I moved into a new house recently and found that the master bath’s shower has a pretty crappy diverter valve. Basically, you push it in and you get a good 50/50 split between the main faucet and the shower head.
I popped out the diverter valve and discovered that it’s one of the types that can be described thusly:
It’s a round metal plunger that mounts horizontally under the control knob. When you push the plunger in, it presses a plastic paddle (that looks kind of like a spatula handle) that blocks the pipe and diverts the water.
The old one had a spatula end that had some give in it so it would move a bit vertically. I replaced it, and the new one does NOT do that - it’s nice and firm.
But it doesn’t make a difference. Same thing, actually - maybe even worse.
One of the big things I was wonder was this. You’re basically blocking a circular pipe with a spatula-shaped thing. It seems to me that some water is going to get around the edges of the spatula.
Should there be a rubber washer fitted in the pipe either above or below the spatula? I’m not certain if there is one, because it’s a bit of a bitch to see in there, but it just seems like there SHOULD be.
Should be able to get them from any place that sells only plumbing supplies. (They’re also pretty good at identifying obscure parts from fixtures of unknown make.)
I’ve tried seaching the Delta website, but haven’t been able to find a diverter similar to the one you’ve described. Since you know what the faucet looks like, you may have better luck. Check the Delta repair parts section. If you can find your valve, you can see an exploded parts diagram that could answer your question.
Both Lowes and Home Despot have genuine Delta parts, next to the generic Danco replacements. Not that Danco is bad-I’ve used many of their parts, too-but having been burned a few times, I’d rather bill the customer for genuine stuff and not have to do a warranty call on my dime.
I think this is the valve you have, and if so you want a Delta RP5649 diverter valve kit.
One thing I didn’t think of this morning-you said this is a new house. That being the case, it is possible there’s some debris in the valve body which is preventing the diverter from functioning properly. With the diverter removed, look into the bore with a flashlight to see if you can spot anything. Leave the diverter out, and have an assistant turn the water on, which should send a stream out through the diverter port and remove any crud. Turn the water off, and assemble the valve. I like to coat any o-rings with liquid dish soap when assembling. It acts like a lube and can help preclude nicking a new ring.
Sorry, no, it’s a “new to me” house. It’s actually about 25 years old.
ETA - regarding the O-rings and soap. See, that’s the thing that makes me think something is missing. There’s no rubber anything anywhere that I can see. The valve stem and spring are metal. They thread into a port that is also pure metal. The spatula paddle is plastic.
Short of you posting a link to pictures of your valve partially disassembled, I’d look in the phone book for a plumbing supply house which sells Delta, or call Delta and ask who sells their products in your area.
At the wholesaler’s service counter, they will have a book showing exploded diagrams of older products, such that you should be able to ID the valve you have, and obtain the proper part.
Anyway, this is exactly right. Looking at the exploded diagram, #6 is the piece I got the knockoff replacement part for. If you’ve dealt with that type before, is there supposed to be some sort of O-ring anywhere?
I’ve got no problem ordering a genuine Delta part, I just don’t want to bother if it’s not actually going to fix it!
Can’t say for sure, but I’m pretty sure it does have a seal ring.
One other possibility, since it’s an older home, is that someone before you took the valve apart, and a part is missing. Now that you have an exploded diagram which matches your valve, you can do a thorough comparison to make sure all the proper pieces are present.