Fixing bathtub drain leak

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K9mlxj

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OK, I've finally installed and glued the pieces to the tee.


The next thing I've found out--the plunger did not help hold the water in the tub, so water leaked out even when the trip lever went up (which dropped the plunger down to block the water).


This is just a simple plastic plunger--no gaskets, no O-rings around it.

I added some weight (some nuts and large washers) just to see if it'd help. The added weight helped a bit, but there was still a gradual leak.


BTW, this is a Keeney model 640PVC bath drain.

http://www.keeneymfg.com/installation_instructions/1971-en-640PVC


Drain - plastic plunger.jpg



What can I do to help the plunger block the water better so there'd be no leak?


1. Add silicone grease?
But even if it works, the grease would eventually wear out and I'd have to reapply the grease again--true?


2. I thought about coating a layer of silicone sealant around the base of the plunger--to help seal off the contacting points.

Would this help? And, would this only work temporarily--since the silicone grease would still wear out and peel off overtime?


Any other ideas/sealant that can help? Or trip lever - plunger type stopper just doesn't work reliably at all with plastic material?
 
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K9mlxj

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Sorry if I miss this,

don't know if it's suggested that fixing the p-trap would help w/ the trip lever mechanism?


Right now the only thing is the trip lever/plunger mechanism isn't holding the water from a leak when the lever is in the up position. Everything else is working now.


Don't know if anyone has tried the Keeney Schedule 40 drain set (trip lever) and would know how to get that plunger working right... .
 
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Terry

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If the tub drain and parts are new, then the adjustment should make it hold water.
The bucket may not be dropping far enough down to seal.

If you have it all assembled with the old trap that is fine, I was just pointing out for others that cutting the trap out is an easier method. I also prefer a new trap anyway.
If you have it working, don't worry. You're done.
 

K9mlxj

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Thx. Now that I see your comments, I look and notice that the off-angle I mentioned earlier was actually introduced by the old p-trap not going straight up.

Would have had replaced the p-trap and set a new one straight up and taken care of the off-angle issue I struggled with earlier had I seen your comment at an earlier time. :)


Though, not sure if the installation of that old p-trap was done purposely a bit off-angle to provide a slight tilt for the tub drain to drain water faster?

New tub drain and p-trap.jpg



BTW, I fiddled quite a bit w/ the trip lever/plunger not holding water's problem.

I removed the face plate, and completely dropped the plunger into the tee so to remove the linkage length relationship altogether--and it was still not holding water when the plunger was completely down at the bottom of the tee.


Then I applied by hand some pressure to the plunger by pushing the linkage down further. I sensed that the plunger didn't go down any further, but the water held -- only as I gave more pressure.


So I wondered if the plunger didn't fit well 100% with the tee's hole, therefore allowing a very slight gap where the plunger met the bottom of the tee--and hence a leak.


I noticed the lever on the face plate has a spring and could provide some modest pressure, so I purposely set up the linkage just a bit longer than needed, so when the lever was up (and pushed down the linkage and plunger), it gave the plunger a slight constant downward pressure when the plunger was already completely down in the tee.


The additional slight downward pressure with this 'trick' seemed to help provide a better hold of water.



I don't think it's meant to use the additional pressure from the spring in the face plate to get a good seal of the plunger down in the tee to hold the water.... . This is just a trick I seem to get the plunger to hold water better... .

It's quite tricky to do this right. The linkage cannot be too long (perhaps just 1/16 inch longer than needed), or the wire sections would turn further and the total length would reduce again, removing the pressure to the plunger--and the water would start leaking again thru' the plunger.


Perhaps the manufacturer could fix this defect so folks won't need trick like this to make it work properly... .


If anyone else has a better idea to help the plunger hold water better I'm completely open... .


PS:
I called the manufacturer (Keeney) and they said that the plunger is supposed to still *leak* water slightly even when it is working properly to hold water (true?)

Also, I wonder if the slight off-angle of the tub drain would cause the plunger to not seat properly in the tee since the tee is not 100% straight up but slightly off-angle?
 
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Jadnashua

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I think I'd put a good layer of silicon plumber's grease on the plunger and see if that helps. If the thing was a perfect fit and held water without it, as it got the hot water flowing through it, it might expand enough so you couldn't move it.
 

K9mlxj

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Thx. I'll try the plumber's grease--although my guess is the grease would wear out in time though?


Both the tee and the plunger would expand on higher temperature, so I wonder if the plunger would get tighter, or more room in the tee, or no change?


> Also, I wonder if the slight off-angle of the tub drain would cause the plunger to not seat properly in the tee since the tee is not 100% straight up but slightly off-angle?

I figured out myself that the plunger is 100% inside the tee when it does down completely. If the hole in the tee matches up the plunger's shape completely, the slightly off-angle of the drain should not cause any concern (leaks).
 
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