Silicone or Putty??

When mounting the drain to a whirlpool tub, is it best to use Silicone Sealant(GE II Kitchen and Bath) or straight up plumber's putty?

Or does it not much matter at all??

If the tub is acrylic, its best to use silicone

Holy calculus, batman! Please don't start the silicone/putty debate again!

either one will work

either one will work...

putty is more forgiveing

if you use the silicone,
you will probably never --ever get it apart again



I have had to burn off basket strainers from a SS kitchen sink with a blow torch before,

becasue someone used silicone

let the dabate rage

I have a customer that has to replace the whole sink because his G/D is leaking and whoever installed it years back used some kind of epoxy or something...that it can't be removed from the sink and the style of mounting flange that it is is not available any more....and he called to tell me that the installer also used the same stuff to mount the sink so he may have to change the counter top also now....gota love the DIYers...

Cass said:

I have a customer that has to replace the whole sink because his G/D is leaking and whoever installed it years back used some kind of epoxy or something...that it can't be removed from the sink and the style of mounting flange that it is is not available any more....and he called to tell me that the installer also used the same stuff to mount the sink so he may have to change the counter top also now....gota love the DIYers...

Click to expand...

That's pretty funny when you think about it.

Thanks all. Mark, I like the idea of forgiveness, putty it is...

I use this no matter what the sink or, tub is made of.

What am I doing wrong??

Using the STA-Put Ultra (stainless) to hook up a FG/Acrylic tub & drain.

Can't seem to get the drain spud to seal at the tub flange. Been through this 3 times now with varying amounts of STA-Put. Admittedly, I applied too much putty on my first attempt On the first try, putty got between the washer and the bottom of the tub flange...(too much putty I assumed).

The remaining 2 times, used considerably less (single bead, about 3/16" in diameter, at the edge of the spud). Should have worked, but didn't.

Am I tightening too much, or not enough? (Yes, the washer is on the BOTTOM of the flange...) I'm clamping it down fairly tight, I think...at least until putty stops oozing out...using a basket wrench...

Is there a set sequence for installation that I should be following?

Even if I get it right, now having trouble trusting the seal

Nevermind!

Found the problem:

Where the drain bowl meets the horiz drain pipe is a FACTORY joint - LEAKS, grrrrr...

It's going back and I'm selecting a different brand.

There's 4 hours of my life I'll never get back...

drain

The putty ONLY stops the water in the tub from leaking away, with some drains you would not even need it. The bottom gasket is what prevents leaks, so if you have a leak that is where the problem is, not the putty.