Symmons Shower Problems

[Popa_Omero]

Our tub faucet has been leaking and I set out to rebuild the thirty year old Symmons Temptrol controller for the tub and shower. I could not get the seats to the valve out as they were frozen in place. I cleaned the faces of the seats as best I could with emery cloth and installed a new temperature stem cartridge. I also replaced the diverter valve as the tub faucet always ran quite a bit of water even when the lever was put all the way in the shower position.

After the repairs, the faucet leaking has stopped. However, I can now only get 94 degree water out of the shower. I checked the adjusting screw for temperature control and it is adjusted all the way to maximum hot. (Our hot water temperature measured 109 at another faucet.) Additionally, the water that runs into the tub while the shower is being used, is as much or possibly more than before despite the new diverter valve being installed.

How do I fix this short of replacing the entire shower control - which I would do but I would have to rip out a counter and a wall to do so.

 

[Smooky]

I would replace the seats. I would set the hot water heater to 120 i is less than that.

http://www.zoro.com/symmons-seat-wr...gclid=CIyToubk1soCFcGRHwodk3wFew&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Popa_Omero]

I would replace the seats. I would set the hot water heater to 120 i is less than that.

http://www.zoro.com/symmons-seat-wr...gclid=CIyToubk1soCFcGRHwodk3wFew&gclsrc=aw.ds

Any suggestions on how to replace the seats? I purchased one of the noted tools and it just stripped out the insides of the seats. I then purchased a pipe nipple extractor from HD, but that did not fit well enough to work as an EZ-out to pull out the seats. I don't think they are going to come out, so replacing them really isn't an option.

 

[Smooky]

Have you looked at this trouble shooting guide?

 

[Popa_Omero]

Have you looked at this trouble shooting guide?

Thank you for the link. There are a couple of pointers in there that may help: water from the spout during shower operation is normal - stop worrying about that! Perhaps I can raise the temperature at the shower by adjusting the flow to the bathroom - I do have shut off valves I can adjust. As for replacing the valve seats, I don't think it is going to happen. They are totally stripped. At some point I think a replacement valve is the answer but it will be a big job.

 

[Smooky]

How is the hot water temp in the rest of the house? Is this the only fixture that has a problem? Could the problem be the hot water heater? 109 is kind of low, I would turn it up to at least 120 degrees F. Do you have a mixing valve in the hot water line before the fixtures?

 

[hj]

I have a hard time understanding HOW a hex wrench into a hex socket, when they are the proper sizes could EVER "strip" the socket.

 

[Popa_Omero]

I have a hard time understanding HOW a hex wrench into a hex socket, when they are the proper sizes could EVER "strip" the socket.

It's not a hex fitting. It is a box section "wrench" that fits into four of eight small detents on the the inside of the valve seats. If you watch the YouTube videos on how to do the repair, you will see that stripping these is almost more common than getting the seat out. The pros have some custom easy-outs that they can use, but I do not have these tools or their specifications to go and purchase them. As for the rest of the house, the water temperature is about 110. Only the tub/shower is at 94. I've tried playing around with the volume of cold water to this particular bathroom, but it did not have a significant effect.