American Standard Princeton bathtub

[Jay Cee]

Hi All,
I have a question regarding the Princeton Tub from American Standard. The plumber was doing his fittings for the drain and had difficulty putting things together. He noticed a black composite ring attached at the drain location, that is fused to the tub, see photo. This ring is almost 1/2" thick and has spaced apart the drain shoe and drain flange. He is currently trying to source an elongated drain flange but I'm wondering why American Standard would make something not work with standard plumbing fittings. Are we doing something wrong???



See how far the drain shoe is! The plumber says he’s “never seen anything like this in 25 years”, just want to make sure he’s not talking out of his butt. More importantly making sure we aren’t doing something wrong.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Jay

 

[Twowaxhack]

Is the bottom of the tub outlet uniform thickness and flat ? If so, the tub shoe is just misaligned.

Once you get it aligned it needs a tub shoe washer between the tub and the brass shoe. Plumbers putty under the flange of the strainer.

That’s americast tub, I’ve installed many.

It’s 1/2” thick because it’s made that way. It’s suppose to be a lightweight answer to cast iron, that composite material holds heat and is quiet.

That tub can chip, it’s porcelain.

 

[Jay Cee]

Yes, it is americast.

The issue is the rubber gasket ring that is fused to the underside of the tub drain. The picture illustrates this. It is about 1/2” thick and has widen the space between the drain shoe and the drain flange so they don’t thread properly. I’m curious as to why the plumber says he’s never seen anything like this, and why would American Standard make something that is not using standard plumbing fittings.

Thanks in advance for your input.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Americast tubs don’t have a fused rubber gasket ring that comes on the tubs.

The rubber gasket comes with the tub drain.

The flat rubber gasket goes between the brass and the bottom of the tub.

If the bottom of the tub outlet is flat and molded properly your drain piping needs adjustment.

 

[Jay Cee]

That is really puzzling. I had a closer look at the tub and you’re right. The thickness I show in the photo (the black bit) is just another layer to the overall tub thickness. So the plumber hasn’t got this figured out?! Which is a concern!

 

[Twowaxhack]

The tubs instructions will tell you exactly how to install the drain. The tub drain should also have instructions.,

If the bottom of the tub is uniform square and flat then it’s your piping that needs to be adjusted.

 

[Jay Cee]

So standard fittings should work. And the plumber is out there trying to source an extended drain flange!? WTF

 

[Twowaxhack]

So standard fittings should work. And the plumber is out there trying to source an extended drain flange!? WTF

Look, in the pic the drain shoe is not aligned with the tub. That’s obvious to me.,

The problem might be that your tub shoe strainer isn’t long enough (have enough threads ) to engage the threads in the tub shoe. I don’t know.

 

[Twowaxhack]

This picture from American Standard and the link below to Waste and overflow installation instructions should make this crystal clear on how it’s supposed to work.



https://pfisterstorage.blob.core.windows.net/documents/pf_is_018-310_53533.pdf

 

[DFBonnett]

So standard fittings should work. And the plumber is out there trying to source an extended drain flange!? WTF

Standard worked for me. I used an Americast tub with a Gerber drain/overflow. Went right together.

 

[TomFOhio]

Pull that thick rubber piece off and see if the drain shoe will pull up almost flush to the bottom of the
tub. If it doesn't then the drain needs moved up and centered like mentioned. If it does then put the
correct rubber gasket on and screw the flange in. Put some pipe dope on the threads.

 

[Twowaxhack]

Pull that thick rubber piece off and see if the drain shoe will pull up almost flush to the bottom of the
tub. If it doesn't then the drain needs moved up and centered like mentioned. If it does then put the
correct rubber gasket on and screw the flange in. Put some pipe dope on the threads.

That’s not thick rubber. That’s the bathtub. It’s Americast.

 

[TomFOhio]

That’s not thick rubber. That’s the bathtub. It’s Americast.

OK,, but what did you mean in post #4?

 

[Twowaxhack]

OK,, but what did you mean in post #4?

The tub shoe washer. Tub shoe washers are thin. You’re seeing the tub in the OPs pic.

 

[Jay Cee]

My original description is wrong. It is NOT a ring fused to the drain hole. That black composite material in my original photo is part of the overall thickness of the bathtub. It is cast with this material on the entire underside of the tub. It is inherently part of the design of Americast tubs.

 

[Twowaxhack]

My original description is wrong. It is NOT a ring fused to the drain hole. That black composite material in my original photo is part of the overall thickness of the bathtub. It is cast with this material on the entire underside of the tub. It is inherently part of the design of Americast tubs.

Read post number two of this thread.

 

[Jeff Handy]

Thanks for the update, it makes much more sense now, the body of the tub is just very thick.
Not like cast iron or enameled steel.

 

[Jay Cee]

Thanks for everyone’s input.

 

[MikeCinNC]

Thanks for everyone’s input.

Jay Cee - How did you get this resolved? I am having the same issue with my Americast tub. The thickness of the tub with the composite is over 5/8" so when I insert a standard tub drain and put a standard 3/16" thick tub shoe gasket underneath I only have 3/8" of drain pipe sticking out. That's not really enough to properly catch the threads in the drain shoe. Any help would be appreciated!