Moen 1225 Cartridge Replacement - Tips Please

Just about to replace a Moen 1225 brass cartridge with a plastic one. From what I gather, they can be tough to remove without the removal tool.

Questions for the pros out there.
Should I buy the tool before attempting to remove the old one?
Is the tool made by Danco sufficient, or should I spring for the one made by Moen?

Any othe general tips you can share would be appreciated.

Thanks a bunch!

It really depends on how old your faucet or valve is if less then 10 years go with the cheap one !
If older go with the moen puller

Thanks. Any tricks to using the tool? I just picked up the Danco version from H Depot. The instructions say that I should thread the screw into the cartridge and pull the cartridge out. Something tells me that it isn't going to be that easy and that I should use an adjustable wrench to rotate the tool and the cartridge prior to pulling on the tool/cartridge.

I wouldn't know about your tool I use one made by Pasco but yes, you do want to rotate the cartridge before attempting to pull it.

tool

I am not sure WHICH tool it is, because I have at least FOUR different ones and any given removal can take one, two, or more of them depending on how it goes.