So last night the posi temp 1222 went in our master shower, and I did battle once again. I completely destroyed my Danco puller in the process. The Danco didn't seat fully on the valve (the stem bottomed out in the puller), and I got to twisting too hard and the little "ears" on the puller got all munged up before I noticed. Usually the plastic on the cartridge goes first. Anyway, with the ears bent and frustration mounting, I went full 500 lb gorilla with the channel locks and unga'd my way through.

Got the cartridge out, but my puller is toast, and I don't want to buy the same garbage to replace it. I frequently had issues with the Danco. The space for the stem in the central threaded cylinder isn't deep enough, so you can't get full "bite" on the cartridge. Also, the posi temp valves have little "ears" on them that interfere with the outer puller nut. They'll shear off, but man do they jam themselves up in there.

So what's the "premium" tool for this job? Is there one? I'd love one that works for both 1222 and 1225 cartridges, but would buy two if they worked better.

I turned the water off (!), removed the handle, sheath, etc. I managed to get the cartridge clip (?) out from the top.

I’m now trying to pull the cartridge straight out, but I can’t get it to budge.

The whole system of pipes is moving, and I feel like I’m going to create a catastrophic problem if I keep pulling.

Am I missing something that needs to be done first? Am I just weak? 🥺

Thanks in advance!