Shower trumpet!

[thrudesign]

Hi- My new shower is now making the loudest high trumpet type of noise I have ever heard. Due to low hot water pressure we have to turn the hot-cold handle all the way to hot and the pressure handle all the way on just to get enough hot water to have a decent shower.

Now, when you do this, as soon as the hot water arrives at the shower valve it starts making this horrendous noise. Did not make it the first two months, but it does now. If you turn the handles down, you might be able to reduce the noise or maybe get it to stop, but then your shower is either luke warm or with barely enough pressure to get soap out of your hair.

The plumber says the low pressure is due to a section old pipe between the bathroom & the water heater. (the sink doesn't have much pressure either) He has refused to come out saying that it must be a defective valve and is not his fault. I am not convinced. How would you go about solving this? It is a brand new Porcher valve, with controls for both pressure and temperature. It does have the anti-scald feature as well. Is this something he could fix if he came out?

[DuckButter]

Air chambers/shock absorbers, ask him.

[Rambo]

Check to see if you have a loose washer somewhere in the system. The vibration will cause terrible noice.

[plumberscrack]

It could be half a dozen things wrong with your plumbing or faucet. None of which can be properly diagnosed over the phone with your plumber. If he doesn't want to follow up on his own installation then call someone else. He seems to already have formed an opinion as to what's causing the noise.

[thrudesign]

I forgot to add that the new piping is PEX, connected to old galvanized.

[DuckButter]

I forgot to add that the new piping is PEX, connected to old galvanized.

I'm going to guess he gave you the option to replace the galvy.

[thrudesign]

Yes, but that is in the next renovation project & would have involved taking out a wall in the kitchen. The hot water pressure upstairs wasn't this bad before though.

[PLUMBER RICK]

it could be a flow restrictor in the shower head.

it could also be inside of the pressure balance valve cartridge.

try taking off the head and run it without a head to see if the flow is good or bad. the temperature should be controllable.

start from there and see what happens. post your results.

rick.