Kitchen Sink P-Trap material question

Steve333

Steve333

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Hi all, new here.
I just had the pipes under my kitchen sink replaced.
The old pipes were all PVC (white plastic)
There was a leak and when i went to tighten the nut around the pipe and bottom of the strainer it basically came off in my hand.
The plumber installed a copper tailpiece, and attached to it is a steel p-trap.
I was wondering if its OK to use these materials? I though I had read somewhere that you shouldn't connect copper to steel. The plumber insisted it was OK.
The only real problem I am having right now is that water seems to be pooling inside the strainer and takes a few minutes to drip all the way out and its kind of loud while it does it.
There is a metal bar going across the center of the strainer with a hole in the middle where the removable strainer/plug goes into.
The water seems to pool on this center piece and slowly drip out into the pipe. Is this normal?
Thanks!
 
drain

The trap is probably chrome plated brass, I have never seen a steel one. The material is immaterial for a drain. No help with the drip because I have never seen one do it.
 
hj said:
The trap is probably chrome plated brass, I have never seen a steel one. The material is immaterial for a drain. No help with the drip because I have never seen one do it.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm glad the pipe used didn't matter, i would hate to have to go through a hassle in getting it replaced.
The plumber (Roto-Rooter) came by today to check it out and he insisted nothing was wrong with the strainer and said that water accumulating inside it was normal.
It still seems to be dripping too much to me, and is pretty loud.
 
drain

I have never considered RR personel as plumbers. In most cases they are salesmen trying to sell new, or at least maximize the invoice total, because they get a percentage of all new items sold.
 
hj said:
I have never considered RR personel as plumbers. In most cases they are salesmen trying to sell new, or at least maximize the invoice total, because they get a percentage of all new items sold.
Click to expand...

I can understand that. In this case, though, everything had to be replaced and I knew it going in. So, the only thing I was concerned with was the price. I had a different plumbing service come in a week earlier, before the pipe had come off (I knew there was a leak somewhere because my ceiling downstairs had a water stain), and they quoted me a ridiculous price of $670.
So, this time it was an emergency and I decided to give RR a shot since at least they would back up their work. The price was $300 total so I went for it. I'm sure I could have gotten it done cheaper from a private plumber but RR had all the supplies in their truck.

I'm going to go to Home Depot and see what kind of strainer designs they have. I still don't think water should pool inside of it and drip down for 5 minutes. I'll see what they have and then go from there.
 
Water can "stick" to pipes and fittings for a while.

Sometimes it takes 30 minutes for the water to stop dripping from a tub/shower head riser.
 
Terry said:
Water can "stick" to pipes and fittings for a while.

Sometimes it takes 30 minutes for the water to stop dripping from a tub/shower head riser.
Click to expand...

So it's normal for water to drip out of a kitchen sink for 3-5 minutes? It looks like the water just pools on the center piece going across.
My old strainer didn't do this, of course it didn't have that center piece either.
Maybe thats just the way they are designed now?
 
Well, I checked out the strainers at Home Depot and none of them have the same design as the one RR installed.
The ones I saw didnt have a piece of metal going across the center with a hole in the middle.
The ones I saw just had insides that were cantered downwards. It looked as if the water would just slide into the drain and not pool the water inside.

I will most likely call RR and have them replace the strainer. This time I wont take no for an answer.

I also spoke to someone at HD and they said that it is usually not a good idea to mix 2 metals together, like the chrome plated p-trap and copper tailpiece. I had heard that somewhere before but folks here think its OK?
 
sink-accessories004.jpg


The guy at HD will tell you what ever you want to hear. They're nice that way. They would have an opinion of their own if they knew enough.
For the most part, they just agree with everyone.

The plumbers here know plumbing, and don't BS you.

Many sink drains (baskets) have the cross at the bottom.
Some have a "thread down" stopper with a hole at the center.
Changing the sink basket may or may not do much for you.
I wouldn't say that RR put in the "wrong" basket.
There are many choices out there. I'm sure they just grabbed one off the shelf and installed it.

I think he would have been happy to install a basket that you had provided when he did the work the first time.

I think asking him to come back and install baskets until you find one you like, is going to cost someone.
What happens if the new basket you pick out turns out to be the same?

Mother Nature and the law of physics still has to be dealt with.

P-traps and tail pieces for lavs and sinks are either brass or plastic.
The brass may have a chrome plate on it, but it's still brass.
You can mix and match plastic and brass under your sink till the cows come home. It's not a problem.

Pipe materials that shouldn't mix are:

galvanized water supply lines and copper.

Many places allow a 6" brass nipple between galvanized steel and copper.
 
Last edited:
Terry said:
The guy at HD will tell you what ever you want to hear. They're nice that way. They would have an opinion of their own if they knew enough.
For the most part, they just agree with everyone.

The plumbers here know plumbing, and don't BS you.

