How to clean and repair a Posi-Temp Valve. Home inspector shows you how to clean and repair a Posi-Temp valve that will not mix hot water with cold water. Save over $40.00
Thank you Fred! I took out the valve cartridge, and it looked really bad. I took it all apart, cleaned it all up (steel wool, simple green + toothbrush), lightly silicone greased 'er up, and that inner metal tube now knocks back and forth beautifully! That knocking sound when shaking is the sound of $50!!! Excellent! I suspect in a few years I'll have to dismantle and clean again, but I expect this exercise can happen over and over again. New valve? FORGET IT! Do it Fred's way!!!
I watched this video several times over the years and I can't figure out why Moen doesn't make a PosiTemp valve for their 1225 series. I'ld upgrade un a heartbeat. And as everybody said, great video, thank you!
I had a low water pressure problem coming out of the valve so I watched your video. I followed it EXCEPT..I took out the inner cartridge, tossed it, and it worked like a champ! Great pressure again!
Thanks for this valuable bit of info! After 15 years of use, my valve had gotten tight to the point it caused the plastic handle to break the last time I turned it on. That cost me $13 for a new handle, but being able to simply disassemble and re-lubricate this valve saved me an additional $40 cartidge replacement. My valve now works like new again! Thank you for taking the time to post this!!!
Exactly the video I was looking for. I had a 5 year old positemp that was getting unreasonably hard to turn. All it needed was some silicon grease on the o-rings, but I couldn't find any videos detailing how to disassemble the cartridge itself. It works like new now thanks to this.
Very interesting...I actually just replaced my cartridge today $53 from Home Depot, and it works perfectly, but I think I'll take the old one apart and clean it up to keep as a spare next time. I certainly didn't know you could do this, so thanks for sharing..
Thank you very much! I thought of soaking the whole valve in CLR or vinegar overnight but your method worked! The plastic sleeve was stuck so I used a 17 mm socket under the base of the sleeve and gently tapped the brass stem down so that the steel cylinder would go down into the socket until the cylinder was dislodged from the plastic sleeve. I also added a few drops of oil which helped to lubricate the cylinder and the sleeve. A box cutter knife helps to gently scrape off calcium crust on the steel cylinder.
Thanks for positing this. Will save me $ - every 6 mos or so, mine stops functioning - where I only get cold water unless i throttle the handle back and forth like an idiot until the inner part lines up just right. Probably need a water softner or some other solution to the real root cause, but for no, I can live with a 30 min clean/replace solution each 6 mos.
Thanks bro, I bought the kits to repair them but wasn't sure of the procedure as the instructions were garbage, answered all my Q's, both of my shower valves, cartridges are now good as new and work great, my symptoms for mine were even after the valves were turned off the would not stop seeping water, constantly dripping which it wasn't bad, but all those drips over a year add up to a lot of water
Fred, THANKS for the great instructions! I was able to repair a Posi temp valve after reusing the two rubber gaskets seals swapped from another valve that had another problem. As you had cautioned at 4:30 of the clip, I broke the rim of the white insert's plastic cap. Still it fit back in there. Won't be able to remove the white insert again though. Everything else worked okay. Repaired valve working fine for over a month now. Critical to use same orientation as before and also grease up when re-inserting the cartridge.
@@SWFLHomeInspector So when I removed my old cartridge I noticed that only one side had the black piece while the other was missing. Could this cause a leak inside the wall by chance? Asking cause this one is on the 2nd floor and I noticed a small stain on the first floor ceiling directly under where the shower is at. Just trying to determine if that was the problem for the small leak or maybe my shower floor is just leaking.
Thank you for a great video. I would like to add that with a brass brush, or soft steel wool one should also clean the inside of the housing. I mean the brass part in the wall that the cartridge goes in. That was in worse shape than the cartridge. I'll order a repair kit, with o rings etc for $10 and next time I'll try repairing it.
Thanks for this video. In reassembling it, I don't see how the inner metal sleeve should be positioned. Since it has holes, it seems like how it's oriented matters. Yours jiggles when replaced which suggests it could also rotate, mine not so much but wouldn't the orientation of the orifices make a difference to how it works?
I knew it, I'll try opening the stem inside, I tried but wasn't sure if it was welded so I didn't. Im having trouble with ours. It's giving to warm water that it's uncomfortable to rinse.
I have a situation where the handle easily turns on cold water fine but shuts off the water entirely at a point where hot water should come on. We have hard well water here in Florida and this issue started after the water not being used for 3 months while the house was left vacant. Is this a valve issue that can be repaired following the instructions here?
I replaced one after water leak. Didn't recall before replacing but with the new one I'm not getting any cold water. Cold is actually warm water and hot is very hot.
You must have put it in with a different orientation than how it came out . I've done that too/ luckily this video talks about that very thing! You can fix it!
i have the exact same issue, the cold is little warm and hot is hot. I’ve tried all the position. The only way it works on hot and cold nicely is installing it reverse so that it shuts off the water counter clockwise
At the end of the video you replace the two black seals on the sides of the cartridge but your hand is in the way of how you put them on. I assume that the holes in the seals line up with the holes in the cartridge. Is that correct? Thanks for the video
So I bought a new 1222 and the pressure is a lot weaker. Now I don't have a leak and turning it on and off is a breeze BUT my pressure is now down. How do you fix this? Can I widen any of these holes? This is so annoying as getting the old one out was a bear. And no there was no debris left on the inside I throughly checked. It's the valve. This is utterly annoying
Friday got a Moen replaced After I installed it, the cold water doesn't run, just a trickle & when I put it in the OFF position it doesn't shut off water. The old one has a rubber cover on the bottom, replacement doesn't. Please advise. Thank you for the good video
Sorry can't help you, I would have to see it to analyze, be sure no rubber parts have "rolled over" . You will know when you try and remove the cartridge, it will be difficult to pull out of the housing/manifold. Best of Luck
I have an issue. One day my shower was fine then the next it was like next to no water pressure. I replaced the posi temp valve with a new one and still have low pressure. Could the brass mixer be clogged? I removed those side rubber seals on the valve and I had water pressure again. I put the rubber valve seals back on and its back to low pressure. The holes are clear, no obstructions.
