My kitchen faucet is driving me plumb crazy.

My house is 70 years old. So, the plumbing is 70s years old. It's galvanized pipe, but I get a lot of rust scale coming out of the faucets... and getting lodged in the faucets.

A couple years ago, I replaced the kitchen sink faucet. We weren't planning to stay here long, so I bought the (ahem) least expensive one at Home Despot -- their house brand which I forget... Glacier Something or Boston Something or Something Something.

It's a basic single-lever job that is a copy of an old Delta design -- the one with the ball with three holes and a slot, but with a plastic body.

It worked fine AND it has a side sprayer, which is apparently Basic Life Support for Mrs pj.

Eventually, the sprayer became anemic. I took the faucet apart and, as expected, there were some small chunks of rust in the sprayer valve. I cleaned it out and put it back together. The sprayer works fine, but ever since then, I get water leaking out of the top of the cuff at the base of the spout. It used to be just a tiny trickle.

Last week, the sprayer was not working at all. I took the faucet apart and cleaned the rust out of the sprayer valve. When I put it all back together the leak was a pretty substantial trickle. I also noticed that some of the rubber from the "packing" above the ball, under the bonnet cap, had liberated. I smeared a bit of silicone grease on it. I have had it apart and back together several times now, trying various fixes and incantations. I put some teflon tape under the O-rings under the cuff. I tried putting teflon tape on the threads that the bonnet cap screws down on.

The leak pretty much only happens when the faucet is on full flow and all the way to the hot side or all the way to the cold side. So I suspect it's the valve, not the cuff. But I haven't figured out how to prove that.

Here is an exploded view:


Mine does not have the "slip ring" RP6044. Apparently some do and some don't. There is also a lock ring that threads into the cap that's not shown as a separate item.

Today, I bought a repair kit and tried replacing the cam and packing and the O-rings. No change.


I am one step away from just replacing the whole damn faucet -- with a name brand unit. And I'm going to figure out how to put some filters at the inlets to catch the crud. I had some before, but it was a real Mickey Mouse setup with adapters and garden hose filter screens.


Unless....

Anyone have a suggestion for how to solve this?

Thanks you.

Look for tiny cracks.

No cracks? Replace it. Or replace the sprayer assembly.

Fave brands?

Price-Pfister?
Kohler?
Delta?
Moen?
Hansgrohe? I think Costco has a Hansgrohe, but it's pretty fancy.

I know HD used to have lifetime guarantees on their Glacier Bay stuff. Might want to trundle in there and ask.

For what you want I’d go American Standard, Delta or PF. No reason to pay more and they seem to hold up just fine.

Mom's Moen pullout fell apart (literally) after 15 years. It had a lifetime warranty so we got another one for free from Moen but had to pay a plumber to install it.

Costco Hansgrohe here; copper pipes so no debris. Nice faucet but we have had to replace the hose a couple of times; there's a crimped metal thing that has the threaded part that the nozzle attaches to. It developed a small leak over time; I think I posted about have to replace it a while back. Two hoses over a dozen or more years, so I guess that's not too bad. Cartridge and rest of faucet are solid.

HD shows a Glacier Bay with pull out sprayer for $89 and a lifetime warranty. Unless you’re going to repipe the house that’s about all I would spend.

I think I still have the box this one came in down in the basement. It may even have the receipt in it.

Does the Hansgrohe use the same cartridge as some other big brand? I don’t recall seeing Hansgrohe cartridges at Home Despot.

I thought PF was the budget line of Delta, but the faucet at Mrs pj’s condo had a PF tag in it and the cartridge was labeled Kohler.

It’s so confusing.

But from here on out, I’m sticking with the name brands.

And another thing! I need a faucet with an old style screw-on aerator because I have a roll-around dishwasher, so I need to be able to put the dishwasher hose quick-release coupler thingy on the faucet. Most pull-out spouts won’t work.

Lowes has this one which looks identical to the one I have now. I wonder if it still has the ball or if they switched to a cartridge.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Delta...tchen-Faucet/3517974

I just dug around in the kitchen junk drawer to find the original aerator. It says Delta. Mine may actually be a Delta.

Nothing wrong with Delta. I used them and tenants didn’t destroy them, despite their best efforts.

My point is that the deteriorating piping in your house will destroy whatever you install. If you’re going to sell may as well go cheap.

Thanks, Steve.

I'll probably grab that $80 one from Lowes. I'm pretty sure it's the same as I have now.

Delta has a lifetime warranty... for whoever can find the original receipt.


I need an inlet filter -- on both the hot and cold sides. Any suggestions?

Lowe’s is like HD. If you drag your old faucet to the counter and say you’re not satisfied they’ll likely give you a new one. They don’t care - they backcharge the vendor. I can’t tell you how many sketchy things they’ve taken back, including a battery screw gun I dropped off of a roof. I told the nice lady that I was unhappy that it broke and they gave me a new one.

Got to compete with Amazon somehow…

You’re in your own for a filter. I’ve never seen one.

Hah. I found the box. It is indeed a DELTA. In the box are the old faucet (Glacier Bay - no sprayer) and the receipt. I bought it in 2018. I think a faucet should last more than three years.

I don't think Hansgrohe cartridges are available in the big box stores like Delta, Moen, etc. are.

And I don't think I've seen a Hansgrohe faucet with the type of screw-on aerator that would accept a hose for a portable dishwasher.

We bought a bath faucet at Home Depot a very long time ago, pre-Glacier Bay. Turns out the cartridges in it are Price Pfister. Mr wtg called Price Pfister and said "we have a PF cartridge #123 that needs replacing". We're on our third set of free replacement cartridges, courtesy of the manufacturer...

In any event, sounds like you have a plan! Good luck....