Many sink drains (baskets) have the cross at the bottom.
Some have a "thread down" stopper with a hole at the center.
Changing the sink basket may or may not do much for you.
I wouldn't say that RR put in the "wrong" basket.
There are many choices out there. I'm sure they just grabbed one off the shelf and installed it.

I think he would have been happy to install a basket that you had provided when he did the work the first time.

I think asking him to come back and install baskets until you find one you like, is going to cost someone.
What happens if the new basket you pick out turns out to be the same?

Mother Nature and the law of physics still has to be dealt with.

P-traps and tail pieces for lavs and sinks are either brass or plastic.
The brass may have a chrome plate on it, but it's still brass.
You can mix and match plastic and brass under your sink till the cows come home. It's not a problem.

Pipe materials that shouldn't mix are:

galvanized water supply lines and copper.

Many places allow a 6" brass nipple between galvanized steel and copper.
Click to expand...

You may be right. I would hate to have them go through all that and still have the same problem.
The guy who installed it said yes when I asked him if the p-trap was steel, but I really don't think he was paying attention. I just looked and its held to the copper(brass?) tailpiece by a steel nut. I guess its called a nut? It looks like the same material as the p-trap. It most definitely looks like steel but could be chrome plated. It would be nice to know for sure.
 
Have you got a magnet? If it is steel, the magnet will stick. Bet it won't...
 
jadnashua said:
Have you got a magnet? If it is steel, the magnet will stick. Bet it won't...
Click to expand...

I tried a refrigerator magnet.....from Roto-Rooter :)
It didn't stick. So, the mystery is over?
 
The nut may be steel, or it may be plated brass.

The p-trap is not steel, those were your words, and the plumber agreed with you just to keep working.

But whether the nut is steel or brass is imaterial.
The nut comes in the box with the basket.

This is not a situation where it matters.
 
Terry said:
The nut may be steel, or it may be plated brass.

The p-trap is not steel, those were your words, and the plumber agreed with you just to keep working.

But whether the nut is steel or brass is imaterial.
The nut comes in the box with the basket.

This is not a situation where it matters.
Click to expand...

good. thanks.
Plumbing is obviously not an area of expertise for me. I can fix a computer but when it comes to the house, I'm lost.
 
Steve- dont worry about the p-trap... it's cool... it'll work fine... The trouble with the water draining sounds like it's from the sink basket, and not the removable strainer... At least thats what I get from your earlier posts... There is a washer commonly called a "top hat" that fits between the sink tailpiece and sink basket... If it's a little off center when installed, it causes the slow draining problem. The fix is as simple as loosening the nut at the bottom of the sink, and using a screwdriver, chopstick, twig from the backyard, etc., to align it from above while retightening the nut.

Maybe someone else can better describe washer alignment... I did my best.... With a little courage to dissect the plumbing system yourself, you should be able to cure it without relying on the roto rooter guys again....
 
Splinter said:
Steve- dont worry about the p-trap... it's cool... it'll work fine... The trouble with the water draining sounds like it's from the sink basket, and not the removable strainer... At least thats what I get from your earlier posts... There is a washer commonly called a "top hat" that fits between the sink tailpiece and sink basket... If it's a little off center when installed, it causes the slow draining problem. The fix is as simple as loosening the nut at the bottom of the sink, and using a screwdriver, chopstick, twig from the backyard, etc., to align it from above while retightening the nut.

Maybe someone else can better describe washer alignment... I did my best.... With a little courage to dissect the plumbing system yourself, you should be able to cure it without relying on the roto rooter guys again....
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't see your post until now.
I think it had more to do with the inside design of the sink basket.
I had decided to live with it but got fed up one night while eating dinner and listening to plop......plop....plop for 5 minutes.
I called RR and demanded that they replace it with a different design.
They had a guy come, the same guy who originally installed it, insisted it was fine and dandy. I argued with the guy for a few minutesbecause he wanted $50 to change it, and I finally convinced him to change it for nothing, as long as I bought the basket.

I went to Home Depot, picked out 2, one a $15 basket(I've been calling it a strainer), and the other a Koehler $35 basket. I didnt know what to pick so i got both.
The guy comes and says the Koehler is better so i went with it and-no more plops! The water goes down, and thats the end of the story.
It ended up costing another $50 (I gave the guy $20 cash for his time), but now I have my quiet sink back.
I wasn't sure if it would work out this way but I'm glad I went through the hassle.
 
HD advice

Going back to your Home Depot advice not to mix brass and coppe in the drain system. In the first place that is one of the safest mixes. In addition, no sink drain parts are made of copper, they are either plastic or brass.
 
hj said:
Going back to your Home Depot advice not to mix brass and coppe in the drain system. In the first place that is one of the safest mixes. In addition, no sink drain parts are made of copper, they are either plastic or brass.
Click to expand...

I believe it was suggested not to mix steel and copper (or brass). Turns out the p-trap is chrome plated brass anyway. The plumber got me confused.

The drain basket is chrome plated brass, and a nice one too. Koehler makes some good stuff from what i see. It weighed twice as much as the cheaper one also.
 
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