What are the pros and cons of the various tub drain assemblies? Any best bets? I didn't realize there were so many until recently:

lever style, foot activated pop-up, lift and turn, etc. Linkages that look like springs, cable linkage, etc.

I'm setting a new tub and would like the best balance between trouble free operation and cost. I'm willing to pay a bit more for better long-term operation, but don't aren't looking for high-end if there's not a definite benefit.

As far as the overflow/drain piping itself, any preferences on PVC/brass or benefits to a screw together system vs. glue together?

I prefer the brass waste and overflow assemblies with the barrel slide valve and grid strainer.

With Pop Up style drains all too often the pop up gets removed and things like shampoo caps go down the drain. Also, the spring type actuator is a hair magnet.

The toe tapper and lift & turn type are a close second but they also can be hair magnets which at times can prove baffling to disassemble and clean.

As for cable I question how well and how long they will work. One manufacturer Central American Standard had a display less than a day old at a big box store and all of the demonstrator units on the display were already broken... That was a big turn off for me! I'm going to wait and see!

As for manufacturers I'm less than impressed with Kohler.

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When you say:

"The toe tapper and lift & turn type are a close second"

do you mean second highest in your preference or second worst?



Edited 1 times.

I have much less experience with these items, but the toe tapper I installed recently seems okay. It just unscrews. Seems easy to replace and clean. If you can unscrew a lightbulb you can unscrew your toe tapper and clean it out or even replace it.

I thought that was fairly clever of them in design.

I meant second highest. Some of them can be tricky (the lift and turn ones). There is little to keep the hair from going down and would need cleaning more frquently than my first choice.

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Edited 1 times.

i have used a few of these. i like them. they seem to work easily and of course german tecnology is first class.
[www.plomeria.com]

The #1 service call I have to repair in regards to tub drain assemblies are the trip & waste. It's guaranteed either the linkage broke/spring snapped on the lever/hair buildup on the assembly forcing it to stop moving.

I normally use the lift n turn over the foot activated ones because those can break easier due to the spring inside of them. Most people don't know those are adjustable to depress the rubber seal as well.

Finding a trip & waste innards to match OEM to existing, knowing there is no access to the back side is impossible.

I normally buy the lift n turn assemblies that come with a bushing for either size, a blank overflow plate either 1 or 2 hole pattern and physically show people how to remove that assembly. Putting grease on that threaded piece for the lift n turn is crucial.

Can't knock trip @ wastes because they generate a ton of revenue. $$$

I like the Gerber all brass trip lever type with fixed drain strainer.



e-plumber
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"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

have installed many plastic body cable operated drains from big box stores over the years and all have worked fine and held up over the years (15 plus for some). i like the positive action and ease of installation of cable operated drains. no linkage to adjust or repair, nothing to hang up or catch hair, easy to operate, positive seal, easy to remove stopper if you need to clean.

I've installed a few cable operated types in my day and had no complaints.

In KY the only slip joints allowed in a drain system is on the inlet side of the trap only. 2 pieces of SCH40 PVC pipe, a san tee and the shoe/overflow fittings.

Extremely easy to drain clean when the time comes.

I prefer the lift and turn or toe tap stopper, made bt Watco, glued together using 1 1/2" PVC. Our code requires any tub drains that have slip nuts and washers, either plastic or brass , to have an access panel. With the glue together waste , no panel is required.

I think E-plumber has good taste! That is a mighty fine valve there!

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Since 1995 (3 years before Google started) PlumbingSupply.com has been THE best plumbing supplier on the web. Please visit our sponsor [www.PlumbingSupply.com]

I use those Gerber W & O's almost exclusively ... does anyone else, besides me, add a nut and washer to the threaded tailpiece?

Always a back-up nut and washer or hard piped to the trap inlet when the trap is not lined up directly underneath or on a side or rear outlet waste.

e-plumber
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"The society which scorns excellence in Plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an
exalted activity will have neither good Plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." -
John William Gardner 10/8/1912 - 2/16/2002

Repair your leaking Plumbing fixtures ASAP [www.theplumber.com]
This slow drip will waste 7+ gallons of water per day.

Jerco, Is there any other way? No Way would I rely on just a threaded tailpiece where I don't have to. I like belt and suspenders!

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Since 1995 (3 years before Google started) PlumbingSupply.com has been THE best plumbing supplier on the web. Please visit our sponsor [www.PlumbingSupply.com]