Funny you mention the sensor—had a tenant once who kept turning the mixing valve up every week, swearing it’d fix his “cold shower crisis.” Turns out, his kid was playing with the temp dial on the panel. Sometimes it’s the little things, not the hardware. I do agree, though, a gentle nudge on the valve can help, but crank it too far and you’re just asking for a scalding surprise. Always double-check those sensors and thermostats before blaming the valve... learned that the hard way.
That’s classic—kids and thermostats are a wild combo. I had a similar thing with my nephew, except he kept flipping the breaker for the booster element thinking it was a “light switch.” Took me ages to figure out why the water kept going cold in the middle of a shower. You’re right about those sensors, though. It’s so easy to blame the obvious stuff and overlook the sneaky culprits. Sometimes I wonder if half my “fixes” are just me undoing what someone else did without realizing.
I totally get what you mean about undoing other people’s “fixes.” I keep wondering if there’s something super basic I’m missing with my solar heater setup—like, could someone have just messed with a valve or a timer without me realizing? Or maybe it’s something weird like a half-closed isolation valve that’s throttling the flow? Has anyone ever had issues with the mixing valve causing lukewarm water, even when everything else seems fine? Sometimes I feel like I’m chasing ghosts trying to figure out why the hot water just isn’t lasting.
Yeah, I’ve definitely seen a mixing valve throw folks for a loop—especially if someone’s “helped” by cranking it down without mentioning it. You mentioned,
—honestly, that’s more common than you’d think. I’d start by tracing every valve and making sure they’re all fully open (except the ones that shouldn’t be). Also, check the mixing valve setting—it can get stuck or mis-set and leave you with endless lukewarm showers. Had a customer once who swore gremlins were living in his pipes... turned out to be his brother-in-law “fixing” things.“could someone have just messed with a valve or a timer without me realizing?”
Mixing valves really can be sneaky culprits—I've had to double-check mine a couple times after a houseguest “helped” out. Don’t feel bad; even seasoned folks overlook them. You’re on the right track retracing everything. Sometimes it’s just the simplest thing.