no hot water in kitchen sink

There's no hot water in the kitchen sink, from a fairly new Kohler faucet (fairly new meaning it was installed soon before we moved in).

Already had a plumber come and replace the cartridge (he said it looked immaculate, but replaced it just in case). All seemed fine, but now, less than two weeks later, there's no hot water again. (hot water is fine in bathrooms and laundry.) It looks like the one below, except the sprinkler thingy is on the other side.

Any thoughts on what the issue could be? Thanks!

Call Kohle

Kohler replaces free for the lifetime of the fixture any part you might need. They'll even send you a filter.

Good idea.

I just did, and they suggested a few things to have the plumber check (unfortunately, he's coming after they close at 5, so they won't be able to walk him through it). I'm not confident about DIY plumbing issues, so I'll have to wait for him to do it.

when you turn the water on---full hot only--- are you getting full force regardless of temp?

So... being blunt. I replaced every faucet in the house a few years back with Kohler. And their customer service is lovely, really.

But the amount of parts and other things that went wrong, consistently, in every faucet, is when I stopped buying Kohler.

I predict you will spend more time on the phone with customer service, and pay your plumber for multiple parts replacements -- that you'd be far better off buying a new faucet now. Consider it a great investment in peace of mind vs. fashion.

Good luck.

@j_r: Unfortunately, the previous owners didn't leave receipts for the faucets (just the service manuals), so the Kohler warranty doesn't apply. Their customer service is trying to help diagnose the problem, but not offering to provide replacements.

@Apollo_T: Yes, full force of water, it's just not hot (or even warm).

@PeteGlider: Good point about considering a replacement. Today will be the 3rd plumber visit for the same issue. He's not a Kohler fan, either. What brand would you suggest instead?

It's good that they are providing diagnostic help; that alone would make me feel better. But it does make me think twice about buying Kohler when we need new faucets, which will be soon. Huh.

When we swapped out a kitchen fixture a while back, the plumber strongly recommended using a Moen faucet. We did and have been happy with it - no problems so far.

It may not be the faucet at all but a blockage in the water supply leading to the faucet.

If you close the valve below on the hot side, disconnect the tube from the valve, put some towels under the sink and then quickly open and close the valve to see if there is pressure you will be able to determine this.

I'm having luck with the Grohe and Hansgrohe. That said the latter brand is owned by Delta now, so look for the European design.

I like Moen, many of their higher end models are European made/ designed.

OTOH -- I think that plumbing fixtures are kind of a fashion item in the home now. Maybe chrome looks great now, in a couple years nickel, or bronze, or whatever. In that case, get a major brand like Delta and Moen that do have parts and stand behind their products (example vs. Home Depot store brand). And in a couple years replace it.

/p

@Plungy, that's exactly what the Kohler support said to do. Waiting for the plumber to arrive to check it.

If there is a blockage (and it's not the faucet), what's the next step?

We had something similar happen a few years back in a house we rent out, but in our case it was the bathtub that didn't get hot water. I don't remember the actual cause, but it wasn't the faucet that was the problem.

ril said:
@Plungy, that's exactly what the Kohler support said to do. Waiting for the plumber to arrive to check it.
If there is a blockage (and it's not the faucet), what's the next step?

It's just a matter of finding where the blockage is down the line and doing whatever needs to be done to eliminate it.

Any plumber should be able to do this for you, but the keyword is "should".

Thanks, @Plungy, if I were still local, I'd have hired you. ;-) (We're in Florida...)

That's fine, let me know. I'm ready for a vacation.

Okay, so the plumber came back, checked all the lines and installed a new cartridge just in case (since he'd already bought it). There was hot water, and much rejoicing. But sadly, after a few minutes, it wasn't hot. He then flushed the hot water heater. Currently, lots of hot water. Fingers crossed that it stays that way. He's a nice guy, and only charged me for the cartridge this time (not the labor, and he was here for quite a while).

If this doesn't work, @Plungy, pack your bags!

ril said:
Okay, so the plumber came back, checked all the lines and installed a new cartridge just in case (since he'd already bought it). There was hot water, and much rejoicing. But sadly, after a few minutes, it wasn't hot. He then flushed the hot water heater. Currently, lots of hot water. Fingers crossed that it stays that way. He's a nice guy, and only charged me for the cartridge this time (not the labor, and he was here for quite a while).
If this doesn't work, @Plungy, pack your bags!

Taking a "systems" view of things first - wouldn't you logically check the other faucets (lavs, showers, etc.) to see if they had hot water first? If all of the different fixtures are affected equally, then you need to slowly work your way backwards to the source.

In the first post the op said that the other fixtures worked. That makes me wonder about flushing the water heater, unless it was the source of something that clogged the cartridge. But the plumber said the cartridge was pristine, which leads me back to the cut off valve or riser having something in it.

The plumber said he flushed the water heater just in case that was part of the problem (and a whole lot of gunk did come out). Kohler had suggested there might be something clogging the line.

He didn't say anything about cut off valve or riser (not that I know what that means), so I don't know if he checked/fixed those. At this point, there's hot water everywhere it should be (kitchen, both baths and laundry). I'll report back if anything changes.

And thank you all for the help/advice!

My orig point was to check pressure for obstruction.

Please try shutting off the COLD WATER VALVE then test pressure of hot water. If you have poor flow there may be an obstruction in the valve or the tube

@Apollo_T: The water flow was/is fine for both hot and cold (I'd already checked it as you suggested), the hot water just wasn't hot in that one sink. After the plumber's visit yesterday all seems good!

Yay!

Your dishwasher is probably tapped into the same feed line. Is there a temperature problem there? When your sink hot water isn't working... run the dishwasher for a few mins. then stop and check temp in dw.

@Apollo_T: will do that if the hot goes out again (we never use the dishwasher-- literally have run it only twice since moving in, just to check that it worked)

And Day Two, the water's still hot, yay!