I just had a guy from Enbridge in here because the water coming out of the hot water taps is not hot. It never has been. He is the 3rd guy to come out for the same problem. I'm glad I got this guy, because he actually explained to me what the problem is. It's this thing called a 'Mixing Valve' which is a burgundy knob with temperature markings connected to the pipes above the water heater. Apparently, these things are being put into homes everywhere without the owners requesting them or even knowing what they are. A mixing valve prevents the temperature reaching your taps from exceeding 120 F, which is somewhere around 40-50 C - warm, not hot. My back is completely shot from working on this house and I need hot water, but it took until just a few minutes ago to discover why I could never get any. I insulated the pipes, I turned the temperature up all the way inside the water heater, nothing made any difference.
So my question is, if I remove the mixing valve, do I require any special skills to cap something, or solder something in place, or add a section of pipe or anything? Or can I just remove it? I have very basic plumbing skills. I can solder pipe under ideal conditions. There is one screw holding the valve in place. If I unscrew it, what would happen? I am assuming that removing it would then create a new problem which I would have to solve.
100_2033 by
noahbody on Zooomr 