About 2 minutes of hot water in shower and bathroom sink, but hot in kitchen


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Old 02-07-11, 10:55 AM
J
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About 2 minutes of hot water in shower and bathroom sink, but hot in kitchen

I moved into a place in Mid-December that was unoccupied for 3 months. The landlords had bathfitter come to fix up their shower (not sure if this information is pertinent or not) in September and no one had occupied the residence until I moved in, 3 months later. Upon moving in I noticed that the shower had hot water for an average of 2 minutes and then it went to lukewarm. For a while I thought it was just the shower, and then I decided to check the water in both the bathroom and the kitchen sinks after showering to determine if they too had run out of hot water. The kitchen sink (dual handles) was still scalding hot while the bathroom sink (also dual handles) and the shower (single handle Moen valve) were still lukewarm. Some days the hot water lasts longer than others (the morning is longer than the evening- heat is on lower in the morning), but still I have about 5 minutes tops of hot water for a good shower. The oil company has plumbers that have been coming in for the past 2 months trying to fix this. We have oil heat, and tankless hot water (i.e. coils). So far the mixing valve on the boiler has been replaced, piping (not sure if it was all piping) was replaced, coils have been cleaned, numerous adjustments have been made, and the cartridge in the Moen shower handle has been replaced. I'm not sure if the plumbers really can't figure it out, or if they are happy about being paid $100 an hour to continue to come to my house. Either way I want them to not be there anymore and I want a hot shower. I have read many posts about similar problems, some solutions have been to adjust the flow rate of the water going to the bathroom. I'm not positive but I think this has been done. Also I am not sure why the previous tenant would not have complained about this problem, which is why I feel that maybe something that the bathfitter company did could have changed the water going into the bathroom. The pipes from the boiler to the kitchen sink are shorter and direct, and the pipes to the bathroom are longer-but again, if this were the problem wouldn't the tenant before have complained?

I appreciate any and ALL suggestions for this problem...
 
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Old 02-07-11, 03:53 PM
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My guess is there is some temp control in the shower body or maybe even the head since the kitchen is hot.
 
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Old 02-07-11, 04:55 PM
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Is this a single family unit? Townhouse? Are you sharing plumbing with anything else?
 
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Old 02-08-11, 05:35 AM
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The temperature control in the shower has been adjusted.

This is a two family house with separate plumbing for both units. The upstairs tenant has a separate boiler (same brand, same age), and he says he gets a solid 15 minutes of hot water in the shower.
 
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Old 02-08-11, 06:14 AM
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Are the aquastat settings the same on both boilers. HI/LO/DIFF????? This controls when the boiler fires and when the circ comes on for heat ect.... As you will read in settings should be HI 180 LO 150 Diff 20. Tell your landlord. He is responsible anyway.

Mike NJ
 
 

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