No water in newly installed Moen shower

[Ann Hoyt]

I had a professional plumber, who I've used before and who seems to know his stuff, come in and install a new shower pan and the pipes necessary for a Moen shower, handheld combo. It was a set of fixtures he recommended and had installed before.

I put in the backerboard, waterproofed and tiled and started attaching the fixtures. Everything seemed to look like it was supposed to. However, there is no water when I turn it on! I am pretty sure there is no water even coming to the pipes because I'd expect to hear something. I suspect the water is not quite turning on at the faucets. Either there is some sort of 'off' valve that I didn't see or there is an installation issue. CAn't see anything that makes sense, though. Absolutely no water was in the pipes when I took off the galvanized 'stops' and attached the new fixtures.

I've left a message for the plumber, but it is Saturday night, people are going to start arriving in the next few days, and I know the plumber won't be available until Monday.

The water runs perfectly in the sink and toilet in the same bathroom.

Any ideas? I'm freaking out!

 

[Jadnashua]

You remodeled, and put in galvanized stuff? That's the best opportunity to tear out as much of that as possible!

But, a couple of thoughts here:
- if you only turned one supply on, the valve may be doing what it is supposed to do...turn both hot AND cold on and see if there's a problem
- depending on how much galvanized is there, the simple act of playing with it could cause a bunch of rust particles to clog up the new valve. You could try removing the cartridge, then turning the water on to see if there is flow (careful! it will or at least should, come out quickly! Have someone at the shutoff, and only run it long enough to test and until the water runs clear).
- there may be in-line shutoffs to the new valve, and those are not opened up. Without a picture or being there, hard to say.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Ann Hoyt]

You remodeled, and put in galvanized stuff? That's the best opportunity to tear out as much of that as possible!

But, a couple of thoughts here:
- if you only turned one supply on, the valve may be doing what it is supposed to do...turn both hot AND cold on and see if there's a problem
- depending on how much galvanized is there, the simple act of playing with it could cause a bunch of rust particles to clog up the new valve. You could try removing the cartridge, then turning the water on to see if there is flow (careful! it will or at least should, come out quickly! Have someone at the shutoff, and only run it long enough to test and until the water runs clear).
- there may be in-line shutoffs to the new valve, and those are not opened up. Without a picture or being there, hard to say.

Hey, thanks for the quick reply. Oh, I should have been clear. The galvanized pipes are only there to act as 'stops'. The plumber installed all new lovely pipes. I suspect there is an in-line shutoff but have no idea what that would look like. I have removed the faucets and am staring at this thing and I see nothing enlightening. I tiled right up to the 'taps'... probably will be sorry for that, but the plumber never said anything about leaving areas untiled.

 

[Smooky]

Some shower valves have built-in stops. Maybe they were not opened.

 

[Ann Hoyt]

Yes, my valves look like the first two. Shouldn't there be instructions of some sort in the Moen box about how to open those? Or perhaps there is info on their site?

 

[hj]

The "first two" are NOT the same, but if it is like the first one with integral stops, they are "intuitive" so just by looking at them you should know how to operate them. But if you tiled up to the valve, instead of to the round plastic tile guard, they are hidden behind your tile.

 

[Smooky]

Ann, the first valve (2570) has screw driver stops. The second valve does not. The third picture is a view from the side of the second valve.
To open the stops you insert a screw driver blade and turn them open.

Some stops are quarter turn others are multi turn it depends on what valve you have:
https://www.moen.com/shared/docs/instruction-sheets/mt620j.pdf

Stop Operation

CC - This type is integral with casting, actuated by screwdriver, and require a 90° turn to open or close. When the screwdriver slot is vertical, the rubber stop is closed, and when the slot is horizontal, the rubber stop is open.

IPS - This type has been added to the basic shower casting and is actuated by screwdriver. The stop is opened by rotating in a counterclockwise direction until it stops and closed by rotating in a clockwise direction until it bottoms.

 

[Ann Hoyt]

I found my valve in your forum. It looks like this:

I am only unsure whether I am supposed to turn that big fat screw head which is just to the left of the lower valve or if I only turn the two little silver screw heads. The plumber didn't leave the instructions with me. I think he ought to have but I'm hoping I can order or download some. Moen won't be open until tomorrow. The good news is all of these are accessible without tearing out all of my tile. Thanks so much to everyone. I wouldn't have thought of any of this on my own.

 

[Jadnashua]

Turn the small screw heads (typically, CCW) and that should open the valves up. If they are multi-turn, open until they stop, then close maybe a 1/16th of a turn or so back so they are not jammed against the stop.

 

[Ann Hoyt]

I HAVE WATER!!! The pressure is pretty good and the hot water and cold seem to be working as they are supposed to.. Thanks so much!

 

[hj]

If your description of your valve is correct, remember, when you need repair parts that it is a MOENTROL valve, not a Posi-Temp, because they use completely different parts, and the upper "diverter stem", while it LOOKS like the bottom one is ALSO completely different.

 

[Ann Hoyt]

Good to know, hj. Thanks again.