Kitchen Spray Drips

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SAS

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I have a Kohler kitchen faucet that has caused me quite a bit of trouble with the sprayer. After the initial install, I discovered that the sprayer did not work well. Most times it would provide an anemic spray while water still came out of the spout. I called Kohler (and throughout this they have been very accomodating) and they told me that it must be the diverter and they would send me a new one. Unfortunately, the installation instructions showed a different assembly into which you were supposed to insert the diverter. Nevertheless, I installed the new diverter which marginally improved the situation. Kohler then sent a complete new faucet. I installed that last weekend and now I have no problem with the diverter or the strength of the spray. Now the spray drips onto my granite countertop after use. The only way to avoid this is to leave the sprayer hose extended and the spray head in the sink for an hour or more.

The only thing that I can think of is that the spray head itself is holding water which eventually drips out of the spray holes. Is this just a design flaw? Both the old and the new spray head have the same problem. And it's definitely the head, because if I remove the head no water drips from the spray hose. I guess I could go out and buy a different head (although it might not match the fixture perfectly). Has anyone else had this problem? Solutions?
 

LLigetfa

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What I do is after I'm done with the sprayer and turn off the water, I lift it higher than the faucet and pull the trigger on the sprayer so that the water inside the sprayer drains down into the hose.
 

SAS

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Thanks, that did work, but I also found a better solution (even if I don't understand it). When I installed this new faucet, I noticed that when I turned it off it took a few seconds for the water to gradually stop. I swapped out the aerator for the one on the old faucet, and then the water stopped immediately when I shut off the faucet. But that's when the spray started dripping. I put the original aerator back and everything is OK - although it is slightly annoying watching the faucet drip to a stop.

update 7/15 - It only works sporadically. Neither the new aerator nor lifting the hose consistently prevent the sprayer from dripping after it's placed back in the holder. The remaining water in the spray head (and by design it is always filled with water) sometimes drips out.
 
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SAS

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I did try that without any success. The spray on the old faucet hardly worked (only a sporadic and weak spray) due to a problem with the diverter valve and the assembly that held it. That's why Kohler sent me a replacement faucet. They are now sending a replacement spray head and diverter valve, since they couldn't tell from the symptoms which part was at fault.
 

hj

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The diverter only transfers water to the sprayer, it has NOTHING to do with the actual operation and flow through the head itself. In other words, the sprayer will deliver the full amount IF the diverter itself is not restricting the flow. AND, if the spray head valve turns OFF completely, it will not drip, unless there is something in the design of the head itself which allows the retained water to leak out, in which case ALL the sprayers will do the same thing.
 

SAS

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AND, if the spray head valve turns OFF completely, it will not drip, unless there is something in the design of the head itself which allows the retained water to leak out, in which case ALL the sprayers will do the same thing.

It does seem to me to be a flaw in the design of the spray head, since it's leaking when the faucet is off. At that point the rest of the faucet would seem immaterial. The spray head is filled with water and it just drips out. If the problem was the valve in the spray head, I would expect that it would also leak when the faucet is on. I'll try the new spray head that Kohler sends, but before I replace the diverter (which does seem unlikely to help) I'll pick up a different spray head at a hardware store and see if that solves the problem.
 

Cwhyu2

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What model # I would like to know so I can research if this is a problem with this particular faucet.
 

Jadnashua

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If the problem was the valve in the spray head, I would expect that it would also leak when the faucet is on.

Not necessarily so...the diverter typically needs some water pressure to close. WIth the valve off, there's no water pressure, so any water that's in the hose could leak out if the valve at the head was defective (either in design or execution). But, when you turn the water on, the diverter and the spray head together could prevent an leaks from there until you opened the valve on the spray head again.
 

SAS

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Does the diverter work differently in this faucet? If you remove the spray head and turn the faucet on, the water flows through the spray tube. So when the faucet is on there is always pressure in the supply tube and at the head. What confuses me is why it doesn't leak then. Why does it only lead when the water is off and there is no pressure in the supply tube? My best guess is that air is leaking in when the faucet ids off, and that allows the water in the head to drip out. In that case (and I'm trying to figure this out as I write it) maybe it is the diverter that allows air into the supply tube once the faucet is turned off. Does that make sense?
 

SAS

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Update - nothing worked and I'm now looking for a new faucet. I replaced the diverter, the valve, the hose and the sprayer - all to no avail. The sprayer still drips (sometimes) after being returned to its holder.
 
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