Kitchen sink mixer - hot water pressure is low

[barrysumpter]

Hi all,
Our kitchen sink mixer hot water pressure is low

It was decent a few weeks ago.
I have tested all the other sinks in the house.
The hot water pressure is ok.
So it's just the kitchen sink mixer.

Any thoughts other than replacing?

[russ57]

Does it have a filter somewhere? Is cold OK, and is cold delivered at the same pressure as hot?

[Chief Tiff]

At the very end of the spout will be an aerator; these can clog up over time with scale or other debris. Unscrew it, strip it apart and clean it. You may need to soak it in CLR to dissolve scale.

[barrysumpter]

Thanks russ for the reply.
Unless the cartridge has a filter, I don't know.
The cold is OK with normal pressure.

Thanks for the reply Chief.
If it was the aerator I think the water pressure would be the same.
I'll still have a go with CLR.

I was thinking about switching over the lines and see if the pressure is the opposite.
Which would confirm its the hot water line and not the mixer.

But as I recall it wasn't fun changing over the cartridge last time.
But doing it myself would save some ridiculous money.

[droog]

Foreign object in the supply line, have had an identical problem with a flick mixer with cold water pressure good and all other taps in the house ok.

If you have stop cocks on the feed turn the hot feed off. Disconnect the hot Flexi connector at the stop cock and direct into a bucket.
Position the flick mixer for mid temp, block the outlet and turn the mixer on. Cold water feed will be directed out the open hot water feed and flush the object out.
I needed to use a clamp and block of timber to block off the outlet to get enough pressure to force the foreign object out as it was jammed in.

Replacement would have fixed it but as we were a couple of months away from complete replacement there was no way I was buying a new mixer.

If you do not have stop cocks you can use a blanking cap, just a bit extra work.

[barrysumpter]

Too Smart!
Absolute champion!

Foreign object in the supply line, have had an identical problem with a flick mixer with cold water pressure good and all other taps in the house ok.

If you have stop cocks on the feed turn the hot feed off. Disconnect the hot Flexi connector at the stop cock and direct into a bucket.
Position the flick mixer for mid temp, block the outlet and turn the mixer on. Cold water feed will be directed out the open hot water feed and flush the object out.
I needed to use a clamp and block of timber to block off the outlet to get enough pressure to force the foreign object out as it was jammed in.

Replacement would have fixed it but as we were a couple of months away from complete replacement there was no way I was buying a new mixer.

If you do not have stop cocks you can use a blanking cap, just a bit extra work.

[barrysumpter]

Hardwood wouldn't work.
Had to use rubber glove folder over a few times.

Ran 15 mins no effect.


For me it's not the line from the stop valve to the mixer.

I'll try switching the lines over tomorrow to confirm.

[russ57]

if the line from stopcock to tap is clear, then maybe its debris in the stopcock. can you connect a hose of some sort to it and see if it flows into a bucket ok?

[barrysumpter]

Thanks for the continued support Russ.
I'll see if I can have a go at this today.

[barrysumpter]

Ha!
The good Lady just told me it's about twice as fast now.
I'm not gonna tell her I didn't do anything else after she told me there was no differene.

So the blow back on the cutoff valve to mixer line seems to have worked.

Thanks again.

[barrysumpter]

Ha!
Back again to reduced pressure.
Now she's asking:
"Can we replace the mixer?"

[droog]

Ha!
Back again to reduced pressure.
Now she's asking:
"Can we replace the mixer?"

Still betting there is foreign object in the feed, back flushing moved it but did not wash it out.
Of course for household peace it’s probably best just to give in.

[barrysumpter]

Mixers are ridiculous expensive.
We've one of those really high spouts.
mixer.jpg

Had another unsuccessful attempts at the back flush.
reversed the hosed. Still low pressure.

...can you connect a hose of some sort to it and see if it flows into a bucket ok?

Taken a few pics to see where you think I can connect the hose:

Identified by the red (hot water) tape.
Each discussed by location.
Middle top red is the hot water (black hose) for the dish washer.
The green is the stop valve for the hot water for the dish washer.

IMG_7044.jpg


I'm thinking
Back flush the bottom right red copper fitting.
As mentioned:
aim the bottom copper to a bucket.
Then back plush as previously described.


Any further help or correction would be appreciated.

What is that bottom left cap?

[russ57]

The cap looks like a blank for a spare outlet. The whole lot looks a bit untidy.

Is that just an elbow right at the top?
Id remove the pipe from the stopcock, put a hose on it, and see if there is full flow there.

[droog]

Swap your hot cold flexible feed connections.
If flow is still low on the hot side it’s somewhere else in the plumbing.
I bet it will now be low flow on the cold side indicating it’s in the Flexi or most likely in the feed orifice on the bottom of the mixer right where the Flexi screws into the mixer body.

PS, man that’s a mess of adaptors and fittings. Remove 80% of them and make the whole setup a lot neater.