pasadena_commut
Well-Known Member
We have a Delta single handled kitchen faucet which uses this type of repair kit
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-R...and-Tub-Shower-Applications-RP77738/205166198
(Note the two top pieces shown in that illustration are now a single piece.)
For a while it wouldn't shut off. So the springs and seats were replaced with Delta ones. It worked beautifully for a day or so then started leaking again. Since we could still shut it off by placing the handle slightly up and to the left we just lived with it for a while. Eventually it became so finicky to shut off that I decided to replace all of its guts in the area of the ball. (Not the big O-rings where the spout mounts or the diverter there, that was still working.)
I described the situation to the pluming guru at HD (counting myself lucky in actually finding one). He thought about it for a while and then asked if I had used grease. Of course I had not, since not a single repair kit suggested doing so. Anyway, this time I did, putting a light coat around the outside and top of the seats and a very tiny dab on the top piece which sits on top of the ball.) That was two weeks ago and it is still working.
The biggest change though is the amount of effort needed to move the handle. It used to take a little force, now it takes almost none, actually too little in my opinion. I can move it around with my pinky with no effort. The feeling is very odd and hard to describe in a faucet. Have you ever been standing on ice skates and had one foot shoot out? Like that.
I think the problem with the last set was either an irregularity in the ball or one of the springs, because one of the two seats that was pulled out had developed a sort of nick/buckle where the spring metal ends. It is hard to see how it sealed like that.
Anyway, do any of you grease this type of faucet? It seemed like an odd thing to do, and the action of the faucet is now so light that it doesn't seem like many people would be happy with it.
I need to buy some food rated silicone grease to replace what I used. In theory silicone grease is pretty much insoluble in water and not particularly toxic. That said, I really don't trust little pots of goo bought at big box stores to actually be what they say they are. I forget the brand I used, it is one of those commonly found in big box stores. Which is a lot like buying a "Magnavox" TV - it is just a name slapped on somebody else's product. It is all too easy to imagine the manufacturer in China, or Mexico, or wherever the stuff is actually made putting Lord knows what nasty stuff in it. Great way to dispose of a couple of barrels of PCBs - who is going to chemically test a product like this to discover the duplicity?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Delta-R...and-Tub-Shower-Applications-RP77738/205166198
(Note the two top pieces shown in that illustration are now a single piece.)
For a while it wouldn't shut off. So the springs and seats were replaced with Delta ones. It worked beautifully for a day or so then started leaking again. Since we could still shut it off by placing the handle slightly up and to the left we just lived with it for a while. Eventually it became so finicky to shut off that I decided to replace all of its guts in the area of the ball. (Not the big O-rings where the spout mounts or the diverter there, that was still working.)
I described the situation to the pluming guru at HD (counting myself lucky in actually finding one). He thought about it for a while and then asked if I had used grease. Of course I had not, since not a single repair kit suggested doing so. Anyway, this time I did, putting a light coat around the outside and top of the seats and a very tiny dab on the top piece which sits on top of the ball.) That was two weeks ago and it is still working.
The biggest change though is the amount of effort needed to move the handle. It used to take a little force, now it takes almost none, actually too little in my opinion. I can move it around with my pinky with no effort. The feeling is very odd and hard to describe in a faucet. Have you ever been standing on ice skates and had one foot shoot out? Like that.
I think the problem with the last set was either an irregularity in the ball or one of the springs, because one of the two seats that was pulled out had developed a sort of nick/buckle where the spring metal ends. It is hard to see how it sealed like that.
Anyway, do any of you grease this type of faucet? It seemed like an odd thing to do, and the action of the faucet is now so light that it doesn't seem like many people would be happy with it.
I need to buy some food rated silicone grease to replace what I used. In theory silicone grease is pretty much insoluble in water and not particularly toxic. That said, I really don't trust little pots of goo bought at big box stores to actually be what they say they are. I forget the brand I used, it is one of those commonly found in big box stores. Which is a lot like buying a "Magnavox" TV - it is just a name slapped on somebody else's product. It is all too easy to imagine the manufacturer in China, or Mexico, or wherever the stuff is actually made putting Lord knows what nasty stuff in it. Great way to dispose of a couple of barrels of PCBs - who is going to chemically test a product like this to discover the duplicity?
