Problem With Kohler K 304 Valve....Help!!!

gitnerdun

New house, big rush to trim for the owner and this happens......Turn the stem of the k-304 to the off position, loosen the threaded cap of the shower stub out to release the pressure, but it never seems to stop. So I them turn off the stops, remove the stub and install the shower head. When I turn on the stops the valve vibrates and spits water out of the head, then stops and seems OK. So next I am trimming the valve and while doing so water is coming out of the head in a weak spray. I exercise the valve and it stops. While working on the lav I see it turning on and off all by itself. I go to the supplyhouse and get a total rebuild kit for it and install it. All seems well, overnight all's good. Then today (2 days later), it starts acting up again, on and off all by itself. I call supplier, he is baffled. I call Kohler, 2 people later, they are baffled. Owner moving in Monday and I have no answer, replacing the valve is not practical. I will be swapping the guts out tomorrow, but I have my doubts.

There is or was no debris present in valve. No circ pump. We have elec tankless heaters. The shower head is right over the valve in the wall. I am sure that it is not residual water in the head. No diverters or handhelds.

Any thoughts or have any previous trouble similar to this? Thanks, Bob

KillerToiletSpider

The K-304 is that crappy rite -temp valve right?

Was it possibly put in upside down?


Have you pulled the cartridge and balancing spool and thoroughly flushed the lines, like let it run wide open for a few minutes?

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.

Putty Truck

Check the pressure on both hot and cold at the valve itself. Remove the cartridge and turn on the water and see if both streams are adequate and equal.

or not

Recheck to see if the valve is deformed or has a bit of brass or other garbage is stuck up in there.

or not

Replace the valve.

or not

Run away.

gitnerdun

I will check to see that it is right side up. The lines are clean, but I'll flush some more. Really got me baffled.

gitnerdun

Run away sounds good to me

KillerToiletSpider

I had the same problem with an Anne Sacks valve (Anne Sacks is what Kohler calls their stuff when the charge twice as much for it) and it turns out the apprentice roughed it upside down. It was in a back to back shower, cost us twenty five thousand to fix that one.

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.

gitnerdun

Did it turn on all by itself?

KillerToiletSpider

The weight of the lever handle would move the cartridge, since down was no longer off, and cause the valve to turn on.

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.

gitnerdun

I see, this is a oval handle. I really doubt it is is upside down. The handle does not move when it turns itself on. Goin to bed now thanks for replies, I'll check in the am. Bob

Plumber

It's a ghost!

In my work truck I'll be driving down the road and my radio will turn it self up. I guess my guardin angle likes that song It doesn't do it all the time just every blue moon.

gitnerdun

Not a ghost, but a carpenter!!!

Update

Yesterday I went to supplyhouse and got a replacement valve body to swap all parts. I start to disassemble both valves. First I noticed that someone had removed the plastic rough-in ring, no biggie. Then I tried to remove it from the new one, you have to disassemble the valve to do so. I continue to disassemle one piece at a time. Then it hits me that the stainless steel retaining ring is against the brass valve body and not over the black plastic part where it should be, thus holding the o-rings inside about a 1/16 further away from where they should be. A few questions later I had my man,he was told to get the durock as close to the valve as possible so he had to disassemble the valve to do so. I don't service a lot of these valves, so in the days before I would simply take the valve apart and put it back in the same way it was put together before. Bob

Putty Truck

Freakin' nail bangers will get ya every time.