reversed 180 degree the cartridge also, which is new). When I open the cold water screw, I do get water flowing into the balancing spool's housing, so it's the spool or after the spool. When I shine a light into the cartridge housing, the light does not shine through to the spool housing, or vice versa. Could the passage between the cartridge and spool housing (cylinders) be clogged? I bent up some bore brushes to reach into the passage, but got no apparent effect.
I agree with you. I got the sense that it was touch and go for me. It took a lot of "carefulling" and never felt like a sure thing. Thanks for the feedback.
I freehand it using the coarse wheel on my 6-inch Delta grinding wheel. I might have touched it up afterwards using fine sandpaper or my flat Sharpal 300 grit diamond stone. Good luck!
Agreed. And to add insult to injury, this POS gizmo isn't covered by the "if it breaks, we'll replace it for free" warranty like the valve cartidge is. It's MONDO expensive.