Try going downstream of the fixture and see if there are other mixing devices connected to that HW line . www.carsondunlop.com/training/resources/the-importance-of-thermostatic-mixing-valves-to-protect-against-scalding-part-one/ Other than that you may need the assistance of a pro plumber for that I am not .
Thanks Fred. It was quite a useful video. I had one of the inner o rings slightly shaved while removing the inner valve mechanism. Is it OK to use this or will this mix the cold hot water inside?
Good video, thanks. The issue I have is the valves become harder and harder to turn over a relatively short period of time. Eventually the plastic handle breaks from the pressure of turning. I've replaced mine in the shower 4 times over 8 years. Why does the lubricant wear out so fast? Does it really need to be re-lubed that much? My parents older individual faucet knobs on their tub needed washer replacements 3 times over a 48 year period. Also don't use the generic Danco brand (sold at Home Depot). The plastic is thinner in areas and so are the O-rings. I tried them and the shower leaked and dripped. No good.
Hard water may be your culprit, well, that plus cheap plastic valve construction. Moen makes a 1222HD (heavy duty) which is made of brass, but I don't know what the internals look like. (I may buy one and open it up to find out). Also, the OEM Moen valve that was installed in my build back in 2013 is constructed of half plastic inside (i.e. 2 metal "bands" in the middle, but plastic top and bottom. Maybe Fred has a 1222 and mine is the 1222b - bulk model). The plastic pieces between the metal sections where the O-rings mount disintegrated. It looked like a rat chewed on it, but I'm guessing that it was the hard water sediment from my tankless hot water heater acting like grit against the plastic. (Since there's no tank to capture sediment, it gets immediate flushed out to the plumbing appliances, clogging shower heads, faucet heads, and in this case, destroying the valve. I put on a strainer after the tank to catch most of it, but I'm sure this damage was done before I got the problem cleaned up). In any case, I'm very disappointed in the quality of Moen valves, and will never install Moen figures or plumbing in another house.
absolutely agree. And the ridiculous acrylic handles break and offer precious little grip AND you handle choice is the acrylic teardrop or the sumple smooth metal handle. You have to get a completely different system to get a different handle. 😠 Also, thanks for the heads up on the Danco parts.
One more question: in order to have the hot side on the left and the cold on the left, I had to put the HC tab on the bottom (that's how the old cartridge was positioned). Should the Off position of the control knob be up or down with the cartridge in this position? Thanks again.
The only problem I see with what you stated is that typically the little plastic white tabs that you hook the tool onto when you’re removing the valve break. I have never had one come out cleanly where those little white tabs on the end of the valve did not get mangled. One thing I don’t understand is you said it was repaired but I really didn’t see you do anything other than put a little steel wool to it. So what was actually repaired? I know the valves are expensive but I honestly can’t tell what you did to repair it as nothing was actually replaced.
I’ve replaced a couple of these Moen 1222 valves because of very low flow on the hot side. What I observed is that even with a new 1222 the flow rate on the hot side remains poor. I’ve been told that this flaw is actually a design feature. There appears to be no aftermarket solution available. The only answer will be to tear into the wall and replace the entire assembly. I am definitely not a fan of Moen products.
First of all, only use genuine Moen parts. They have a lifetime warranty and are free. As for that puller, it is actually designed for pulling the older 1200 or 1225 type cartridges where the nut can push against the valve body without the "ears" of the 1222 cartridge being in the way.
So, I just went thru this process. 1) the valve is a 1222 not a 122. 2) if the valve doesn't work with hot water then trying to extract the original valve without dame is nearly impossible.
Do you need to turn off water supply before taking out the cartridge? I live in a condo building and turning off water for the whole building isn’t easy
Thanks but I'm going back to Moen 1222HD Commercial Heavy-Duty Brass Shell PosiTemp One-Handle This plastic is junk and needs to be serviced every 6 months. I got 20 years on solid brass. Good video but tell them to buy brass.
This video is not valid for the newer faucets using the 1222 rebuild kits. Since this was made Moen replaced the cartridge materials with all plastic. The rebuild kits don't work for the new style cartridges. You cant get the O-rings to slide in without getting stuck and cutting the O-rings. If you don't believe me go to Amazon and look up the rebuild kit reviews. Half the people give up and buy the whole cartridge. My guess is this only works with older faucets having all metal 1222 kits. Good luck and hope you have exactly the cartridge as shown in the video. Otherwise buy the whole cartridge for $46 dollars at Lowes or Home Depot.
BEWARE - The New Moen 1222 cartridges are using a mostly plastic inside, it has the brass stem as metal now that screws to the handle but the rest of the inside is now made of plastic with only the cams being still made of metal. So Metal glued to Plastic Glued to Metal glued to a plastic end. This new re-design is deliberate so that the plastic breaks and snaps when the 1222 cartridge gets a bit older and stiff. Plastic continually off-gases over its life getting more and more brittle with age. This is a deliberate attempt by Moen to force a huge number of expensive ~$60 new cartridge replacement sales. If you have a choice today never buy Moen. If a builder installs nothing but Moen because they got a kickback sweet deal from Moen for creating a huge inventory of houses with very expensive plastic parts ready to break and create a lucrative market for Moen stay away from all those houses and buy some other builder's house.
