Hello folks. This shower was actively being used when this valve started to become unpredictable. It would not reliably change the water temperature and those using it would resort to quickly turning it left and right to try and get it to “catch” and change the temperature.

I would like to either swap this valve out with a new one or fix it. We’re fairly handy but this is a new area for us. I do not have experience soldering but am considering converting to pex for this short section. I’m looking for this groups feedback on either approach. Note that while I don’t have from the other side of the wall, that location is in a hallway closet and I plan to cut an access panel in there for this project.

Thanks!

  • ikidd@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    4·
    9 hours ago

    Sharkbites are an option if you don’t want to do any soldering to convert to PEX. They’re expensive but if you haven’t soldered before and it’s going to be sealed up again, I would trust them over a globby amateur solder joint.

    Key is to clean the copper side up very well so there isn’t a burr or old solder that breaks the seal.

    • chicken@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      3·
      7 hours ago

      I have done this exact project twice (replacing shower valve and also the plumbing behind it with pex connected to the old copper pipes with sharkbite connectors). The biggest problem I ran into was that in one instance the section of copper pipe I was trying to connect it to was slightly bent, which was preventing me from getting the sharkbite connector on all the way. Just wanted to mention that because it took a while to realize that was the issue, and that the solution was to just take a few more inches off with the pipe cutter. Using the tool to remove them after they are somewhat on a pipe already is also a lot trickier than they make it look in video examples, so it’s a good idea to look closely to make sure the pipe is exactly the right shape first (round).

      Sharkbites aren’t that expensive really given that you should only need two and the shower valve replacement and other equipment you’ll need is much more expensive.

      The best part of doing it this way overall was that I didn’t even have to think about how the decades old rusted mess that was the previous shower valve worked, just had to remove and dispose of it.