Moen Shower Valve - When to Replace

[Cole Man]

Tried searching for an answer to this, but came up empty.

House is 37 years old. The shower valve is a Moen pull and turn. I'm
fairly certain that this valve is original to the house. How long do
these valves last? I don't see any leaks, but would like to be
proactive and prevent any leaks by replacing the cartridge. If that's
not necessary, I won't bother. I can't find a part number anywhere,
so I don't even know if replacement cartridges for this model are
available, but I would think that they are given that this is a
developer special and probably in a bazillion homes.

Thanks.

[Ashton Crusher]

Mine aren't that old but they are getting close and of the 6 in my
house I've had to replace two of them. I thought they were lifetime
guarantee so next time one goes I'm going to call Moen and see if they
will send a free replacement. I've gotten several free parts for my
kitchen Price-Fischter lifetime faucets from PF.

[Frank]

Mine is of that vintage and still OK. I'm the only one that uses the shower.

One on bathtub lasted nearly as long and I replaced it a year or so ago.

In frequently used sinks, they might only last a few years and the
fixtures on all my sinks have had to be replaced. The kitchen sink
which is the sink most frequently used is on its third fixture.

I always have a spare cartridge on hand.

[Oren]

On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:47:11 -0500, Frank
<frankperi...@comcast.net> wrote:

>I always have a spare cartridge on hand.

Do the cartridges have any identifying marks or numbers on them?

Curious, as I have a Moen fixture at the kitchen sink.

[Cole Man]

On Feb 12, 5:33 pm, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 13:30:58 -0800 (PST), Cole Man
>

When these things go, do they drip inside the wall? I'm trying to
prevent a leak into the adjacent room.

[Frank]

I'm not 100% sure but I think mine are all the same.

The tub replacement receipt I happened to save was an OEM Moen 1200 with
a copy-write mark.

A cartridge I have from True Value Hardware made by Danco has a number
80993 on it and just says "fits single handle faucets."

The OEM cartridge cost $22.95 and store brand $17.99.

Here on Moen site I see different numbers but suspect only one cartridge:

> http://www.moen.com/consumer-support/installation-help/tutorial?id=moen0133

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

Personally I've NEVER seen one leak inside the wall. It would take
some serious corrosion for that to happen.

[Cole Man]

That's good news and a load off my mind. So what are the signs that
it would need to be replaced? It's sounding like mine is good to stay
for awhile longer, but I'd like to know what to look for that would
indicate replacing the cartridge.

[Oren]

Thanks, Frank. I'll see if I can find the original papers for the
faucet...

[Ron]

If it's not broke don't fix it. If it goes bad it will start leaking
around the handle while the water is running.

[Roanin]

"Oren" <Or...@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:ftpgj75olgp7hi20v...@4ax.com...

The Moen cartridge is probably the 1200/1225 one. They have been using this
one for years. The Lifetime warranty only applies to faucets made after 1996
so if you call them tell them that the faucet is newer than that and they
will send you a new one. I found this out the first time I called them for a
replacement cartridge from 1966 and they said it was not covered. So I
waited a while, called back and told them it was a 2000 model and they send
a new one. The original cartridges were made out of brass but the new ones
are now plastic so they will probably not last as long as the original ones.
I would not mess with it unless it is leaking when turned off or real hard
to pull out to turn on the water.

R

[Cole Man]

On Feb 12, 8:53 pm, "Roanin" <roanin2...@live.com> wrote:
> "Oren" <O...@127.0.0.1> wrote in message

>
> news:ftpgj75olgp7hi20v...@4ax.com...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:23:46 -0500, Frank
> > <frankperiodlogu...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >>On 2/12/2012 7:00 PM, Oren wrote:
> >>> On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 18:47:11 -0500, Frank

> >>> <frankperiodlogu...@comcast.net>  wrote:

>
> >>>> I always have a spare cartridge on hand.
>
> >>> Do the cartridges have any identifying marks or numbers on them?
>
> >>> Curious, as I have a Moen fixture at the kitchen sink.
>
> >>I'm not 100% sure but I think mine are all the same.
>
> >>The tub replacement receipt I happened to save was an OEM Moen 1200 with
> >>a copy-write mark.
>
> >>A cartridge I have from True Value Hardware made by Danco has a number
> >>80993 on it and just says "fits single handle faucets."
>
> >>The OEM cartridge cost $22.95 and store brand $17.99.
>
> >>Here on Moen site I see different numbers but suspect only one cartridge:
>

> >>>http://www.moen.com/consumer-support/installation-help/tutorial?id=mo...

