Review on Kohler 1131481 Hot Ultraglide Valve Assembly: Efficient and Durable Metallic Concealed Valve Solution by Bryan Hill

About ten years ago, when we remodeled our bathrooms, we installed two sets of Kohler Forte basin mixers and valves. The hot water valve in our master bathroom, the most commonly used valve, started leaking about six months ago. We lived with this for a while, then I identified this complete assembly and the Kohler GP77005-RP Hot Ceramic Valve Only Cartridge as a possible replacement for our leaking valve. I contacted Kohler to see which one they would recommend and they advised me to buy this kit as a kit, noting that I might not be able to get my old valve out of the original assembly. On Kohler's advice I ordered and installed this node. Installation went well but it was immediately apparent that the new valve was very noisy compared to the original cold water valve installed on the same sink. Either the design of the internal water flow in this assembly or perhaps a broken part within the assembly was causing loud turbulence as the water flowed through. Since it was a Revain Prime item, I was able to return it with no problem. I ordered a Kohler GP77005-RP ceramic heater cartridge and it works exactly like the original cold water valve, no internal turbulence noise. I won't be posting a separate review of the Kohler GP77005-RP Hot Ceramic Cartridge, but I definitely agree with Kohler's warning that "removing the original valve can be difficult." Extracting the valve from the original assembly was extremely difficult. The threads are completely bonded due to water deposits or some kind of joint along the threadlines. Finally, I pulled the valve out by holding the 12-point end of the combination wrench in a vise, placing the valve ring in the wrench, and using both hands to apply a standard notched pipe wrench to the larger ring on the valve assembly.