Is it possible?

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bluinc

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In my rental house my tenant says they came home and a few minutes later heard water spraying upstairs they quickly shut off the water at the main then went upstairs and said they found underneath the sink the brass tubing inside the faucet had sheared and water was spraying inside the cabinet. The faucet was maybe 6 years old. how likely is this the truth or is it more likely something more sinister going on. Namely harsh use of the faucet. I can tell you for certain the pipes did not freeze it was during the fall. I can't tell you the brand of faucet but it was one of those sort of modern new types that are often found with the bowl type sinks.
 

hj

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IF it is the tubing that came with the faucet, very unlikely, (in fact it would usually take an extreme effort to break it off), and would have NOTHING to do with "harsh use of the faucet". If it was a corrugated tube from the shutoff valve to the faucet, very possible, at least to have a split in it.
 

bluinc

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IF it is the tubing that came with the faucet, very unlikely, (in fact it would usually take an extreme effort to break it off), and would have NOTHING to do with "harsh use of the faucet". If it was a corrugated tube from the shutoff valve to the faucet, very possible, at least to have a split in it.

Hmm. No it def wasn't the corrugated. It was the factory tubing that is inside the faucet assy.

Only thing I can think of to note is that my water is well water and quite rusty perhaps corrosive to the pipes in general and to that faucet specifically thus weakening the insides of the faucet. Doesn't explain why none of my other faucets all of which are older are still fine.
 

Reach4

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Namely harsh use of the faucet.
It sounds as if you suspect a bad case of water hammer. Maybe you want to install water hammer arrestors/arresters (seems to be used both ways) as part of this repair.

A photo of the failure would be interesting.
 

Caduceus

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On another forum we just had a post from a homeowner who had a braided ss no-burst that was part of the factory faucet blow out. Middle of the hose,too, not at the connections. I have also seen some of the Deltas with factory installed copper tubing break loose suddenly and the owner would have the same situation. So, as hj said, very unlikely, but I think it could be possible. (This feels kinda like MythBusters).
 

bluinc

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Here are a couple of pics of the tube that supposedly burst on its own.

image.jpg

also a pic of the faucet.

Brand is Globe Union. Made in China.

My suspicion is it was leaking, he tried to tighten it and it snapped. Not wanting to be blamed for it he cooked up this story. He is living there on reduced rent in trade for being my on site maintenance man. We live in another state. I will say he seems like an honest guy. I would be very surprised if he turned out to be a liar.

His story: Busted, plausible or confirmed?
 

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Tom Sawyer

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View attachment 22091

View attachment 22092

Here are a couple of pics of the tube that supposedly burst on its own.

View attachment 22093

also a pic of the faucet.

Brand is Globe Union. Made in China.

My suspicion is it was leaking, he tried to tighten it and it snapped. Not wanting to be blamed for it he cooked up this story. He is living there on reduced rent in trade for being my on site maintenance man. We live in another state. I will say he seems like an honest guy. I would be very surprised if he turned out to be a liar.

His story: Busted, plausible or confirmed?

If he did break it, unless he confesses you will never know the real story so.... Replace the faucet and let It go.
 
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hj

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From the looks of that fracture, I would say it was product failure due to crystallization of the brass. It would have been very difficult to snap it off just by tightening it and the "O" ring would not have leaked unless the joint was coming apart, which would not have happened "normally'. The remaining piece should unscrew if you can get a new hose under its lifetime warranty, or a new faucet.
 

Dj2

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I understand you very well.

As a tradesman, you want to know the real cause of the failure. As a landlord you want to solve the problem as quickly as possible - the tenant rented the house with working, leak-free plumbing, and you have to provide this.

I'm a landlord too, and I won't dick around with a faucet made in China, the land of zero warranties. Never blame a tenant of ruining a faucet made in China, as long as he stays in your rental and paying the rent on time.

Replace the toilet. It will cost you a few bucks, and the tenant will be more loyal to you.

After all, your tenant was the one who shut the water to avoid flood damages. Consider yourself lucky to have this tenant.
 

bluinc

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From the looks of that fracture, I would say it was product failure due to crystallization of the brass. It would have been very difficult to snap it off just by tightening it and the "O" ring would not have leaked unless the joint was coming apart, which would not have happened "normally'. The remaining piece should unscrew if you can get a new hose under its lifetime warranty, or a new faucet.
I was hoping to hear something like this. I want to believe the guy. The faucet was already replaced, the day of the incident. I just want to know if I have a trustworthy guy managing the house that I love. Crystallized brass works for me. Thanks HJ.

Warranty. So Globe Union warrants their products for life?
 
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