The faucet handle for my shower has one degree of freedom (rotating either clockwise or counter-clockwise) and does not allow controlling flow independently of temperature. The handle turns clockwise from the 5 o'clock position to the 10 o'clock position. Rotated to 5:00, the shower is off. Rotated to 10:00, the water is very, very hot. What is very confusing, however, is that the faucet does not seem to be stateless:
- I rotate the handle clockwise to 10:00 to let the water get hot.
- I rotate the handle counter-clockwise to 7:00 position. The water is still very hot. (It doesn't seem noticeably colder at all.)
- I continue rotating the handle counter-clockwise to about the 6:00 position. The water becomes very cold.
- I rotate the handle clockwise to about the 7:00 position. The water is still very cold.
- I continue rotating the handle clockwise to about the 9:00 position. The water is still very cold.
- I rotate the handle clockwise all the way to the 10:00 position. The water becomes very hot.
We can't just rotate the handle to a specific position to consistently get a desired temperature. Instead, we seem to have to repeatedly rotate the handle clockwise and counter-clockwise, and eventually we might get the water to become a comfortable warm temperature. It always seems like a frustrating guessing game.
What is wrong with our shower faucet?
If it matters, I believe that the water pressure from the hot water line is higher than the from the cold water line based on my experience with a shower shut-off valve.
