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Recently my wife told me that the shower diverter in the guest bathroom was leaking from the bath spout when the diverter knob was pulled up. I looked at it to determine that it was a Kohler diverter, then without thinking any more I ordered a replacement.

When I got the part today I was a little confused as I couldn't see how the diverter sealed against leaking out the bath spout. But I trusted it, as it was a genuine, new part, and who am I to second guess Kohler. So I installed it, and then I saw this:

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The diverter valve leaks like a sieve when the shower is running.

Is this an expected behavior with a Kohler diverter valve? I've never paid much attention to that particular shower, so I don't know if what I am seeing now was always what happened.

While this question seems to have the same title as my situation, it doesn't appear comparable.

Peter M
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  • Did you just replace the valve or did you check the seat also that the valve closes on? – crip659 Mar 20 '23 at 00:03
  • @crip659 It was a complete replacement of the entire bath spigot and diverter assembly. When I pulled it out of the packaging I played with the diverter valve and it seemed to not make a good seal. – Peter M Mar 20 '23 at 00:11
  • @Ruskes I just checked it with the shower head in the normal shower position, and I have the same amount of leakage. And that shower head is new in the last 6 months. – Peter M Mar 20 '23 at 00:14

2 Answers2

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It is common for those to leak somewhat (they certainly don't have a tight seal, or an O-ring, in my experience (non-brand specific - you might want to call Kohler for their take) - a small leak even has the "feature" that if you shut off the water without pushing down the diverter, it will leak down to the point of dropping by itself in a few minutes, rather than surprising you with a burst of cold water from the showerhead the next day when you expect water to come out the tub spout.

"How much is too much" is mostly a matter of "does it interfere with the shower function," and "does it greatly impact water use during a shower." If you have something like hard water deposits built up in the tub spout that could certainly impact the limited extent to which it seals, for instance. That's not an issue you'd have with a whole new spout, though. But "no leak at all" is not normal in my experience.

Ecnerwal
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    It looks like I may have replaced a perfectly normal diverter valve. Where's the roll eyes emoji when you need it. As per my comment above, it looked like the new unit doesn't make a good seal – Peter M Mar 20 '23 at 00:12
  • This kind of diverter does leak more than the valve stem type of diverter, but the leak rate is perfectly acceptable except perhaps in very water short parts of the US. But the rotating stem type is more elaborate and costly and is higher maintenance. I do think you replaced a perfectly good part. – Jim Stewart Mar 20 '23 at 03:37
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    @JimStewart I live in the SW of the US, so water savings is always on my mind. But I agree that may have replaced a good part. – Peter M Mar 20 '23 at 12:50
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    @PeterM, just hang on to the old spout. Some day, your grandchildren will thank you for having _exactly_ the part on hand that they needed for their repair! :) – FreeMan Mar 20 '23 at 15:06
  • Possibly wiping a small amount of silicone lubricant on the sealing surface would reduce the leakage. Is this a metal-to-metal seal or is there an elastomer seal? – Jim Stewart Mar 20 '23 at 16:43
  • @JimStewart It looked like a nylon to metal seal – Peter M Mar 22 '23 at 16:39
  • https://youtu.be/4OjrL09CXrQ So it has a very flexible lipped rubber seal on the nylon. Water pressure causes the nylon backing to be held to the backing tabs holding it up in the sealing position. – Jim Stewart Mar 23 '23 at 00:01
  • https://youtu.be/rhXExy8s8zM This states that to reduce wear on the sealing mechanism the spigot seal should be switched with the water off. Hummm . . . I wonder if that is correct. I shower in a tub/shower with valve three handles -- from left hot, diverter (inside wall), cold. It has no antiscald protection. There is a low flow shower head to save water. To reduce waiting I get in the tub with the water off, set the diverter to tub spigot, turn on the hot nearly full on and when the hot water arrives, I add cold and switch the diverter to shower. We have a tankless WH set at 110 F. – Jim Stewart Mar 23 '23 at 00:24
  • The guy in the video above goes overboard on using overlyheavy duty parts. He should have used the supplied plastic parts. – Jim Stewart Mar 23 '23 at 00:32
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As I recall those diverters require a strong pressure to hold them securely. If the pressure is too weak, they leak. Running the water stronger may help.

QTX
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