The Abominable 1222 Posi-Temp cartridge

Have you ever had to replace a broken cartridge valve for a shower/tub? I've done it now twice in my lifetime, and may yet have to do it again a few times before I go. 

The cartridge is the Moen 1222 Posi-Temp device, and in some ways it's ingenious. It allows a single handle fixture to control a shower/tub's water. You pull on the handle to open the water flow, turn the handle left or right to modify the temperature. They're found in tubs, showers, and tub/shower combinations.

The cartridge is small and easy to install, but after sitting in a wall and getting used daily for ten years they eventually wear out and break. Commonly, you'll find that you suddenly cannot close the faucet and the flow won't stop. Or maybe it starts leaking, or perhaps you can't control the temperature anymore. Anyway, it breaks and you'll have to replace it. Even if you get a complimentary replacement cartridge from Moen (they will send you one free if you're the original owner of the home), you'll still have to undergo the labor to perform the replacement work. You could hire a plumber, of course, but I'd recommend doing it yourself if you are moderately handy. 

Removing the shower handle is not difficult. The problem comes when you have to remove the old 1222 cartridge. The things tend to get stuck pretty bad in the brass valve body. The first time I had to do one of these, I pulled on the old cartridge and it wouldn't budge. I had to use a puller that allowed me to slowly use the power of torque to gradually pull the cartridge out, and I saw the cause of the resistance. There are rubber oval grommets on the left and right sides of the cartridge and as I was pulling them out, one had folded over on itself and created considerable friction. Fortunately, I was able to work through it and remove the cartridge. Putting the replacement cartridge in is super easy. 

But recently I had to do another cartridge extraction and this one was worse. I used the same tool I had before, but after reaching the maximum distance it could pull, the cartridge was still stuck. I used a pair of channel lock pliers to wrestle with the cartridge and managed to get it a little further out but it was really stuck good and wouldn't budge. I increased the force and the housing cracked and the cartridge broke in half. Now I had half the cartridge, a mass of plastic and metal, still stuck in the brass housing. Yuck. And you have to be careful here because if you damage the brass valve body you've just turned a $50 job into a $500 job. 

WHY? Why in 100 plus years of plumbing technology evolution have we not figured out a better way to manage this? Now I have to go caveman on this thing to finish what should be an easy job.

All right, it is what it is. With a mix of screwdriver, drill, chisel, and needle nose pliers, I break apart the innards of the remaining assembly and finally get it clear of the brass. During the extraction I could see the rubber grommets had sort of gotten stuck in the left and right passageways on the sides of the brass (where the hot and cold water come from). I wonder if that caused some of the resistance. 

I am not the only one dealing with this problem. There are dozens of videos on the internet of others dealing with this. Common approaches to resolving it are:

• Use a hair dryer or heating tool to heat the area and help loosen the cartridge.
• If the main valve rod breaks off the cartridge, use a drill and a tap to get a grip on the inside of the cartridge and then pull it out.

Both of those didn't apply to my situation. In my case, I had to literally tear the cartridge apart bit by bit. I did get the idea to use the drill from one person's video. You can CAREFULLY drill the side wall of the cartridge housing and this can loosen it.

The best solution for handy work though is to have the right tools. Here are two that can potentially make this job easier:

• The Lakeview Puller [LakeviewPuller.com]. This baby is $175 and probably worth it, if you're a plumber that gets called on to do this task regularly. It's similar to the puller I have now but it's longer and has a slot up the top and bottom to accommodate the rectangular panel at the base of the cartridge stem (the one identifying hot/cold with the letters "HC"). This tool is designed to attach to a drill, so once you're hooked in correctly, the drill will make fast work of the extraction, even if the grommets are causing issues. It's a great tool, but probably too expensive for someone like me that just does this once every 7 years. 
• Another tool option is the FlowRite ONA Puller [Amazon.com]. It's $75 at Amazon and has attachments that'll handle cartridges similarly to the Lakeview Puller, but with elbow grease rather than a drill. 

If the next cartridge I have to deal with proves to be a total bastard, I may go ahead and buy one of the above tools. A competent person can do anything, and a competent person with the right tools can do anything more efficiently.