>
> > Thanks, Frank. I'll see if I can find the original papers for the
> > faucet...
>
> The Moen cartridge is probably the 1200/1225 one. They have been using this
> one for years. The Lifetime warranty only applies to faucets made after 1996
> so if you call them tell them that the faucet is newer than that and they
> will send you a new one. I found this out the first time I called them for a
> replacement cartridge from 1966 and they said it was not covered. So I
> waited a while, called back and told them it was a 2000 model and they send
> a new one. The  original cartridges were made out of brass but the new ones
> are now plastic so they will probably not last as long as the original ones.
> I would not mess with it unless it is leaking when turned off or real hard
> to pull out to turn on the water.
>
> R

Awesome info, thanks. Mine is brass, so definitely old. It has seen
little use in the last 11 years, so I have that going for it, but with
a newborn on the house, it's now seeing regular, daily use.

When you say leaking, do you mean the water will be leaking out of the
valve itself or I'll see water dripping from the spigot (a normal
leak)? Sorry, I've no experience with these valves and just want to be
know what to expect.

[SMS]

On 2/12/2012 5:24 PM, Cole Man wrote:

<snip>

> That's good news and a load off my mind. So what are the signs that
> it would need to be replaced? It's sounding like mine is good to stay
> for awhile longer, but I'd like to know what to look for that would
> indicate replacing the cartridge.

They get difficult to turn on and off. If the O ring breaks it may not
turn all the way off. A bad cartridge would not leak inside the wall.

Be sure to get the proper tool to remove it, don't just pull on it with
pliers.

[Roanin]

"Cole Man" <mdt...@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:d20e7695-62c5-4a3d...@h6g2000yqk.googlegroups.com...

Yes it will leak out of th spigot, usually starts with a drip drip drip.
Also as SMS says get the tool to remove it as they can get pretty hard to
remove without it. About $12 at Lowes or HD. Pretty easy job, remove knob,
remove sleeve under knob, remove clip and pull the cartridge out of the body
of the valve.

R

[Vic Smith]

On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:18:03 -0500, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:

>
> Personally I've NEVER seen one leak inside the wall. It would take
>some serious corrosion for that to happen.

I don't know how these cartridge type faucets fail.
Only one I have is in the bathroom sink. A pull and turn.
It was here when I moved in 15 years ago.
Still works fine. Don't know the brand.
I replaced the kitchen sink lever faucet at my wife's bidding some
years ago with a higher gooseneck faucet.
It has left and right handles that turn 90 degrees for full on/off.
Don't know if it's washers or cartridges.
Should have kept the paperwork that came with it.
Never replaced a cartridge, and I do my own plumbing.
I would never do "maintenance" on a valve unless it leaked, or got
hard to turn on/off.
Unless it was called for as part of a schedule as some high pressure
Navy valves had.
Why do that?
I't not like changing oil in a car.
And it's not "pro-active."
It's looking for trouble, and violates the not broken, don't fix rule.

--Vic

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

When they don't shut off fully it's time to replace the cartridge.
When you can no longer get replacement cartridges it's time to replace
the fixture.
When they get grungy looking the handles and bezels and other pright
parts can all be replaced on most tub faucets

[cl...@snyder.on.ca]

On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:33:14 -0800 (PST), Ron <BigEL...@msn.com>

Or they won't shut off.

[Cole Man]

On Feb 12, 9:37 pm, cl...@snyder.on.ca wrote:
> On Sun, 12 Feb 2012 17:33:14 -0800 (PST), Ron <BigELil...@msn.com>

>  Or they won't shut off.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks, guys. Much appreciated. I'll leave it alone. It will
probably last until we remodel the bathroom in a few years. At that
point, we'll change out the whole fixture.

[Frank]

Leak will be normal but if other part of fixture corrodes, as mine did,
it could leak anywhere.

I did not need a tool to remove the old bathtub cartridge but it did
take some effort.

Might mention that while Moen will sell you any part directly, they are
pricey. I needed a replacement for the thingy that raises and lowers
the sink stopper and think it was about $13 where I could have got it
for maybe $1.50 if I googled around.

[Jon Danniken]

Cole Man wrote:
>
> That's good news and a load off my mind. So what are the signs that
> it would need to be replaced? It's sounding like mine is good to stay
> for awhile longer, but I'd like to know what to look for that would
> indicate replacing the cartridge.

Mine was hard to pull out and turn. I sent them an email asking what I
should do, and they sent me a replacement cartridge in the mail (free of
charge).

Both Price Pfister and Moen will do this. When they ask for your address in
the form, make sure it is actually your address, as this is where they will
send the cartridge.

Jon