Water surging at shower head

[manwithtools]

New home with Moen 2.5 gpm shower head. When taking a shower the water begins to surge after a minute or two. By surge, I mean it's almost like water delivery is suspended every 10 seconds or so for one or two seconds. Never enough to completely lose water flow, just enough to be annoying. I've not seen any strange pressure changes (well with tank and booster pump). Pump keeps pressure between 55 and 65 PSI.

I've removed the head to check for any obstructions and can't see anything obvious. If I let the water flow with no shower head in place, I can see no detectable interruption in flow.

Anyone else experience this kind of behavior?

 

[barks]

No, but start by removing the restrictor in the shower head to determine whether that is the problem. Needs to be done anyway.

 

[BillK]

No, but start by removing the restrictor in the shower head to determine whether that is the problem. Needs to be done anyway.

This !!!! Just bought a new Delta to replace a 20 year old one. I am not sure why they call them water saving because you have to run them three times as long to rinse so you probably use just as much if not more water.

Anyway after the first use the drill came out and it was modified This one did not have an easily removable restrictor like the old one did. Now I can blast the skin off my back if I want too

 

[manwithtools]

Thanks, yeah I've thought about that. I removed the head, but the restrictor is not easy to remove from a quick look. Probably need to just remove it.

 

[BillK]

Thanks, yeah I've thought about that. I removed the head, but the restrictor is not easy to remove from a quick look. Probably need to just remove it.

I had to drill the one out I just did.

 

[85stu85]

is the surge noticeable anywhere else in the house? if you run the shower and listen to the pressure switch does it click at the same rate as the fluctuation?

 

[The Cobbler]

do you have a temperature mixing control valve or a meontrol valve that could be acting up?

 

[manwithtools]

is the surge noticeable anywhere else in the house? if you run the shower and listen to the pressure switch does it click at the same rate as the fluctuation?

No, there is no correlation between the pressure and the surge. First thing I checked. I don't see this anywhere else in the house. But then again I don't spend as much time under the other faucets as I do the shower.

 

[manwithtools]

do you have a temperature mixing control valve or a meontrol valve that could be acting up?

Possibly, I noticed that I had hot water in the cold lines when I installed the softener a few months ago, How do I check this to know for sure?

 

[LXCam]

Is the valve one of those automatic temperature ones? When I remodeled the bathroom last year I spent a few hundred on one of them stupid fancy deals complete with the rain drop head...whatever it’s called. Well f me to tears, I can cry more water then that pos could spit out. So I removed the damn restriction and now get my monies worth. There was a trick to getting it out, but I don’t remember what I did. I’ll dig thru my pictures and see if I took some.

 

[LXCam]

Does it look similar to this with two handles.

 

[Milton Shaw]

I have seen water delivery problems if the cartridge is installed backwards, still works but the temp control safety cuts water off until it sees cooler water. This is with the hot and cold side of the cartridge reversed and the cartridge goes in either way on the one I ran into.

 

[Bmwtie]

My similar surging shower problem was driving me nuts and it led me all the way to the master pressure regulator at the main water line for the whole house. My fix seemed backwards in my head but it worked.

The pressure regulator was wide open (not restricting flow). So I got one of those screw on pressure testers you can put on a hose spigot. I dialed in my pressure to about 70psi and that fixed the surging with no ill-effects to water performance or pressure loss.

All I could conclude was that we must have been drawing in more than what the city was pushing causing the surging. Once the inbound pressure was regulated all issues were resolved.

Hope this helps!


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[manwithtools]

Picture of the shower control valve.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[manwithtools]

My similar surging shower problem was driving me nuts and it led me all the way to the master pressure regulator at the main water line for the whole house. My fix seemed backwards in my head but it worked.

The pressure regulator was wide open (not restricting flow). So I got one of those screw on pressure testers you can put on a hose spigot. I dialed in my pressure to about 70psi and that fixed the surging with no ill-effects to water performance or pressure loss.

All I could conclude was that we must have been drawing in more than what the city was pushing causing the surging. Once the inbound pressure was regulated all issues were resolved.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks, but this is not my issue. I'm drawing water from a 10,000 gal tank (well fed) and water pressure to the house is controlled by a booster pump that cycles on and off via a pressure switch.

I've run the shower and stood beside the pump and pressure switch. It takes a lot of shower run time before the pump turns on the surging is already happening before the pump kicks in. I'm fairly confident this is not the root cause.

 

[MFolks]

As suggested,look in the shower head,older ones had a restrictor behind a screw off cover,removing it allowed higher and better water flows.

 

[manwithtools]

In the interest of thread closure, I drilled a hole (3/16") through the flow restrictor and the problem is now gone. As a bonus, we now have enough pressure to enjoy the shower.

 

[LXCam]

In the interest of thread closure, I drilled a hole (3/16") through the flow restrictor and the problem is now gone. As a bonus, we now have enough pressure to enjoy the shower.

You do realize if caught you’ll be sentenced to life in this state for such acts.

 

[Itsjustdirt]

I’m glad it fixed your issue but I have no clue how a restrictor at the head could cause this. Can anyone explain that? Just a curiosity thing.

 

[LXCam]

I’m glad it fixed your issue but I have no clue how a restrictor at the head could cause this. Can anyone explain that? Just a curiosity thing.

It only takes the most minor debris to partially clogged.

 

[manwithtools]

You do realize if caught you’ll be sentenced to life in this state for such acts.

My wife said something similar right after she said "thank you so much"

 

[manwithtools]

I’m glad it fixed your issue but I have no clue how a restrictor at the head could cause this. Can anyone explain that? Just a curiosity thing.

Holes in the restrictor are very small, it could have been a small piece of debris bouncing around in there causing an occasional obstruction as LXCam said.

 

[BD1]

Restrictors in shower heads just ****.
I bought shower head from Amazon that is sold with Restrictor but designed to be removed. Best one ever.


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[Copymutt]

10,000 gallon tank! That’s huge! I use a 3000 gallon for drip irrigation. You must have a large family and a one gpm well.

 

[manwithtools]

10,000 gallon tank! That’s huge! I use a 3000 gallon for drip irrigation. You must have a large family and a one gpm well.

No sir, just two of us. House is sprinklered, tank has a hook up for fire department (think fire hydrant). It's code here to have tanks of this size. Can't remember well output, but it's up there