triple thermostatic shower valve - diverter doesn't divert

[helenjb]

Hi helpful folk,

I apologise in advance for a long post. I'm at the end of my tether and really need your excellent expertise!

I've fitted a Victoria Plumb Matrix Triple Thermostatic Shower Valve with Diverter
(one of these http://www.victoriaplumb.com/Shower...es/Matrix-Triple-Valve-with-Diverter_908.html )

The hot and cold inlet connections are clearly marked on the body of the valve, but the outlets are not and having plumbed it as I'd thought was logical only the shower works. When I turn the diverter handle (the lower handle - top is on off, middle is hot/cold) nothing happens. The shower still runs in both diverter positions but no joy on filling the bath.

The valve came with two, contradictory sets of instructions, and online I downloaded a third set of instructions. All were pretty much useless as instead of showing which pipes went where it included helpful phrases like 'make the plumbing connections to the outlets'. It also had multiple illustrations of triple valves, none the same, none labelled, no help at all (nor in fact were Victoria Plumb customer services when I called, no surprise there!).

Untitled

• helenjb
• 22 Sep 2012
• 1

I've attached the only tiny illustration which matches my valve, but it only shows one side of it sadly, so imaginations at the ready while I describe what I've done ....
- the vertically exiting top outlet I've attached to the shower head,
- and the lowest one you can see I've connected to the bath filler,
- the middle one is marked as hot inlet,
- on the side you can't see there is a cold inlet at the top
- and another outlet at the bottom (ie parallel to the one I've connected to the bath filler. I assumed that the outlet at the bottom was for a body jet which I don't have, so I've just capped off an outlet pipe there.

I'm hoping that I've merely plumbed in outlets the wrong way round and that there's a simple solution. However I'm a simple kinda gal and can't work it out!

thanks all in advance,
Helen

 

[picasso]

The bottom outlet turns through 90 degrees from fully on to fully off, victoria plumbs instructions dont tell you that the bottom outlet also turns another 90 degrees opening and closing the other outlet, hope this makes sense

 

[helenjb]

Not only are you the speediest reply I've ever had, but you're bloody right too!!!!!

A massive rib-crushing e-hug of thanks to you Picasso! (well done on all those masterpieces too, excellent work).

Thankyou so, so much!

(If only Victoria Plumb could include decent instructions in any of their products. Not one thing I've bought from them has had anything comprehensive or useful in it.)

 

[picasso]

Thanks we try to please.

 

[helenjb]

Picasso (or indeed anyone else who knows) assuming you've used the Victoria Plumb valve I described above can you help me out with another problem I've had with it?

I used brass male compression fittings 22 x 3/4" to connect my plastic 22mm JG barrier pipe to the valve. I used PTFE tape but they steadily weep now, although they're tightened so they can't get any tighter.

They're not weeping from the connector to plastic end, but from between the valve body and the connector. What have I done wrong? Is there more than one kind of connector? The only thing I could see from the (scant) instructions was not to use tapered thread. Could that be it? The plumbers merchant I bought the connectors from ignored me when I asked whether they were tapered or not and I stupidly didn't ask again.

 

[Charnwood]

This ia tapered. You'll see there's not much metal between the top of the thread and the face of the hex section:

This is parallel. You will see a distinct 'shoulder' under the hex:

 

[richroast]

I bought one of these triple valves recently and am having problems installing it. I want to run a bath filler and a shower head off it - can anyone tell me which 2 of the 3 outlets I should attach it to? From the description it looks like you can have the option to run 2 devices simultaneously, presumably depending on which outlets you connect to. I want to avoid this - I don't want to have the bath and shower running at the same time.

The instructions don't tell you and Victoria Plumb's customer service doesn't extend to this.