Generic Tub Faucet Problems

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JoeBean

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St. John's, Newfoundland
Hi,
I live in a fairly new home, about 5 years old, which we purchased a year or so ago. The bathroom has a one piece fiberglass tub & surround with a generic no-name faucet. The faucet & parts actually have no discernible markings other than "H", "C", "CSA" (Canadian Standards Ass.), "UPC", and "Made in China".

For the last 3 months we've been having a water hammer problem whenever the tub faucet it open less than 1/3. And for the past 2 weeks the water pressure in the tub (shower and spout) has been extremely low. So, figuring the problem is in the faucet, I decided today to disassemble it.

Here is what I found:
IMG_1611.jpg

IMG_1612.jpg

IMG_1613.jpg

IMG_1614.jpg


So I guess my questions are:
1. Do you think the problems are caused by the red/green cartridge, or the grey plastic part in the brass housing (don't know what it's called...), or something else?
2. Since I don't have a manufacturer's name, and presumably they're using some major manufacturer's parts, what make/model replacement parts would I be looking for?
3. I was kind of thinking, as an alternate direction to take this repair, on replacing the whole unit with a name-brand product if the job wasn't too difficult. I have replaced shower faucets before when doing some light remodeling but always with plenty of access to the plumbing. As you can see they mounted the unit against some framing, which is solidly in place, and insulated around it though that wall is actually in the middle of the house. I could cut an access hole in the wall behind the plumbing if needed, and cut off the support to access the plumbing, but I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions on how the replacement could be done through the front?

TIA!
 
UPDATE: So I think I found the cartridge, a B&K bnk7005 as per http://www.alfanoplumbingparts.com/pdf/SingleLeverCartridgesAtoD.pdf

The mating part is apparently part bnk9003, which is the "Balancing Spool"

So the remaining questions would be:
1. Is it the cartridge, or the spool, that's causing the problem? If it's the spool, how is it removed?
2. Since I doubt there's much chance of finding the right part locally any suggestions on replacing the whole unit?

Again, thanks for any help you can give!
 
I have never heard of B&K, so getting replacement parts might be difficult. It is likely that the problem is in the cartridge itself, although not having disassembled one before there is always the possibility of if being in the seat.

Were it my house, I would probably replace the unit with a more common brand (such as moen or delta) so that replacement parts and warranty claims aren't an issue. It looks like they have left you a nice big hole to work through so you shouldn't have to rip any walls out.


I find it odd that they put a giant chunk of wood behind the current valve, then didn't bother yo use those four giant holes to secure it to the board but they took the time to use pipe straps on the hot and cold pipes. This makes me wonder if they bothered securing the threaded elbow that receives the shower arm ( \a major cause of hammer in a shower).
 
I have never heard of B&K, so getting replacement parts might be difficult. It is likely that the problem is in the cartridge itself, although not having disassembled one before there is always the possibility of if being in the seat.

Were it my house, I would probably replace the unit with a more common brand (such as moen or delta) so that replacement parts and warranty claims aren't an issue. It looks like they have left you a nice big hole to work through so you shouldn't have to rip any walls out.


I find it odd that they put a giant chunk of wood behind the current valve, then didn't bother yo use those four giant holes to secure it to the board but they took the time to use pipe straps on the hot and cold pipes. This makes me wonder if they bothered securing the threaded elbow that receives the shower arm ( \a major cause of hammer in a shower).

Hi! Thanks for the response!

The wood is there to strap the pipes, as you note. Those 4 holes are actually to receive machine screws to hold a black plastic cover, whose purpose is an absolute mystery to me other than listing a couple warnings about which way is up, and then the silver round cover plate (2 screws each, so a total of 4).

I actually think I solved the problem, although I'm still leaning towards replacing the whole unit as you suggest.

After sizing everything up I decided to disassemble the whole thing. I found a pic of the balancing spool and realized it just comes straight out, so I wiggled it a bit to break the seal on the O-ring and pulled it out. It is in 2 halves which clip together with to fingers. Squeeze the fingers slightly and pull apart and it separates.

Inside is a valve comprised of 2 tubes of chromed steel, one inside the other, with the inside one slipping back and forth within the outer one. There were several pieces of sand/debris in here, I'm guessing due to recent repairs to the water lines. I cleaned it out, replaced the O-ring with a new one (though I don't think it would have strictly been necessary) and replaced it.

The cartridge comes apart in much the same way, and the fingers can be seen in the top-down looking picture. Inside is a plate that spins with the handle and 2 rubber "boots" with springs and a thin copper washer behind them. The washer appears to be put there to distribute the load evenly against the rubber boots, to prevent the springs from tearing them. One washer had completely disintegrated, and the other was getting close to going the same way. So I machined a couple new washers at about 3x the thickness to take up any slack in the springs that may have developed over time. I put a new O-ring on it and put the cartridge back together, reinstalled everything and there's no leaks, plenty of pressure, and no more water hammer!

That said, I've never liked this faucet, and knowing that parts are going to be nearly impossible to get if something goes seriously wrong in the future makes me want to replace it all together with a better unit.

So for any who may have trudged through this whole thread, any tips on how this unit might be replaced from the front? (eg. are there any compression fittings that might allow me to cut the pipes and forego soldering but still fit in the tight space? Would it be better to cut the pipes or just release the soldered joints? etc)
 
I think you might have enough room to replace and solder from the front side, but just be cautious about which brand you select, and make sure the plate completely covers your hole.
 

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