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Plbg.com also known as the PlumbingForum.com. The popular plumbing tips, remodel and advice forum and blog. Ask any toilet, sink, faucet, pump, water quality and plumbing related questions.
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Author:
potterman (NJ)
I installed a Gerber cast iron service sink similar to this:
[www.wayfair.com]
It sits on a 12-902 cast iron trap
[common.csnstores.com]
Everything is dry except where the strainer and the cast iron P trap screw together, water is leaking down the side of the P trap from the underside of the sink only when the faucet is running.
I used plumber putty under the strainer and put the rubber washer between the underside of the sink and the trap there was a paper ring that came with the drain that I did not use because I thought it was to protect the stainless. Should I have used this paper ring? I am also wondering if I overtightened the drain and compressed the putty to much causing it to all squeeze out? Should I double up on the rubber washer on the underside of the sink?
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.
ML
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Author:
jimmy-o (CA)
Well, you posted a hypothetical link to an AmStd sink when you said you have a gerber, no photos of your actual trap...and we are supposed to nuc this out???
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Author:
NICK (CA)
You want the putty to squeeze out. you should have used the paper ring, that is a friction ring and you put it between the nut and the rubber gasket. It keeps the metal nut from grabbing and torquing the rubber out of place.
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Author:
potterman (NJ)
Gerber and Am Standard have the exact same sink and exact same trap/strainer.
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Author:
packy
take it apart, clean off the putty and use 100% silicone sealer. clean up with denatured alcohol before the silicone sets up. water may be used immediately.
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Author:
hj
The main seal is the rubber gasket between the sink and the trap, so any leak is because it is either not tight enough or there is a "flaw" preventing a good seal. The putty only keeps the water IN the sink, and in your case it was not necessary.
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Author:
hj
Cast iron service sinks and trap standards are "generic", so once you see one, you have seen them all.
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Author:
hj
With a trap standard, you do NOT use either the paper washer OR the lock nut.
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Author:
hj
That seals the strainer to the sink but does nothing about the seal between the trap and sink, which is where he says the leak is.
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Author:
potterman (NJ)
The bottom of the sink is while cast is flat, the top of the trap that the strainer screws into is very rough. I am wondering if I should look for a thicker washer to compress and take up the uneveness or use some putty or silicone to seal where they meet?
One other point: The strainer extends down into the trap and the water is cominmg from the top of the trap and dribbling down the side. I have been using a stain free putty especially made for porus materials such as stone, could the problem be that this will not seal the slick finish on the cast iron and I need to switch to a standard putty? (maybe due to this the problem really is in the basket to the sink seal).
Is the type of putty critical to the application?
Thanks for all of your help, I have redone the seal and set many times but this issue survives.
ML
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Author:
hj
No matter WHERE the leak is, the gasket will stop it, IF it can make a proper seal, but it CANNOT if the top surface is NOT smooth. A rough surface on a trap standard is a "defect" and should be returned.
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Author:
potterman (NJ)
HJ et al,
Took your point to heart. I started from scratch, realized the top of the trap is smooth and level but the sink hanging off the wall was at a slight angle when allowed to just hang with minimal support from the trap, (this did not allow the rubber gasket to fill the void on a lop sided connection). I added the paper washer under the rubber washer for good measure and pipe dope both under the washers and on top where they meet the sink. Changed out the non staining plumbers putty for the old fashioned "all around" type, (which compressed better by the way), and tightened the heck out of the strainer.
A lot of work to learn this lesson but a lesson it was, no leaks, no issues.......thank you all very much, you were correct HJ it is about the seal between the sink, washer and trap!
ML
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Author:
hj
Using the paper gasket created a "weak spot", because water can cause it to "disappear" creating a "void" between the gasket and the trap.
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