Leak at the shower valve

KCFDCapt · 05-09-2021, 05:20 PM

I have an Itasca Journey,39K, 2007 model. It looks like there is a leak at where the cold water line goes into the shower valve. I may be that the fitting is not screwed all the way in or it could be the Moen shower valve is the problem. Has anyone replaced the valve without opening the wall? I need to cut the Pex line to the valve and check the tightness of the fitting. If I need to replace the valve, is it replaceable through the wall opening?

Morich · 05-09-2021, 07:46 PM

Two points that I would expect to find.
One is that you may be missing what you are seeing on the PEX to faucet connection as I would expect to find a fitting somewhat like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Zurn-1-2...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

This is in colors making it easier to describe what I would expect.
Somewhat like a hose connection in that the center black portion if clipped pretty solidly to the PEX but the white outer portion should turn. Maybe with some struggle as it may have set and semi-frozen in place?
So if there is a leak at the connection from PEX to the male threads on the faucet, I would expect to possibly find a rubber cone washer maybe and then the "nut" could be tightened up or at worst the rubber part might need to be replaced if it is old and crumbles with age.

I have not looked at the single handle shower faucets for whether it comes out the front, so can't help there.
First I would check for just a bit of tighten to fix the leak? Use care with the plastic so that you don't over tighten to break it!!

KCFDCapt · 05-10-2021, 11:07 AM

I decided to tear into it today. I removed all the external pieces to get to the valve. I used a heat gun to warm the PEX and it slid right off. As I was unscrewing the fitting from the valve, minerals flaked off the thread area. What was causing the leak was a defective fitting. There was a pin hole from the inside leading to the base of the threads. It was discolored on the inside which made the diagnosis easy. Screwed a new fitting into the valve, reattached the water line and all is well.

I have been putting off this job for over two years. We would turn the pump on to use the water, turn off the pump and relieve pressure on the line. My bad!! Any way, the leak was there when we bought it used. I wonder if the previous owners got rid of it because of the leak behind the wall.

imnprsd · 05-10-2021, 11:40 AM

Moen guarantees their faucets for life, I think. ...Or maybe for life after 2004ish. I can't remember what they told me when I called them on my home faucet. Anyway, they mailed me a new one at no cost. So if you can wait 1-2 weeks, you might consider calling moen and give them the part number.

In my 2004 Itasca Horizon, my single handle Moen is a #2510, but yours maybe different.

FYI, the Shower Cartrtidge is a Moen 1222B.

TIP: With Single Handle faucets in the bathroom sink and shower head these will mix cold water with the hot water in the line; and that's why it takes about 10 seconds of running the water to get something warm out of the shower head. I.e., this is wasted water.

So one solution is to install a 3/8" check valve just before the "T-fitting" under the bathroom sink.

Note: Hot water flows from the HWT to the "T" ...then to the sink and to the shower head.

So with a check valve blocking the mixing of the cold water with the hot water in the line, you should waste less water trying to get the out water out of your shower head and sink. (For boondocking value only.)

Amazon has these 3/8" valves, but if you have your shower valve apart I suppose you could install a 1/2" shark bite check valve you can pick up at HD or Lowes. And if your bathroom sink has two separate handles for hot and cold water, then one shark bite behind the shower wall should work too... if you have room, and want to go to the expanse and trouble.

Note: Adding a shark bite does give you another 3" of PEX to work with. So if you ever come-up-short on PEX, you might want to add a Shark Bite!

Morich · 05-10-2021, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KCFDCapt

I decided to tear into it today. I removed all the external pieces to get to the valve. I used a heat gun to warm the PEX and it slid right off. As I was unscrewing the fitting from the valve, minerals flaked off the thread area. What was causing the leak was a defective fitting. There was a pin hole from the inside leading to the base of the threads. It was discolored on the inside which made the diagnosis easy. Screwed a new fitting into the valve, reattached the water line and all is well.

I have been putting off this job for over two years. We would turn the pump on to use the water, turn off the pump and relieve pressure on the line. My bad!! Any way, the leak was there when we bought it used. I wonder if the previous owners got rid of it because of the leak behind the wall.

I've not looked at PEX plumbed RV faucet but from what you are saying, they used a solid rather than a two piece fitting at the shower?
That makes it so that you can't just unscrew the ring on the fitting to remove it?
No metal PEX clamp to cut and replace?
I've not seen that type but it sounds different from the norm for PEX.

If it was the original item and lasted 17 years, that's not bad for plastic!

Glad to hear it is fixed. There are so many small points we tend to put off for way too long only to find they are not that bad after we get it figured out.

KCFDCapt · 05-11-2021, 04:04 PM

The original fitting was a Flair-It fitting. The fitting had a bubble like flaw in it. The cavity would fill with minerals and plug the leak. It was only after being wet for a few days that the leak would start. It was difficult to diagnose and frustrating because it would only leak after we were on the road. I finally opened the space where the valve was and found the problem. Once I had the bad fitting in my hand, it was very obvious what the problem was. All is well now.