bathtub diverter not working?


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Old 06-29-22, 09:00 AM
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bathtub diverter not working?

When filling the bathtub, water also comes out of the shower head. When the 'lever' is lifted, water only comes out of the shower head. I've replaced the bathtub spout (with diverter) twice. Water continues to come out the shower head when trying to fill the tub. There is a 1/2" copper pipe extending 2 7/8" from the wall. The new spout slips over the copper pipe and has a set screw to attach to the copper pipe. Is there something else other than the diverter that can cause this? I cleaned up the copper pipe and ensured there were no burrs on the end.
 
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Old 06-29-22, 09:52 AM
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Most showers have no valve. The water does not flow out of the shower because of gravity and it's easy for the water to exit the tub spout. If you are putting more water through the spout than it can handle the water backs up and comes out the shower. This usually happens when you have high water pressure and strong volume.

First, make sure the tub spout stopper is completely opening to allow the water to flow out freely. If it stays partially closed it can cause the water to back up into the shower.

After that one option is to replace the faucet with a type that has a valve that shuts off the shower head and only sends water to the spout (no lever on tub spout and has a diverter knob). Of course this is expensive and involves cutting open the wall.

Another option is to reduce the flow of water. Don't open the faucet as much. You can also reduce the water pressure to the home with a pressure reducing valve (PRV).
 
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Old 06-29-22, 10:20 AM
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The 'faucet' is a single handle that turns the water fully on. The only thing it controls is the water temperature. There is quite a bit of water pressure. Is there a way to reduce the water pressure just to the bath/shower and not the whole house?
 
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Old 06-29-22, 11:24 AM
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If you can access the piping to the tub faucet via a crawl space or unfinished basement you can install pressure reducers or simply install valves that you partially close.

As a fun test remove your tub spout so you only have the pipe coming out of the wall. Turn on the faucet and see if you still have water coming out of the shower. If no water comes out of the shower it confirms that there is simply too much water. If water comes out of the shower then we'll have to investigate further.
 
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Old 06-29-22, 01:12 PM
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Thanks for the advice. This is occurring at my daughters house. I was also thinking about taking the spout off and see what happens. I did slide the spout out about an inch to see if that would do anything - but it didn't. I'll also see if there is easy access to the water lines
 
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Old 06-29-22, 02:17 PM
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When I lived on a boat I put a valve on the shower head. I did it so I could turn on the shower and get the water temp set and turn the water on/off quickly & easily. That might be a solution for your daughter. She could turn off the shower head to stop the dripping when using the tub. It was a small valve that screws in between the shower neck and the shower head. Really easy to install.

 
 

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