replacement cartridge came shooting out of faucet

**Al Wet** · 02-17-2013, 09:55 PM

I have a dripping faucet. I can't tell what make it is. After much work I managed to get the old cartridge out. I went to Lowes and got a hot/cold stem part 6s-1H/C for Stanadyne.It looked very similar although not 100% to the original. I put silicone spray on it. It was a tighter fit than the original but went in except for the last little bit. There is a little notch in the pipe and it didn't quite get in it. The top gasket seemed sealed. I couldn't get it to go further. I turned the water back on and put the handle on top and saw no dripping. The I started putting the screw that holds the handle or knob on and after getting it part of the way in the whole knob and cartridge shot out and sent some water to the ceiling. Could someone tell me, by looking at the pictures, if I maybe got the wrong one and why it didn't stay in? New to this kind of work but wanted to give it a try. Thanks

**kreemoweet** · 02-17-2013, 11:21 PM

It seems there's something missing? I mean, there's gotta be something holding the cartridge in place, right? You can't just push the thing in the hole
and expect it won't be pushed out when you apply water pressure, eh?. Usually there's some kind of screw-on retainer ring thingy - what's that brass-looking
thing at the top of the hole? Does it have threads? Did you use violence to remove the old cartridge? Maybe looking at the other, cold side valve would
give you some clues.

hj · 02-18-2013, 07:00 AM

Where is the retainer that screws in to hold the "cartridge/stem"?

**Al Wet** · 02-18-2013, 10:15 AM

Originally Posted by kreemoweet

It seems there's something missing? I mean, there's gotta be something holding the cartridge in place, right? You can't just push the thing in the hole
and expect it won't be pushed out when you apply water pressure, eh?. Usually there's some kind of screw-on retainer ring thingy - what's that brass-looking
thing at the top of the hole? Does it have threads? Did you use violence to remove the old cartridge? Maybe looking at the other, cold side valve would
give you some clues.

Thanks for this and HJ's reply. I had such a struggle getting the old cartridge out and to a lesser degree the new one in that I completely forgot to put that retainer back on. It was sitting off to the side.
I've got a question about the new one before I scratch it up trying to squeeze it back in. In the top two pictures maybe you can see that there is plastic blocking the hole. I thought I originally remembered it moving out of the way as I turned the stem? It doesn't do that now. No matter how many times I turn the stem it remains in front of the hole. Do you think it's not working right anymore? Thanks

**jadnashua** · 02-18-2013, 01:43 PM

FWIW, silicon plumber's grease is good for the O-rings, a silicon spray may not be. The new one was likely harder to install because the O-rings hadn't taken a 'set' and were still round. The lubricant does help getting the thing in there verses trying it dry, though.

**6t7gto** · 02-19-2013, 04:30 AM

I hope you're not married.

I can just see it... "Honey, I can do this. We don't have to call a plumber to do something so simple."
You should have video taped this experience and put it on Youtube.
I'm sure it would have went virile.

David

p.s. I'm not a plumber but I have done some not so smart things.

**Al Wet** · 02-19-2013, 08:58 AM

Originally Posted by jadnashua

FWIW, silicon plumber's grease is good for the O-rings, a silicon spray may not be. The new one was likely harder to install because the O-rings hadn't taken a 'set' and were still round. The lubricant does help getting the thing in there verses trying it dry, though.

Good to know about the difference between plumbers silicon grease and silicon spray. Do you think it might have damaged the cartridge. I still am not sure if the new one is broken? It's a long haul to the hardware store so if there are any opinions I'd be interested. Thanks

**jadnashua** · 02-19-2013, 03:09 PM

Plumber's grease is rated for use on potable water and compatibility with rubber seals used in it...the spray you used probably isn't. It depends on what else was in the spray whether it will be a problem. IF there was any petroleum based component in the spray as well, it isn't good. The propellant might also contain other chemicals that the plastic and seals won't like. Can't say for sure. Could be fine, might not be.

**Al Wet** · 02-19-2013, 08:09 PM

Originally Posted by jadnashua

Plumber's grease is rated for use on potable water and compatibility with rubber seals used in it...the spray you used probably isn't. It depends on what else was in the spray whether it will be a problem. IF there was any petroleum based component in the spray as well, it isn't good. The propellant might also contain other chemicals that the plastic and seals won't like. Can't say for sure. Could be fine, might not be.

OK. Good to know. It turned out I must have been mistaken on what the new cartridge was doing when looking at that hole on the side. I went to the store and exchanged it (the replacement didn't move the plastic thing away from the hole either) and put it in. I actually picked up some official plumber silicon grease too. This time I used the retainer over it and it seems to be working fine. Thanks for the advice from this and the other posts. Now I have the nerve to try to fix the other dripping faucet in the same bathroom. For some reason, these two faucets (the only two in the upstairs) are the only ones dripping in the house? So far the handle to the bath hot water doesn't come off so I got a faucet handle puller. It's the 2nd one I got as the first one fell apart. Regards

**Al Wet** · 02-23-2013, 12:13 AM

That faucet started dripping again. Not as much as before but still a drip every second or two. It was pretty hard to turn. I took the handle off and sprayed some silicon in it but it was still hard to turn. Hard enough so you couldn't close it with a wet hand. If someone has some ideas on this I might point out one thing that might not be normal. When the hot water is turned off below the sink and the cartridge is out...if I turn on the cold water it also comes out of the hole where the hot water cartridge was. Is that normal. If not does it say something about what I should do next? The replacement cartridge is all plastic while the original has metal inside.