Anti Scald Mixing Valve

stryder1587 wrote: ↑ I had the water heater rental company bring an inspector in as every year when the temperature dips, I notice occasional drop in hot water temperatures.
Just now I checked it was 110F which is a good temperature, but other times it's lower than that. They demonstrated that the hot water coming from the heater was fine (pipe was hot to touch), but that the pipe that distributes to the rest of the house was much cooler. They said it was a problem with the mixing valve and required a replacement which wasn't covered. So my options are look for a plumber, or try to fix this myself. I've watched a few videos on youtube and this repair doesn't look too bad. In some cases, maybe just washing the inside, getting rid of scaling by soaking in vinegar for a while might even fix the issue. If not though, I would need to buy this valve, and this is such an obscure product there aren't many reviews for me to have an informed opinion. Here's where I'm looking for the community of DIYERs here to please recommend me which valve (brand name/model/features to look for/warranty) to choose. Also please stop me if you think this repair is too risky and I could mess something up real bad to try and save maybe $3-400.

Thanks

stryder1587 wrote: ↑ I had the water heater rental company bring an inspector in as every year when the temperature dips, I notice occasional drop in hot water temperatures.
Just now I checked it was 110F which is a good temperature, but other times it's lower than that. They demonstrated that the hot water coming from the heater was fine (pipe was hot to touch), but that the pipe that distributes to the rest of the house was much cooler. They said it was a problem with the mixing valve and required a replacement which wasn't covered. So my options are look for a plumber, or try to fix this myself. I've watched a few videos on youtube and this repair doesn't look too bad. In some cases, maybe just washing the inside, getting rid of scaling by soaking in vinegar for a while might even fix the issue. If not though, I would need to buy this valve, and this is such an obscure product there aren't many reviews for me to have an informed opinion. Here's where I'm looking for the community of DIYERs here to please recommend me which valve (brand name/model/features to look for/warranty) to choose. Also please stop me if you think this repair is too risky and I could mess something up real bad to try and save maybe $3-400.

Thanks

vkizzle wrote: ↑ My advice...bypass the mixing valve altogether.

stryder1587 wrote: ↑ I dont have kids or old folks at home. How do I bypass it? I'm guessing there's a T shaped fitting that connects hot/cold/mix but doesn't have an anti scald function? I don't have any tools to cut pipes or anything like that, if this is an easy bypass, please guide me to a tutorial for this.

IndyBeak wrote: ↑ Yeah..remove it altogether. The potential danger to kids and old are overblown. If kids are old enough where they turn on their own showers, they will know if the water is too hot to their liking. The fear of fire and burn is built into our genes. My 2 year old already knows and reacts to anything hot.

Double_J wrote: ↑ Hopefully you are renting the tank from enercare or another provider other than reliance. Call reliance home comfort and sign up for a plumbing protection plan. They are approximately $20 a month. Wait 21 days and then say you need a plumber. They will replace the mixing valve as it is covered under the plan. Reliance does not have any contracts so after they change the mixing valve call back and cancel the plan.

$20 to have then install a new mixing valve, keeps you to code and saves you time and possibly frustration. Remember to cancel the plan!

Double_J wrote: ↑ Accidents happen. I was at an elderly customers house a few years ago. His friend was paralysed in some way. Apparently the elderly man scalded himself to death. I'm sure they didn't alter the code because they wanted people to blow 400 on nothing.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ My advice...bypass the mixing valve altogether.

my0gr81 wrote: ↑ 1- This now in the code, so doing so... you do you.
2- If you have kids, I strongly advise against it, kids are likely to open the water tap, not realizing it's set to full hot, and burn themselves.
3- If you have guests over, one of them gets burned, and decides to file a claim, your insurance company will investigate, and you are required/obligated to provide that investigator unfettered access, as per the terms of your policy, and as condition for coverage. Evidence of bypassing the valve will absolve your insurance company of liability coverage.

Again, you do you, and think about all repercussions.

A replacement bypass valve can be bought at Lowe's, HD for about $100 on the low end, $150 on the high end. It's fairly easy to replace if the original installer didn't just solder everything in place. If they did, then call a plumber, not a gas fitter to cut and replace with the proper ends, so in the future, you can do it yourself again.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ I have two kids...no ER visits for burns yet.

my0gr81 wrote: ↑ Sample of one.

vkizzle wrote: ↑ It wasn't even an issue before it became part of the building code...ask your parents.