Over 698,000 strictly plumbing related posts
Plumbing education, information, advice, help and suggestions are provided by some of the most experienced plumbers who wish to "give back" to society. Since 1996 we have been the best online (strictly) PLUMBING advice site. If you have questions about plumbing, toilets, sinks, faucets, drains, sewers, water filters, venting, water heating, showers, pumps, and other strictly PLUMBING related issues then you've come to the right place. Please refrain from asking or discussing legal questions, or pricing, or where to purchase products, or any business issues, or for contractor referrals, or any other questions or issues not specifically related to plumbing. Keep all posts positive and absolutely no advertising. Our site is completely free, without ads or pop-ups and we don't tract you. We absolutely do not sell your personal information. We are made possible by:
Author:
sciguy (NY)
Our Grohe shower faucets are just a bit over 30 years old and have never had their rubber washers replaced. As time has gone by we just cranked the faucets tighter and tighter to get them to close but at this point the effort required is just silly. It looks as if Grohe no longer manufactures this model so I'm wondering if I'll be able to get parts once I've dissassembled the faucets. I was able to pop the handles off with a solid effort but have paused before going any farther. Are there "generic" replacement washers available for these?
Here is a picture of similar vintage lav set up. We replaced the ones we had like them long ago but would love to keep using the shower faucets if I can make them more functional.
Any well intentioned advice is greatly appreciated.
Hugh
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
KCRoto (MO)
If they require you to tighten harder to stop the water flow, they should have washers in them that are either beveled or flat, and should be available at any plumbing supply. From just looking online, it looks like there are washer kits that have contain both the rubber washer, and replacement O-rings that may crumble when you remove the stem. I recommend getting the kit and replace both, and use a little faucet grease when reinserting the stems. Lets see if the replacements last another 30 years.
Edited 1 times.
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
sciguy (NY)
Thanks for the quick and useful reply. I'm hoping there will be a generic kit that does the trick. With no shutoff between the shower faucets and the main plumbing I'll need to shut down water to the rest of the house while in the middle of the repair. Perhaps this is the perfect time to cut in a set of valves. The closest plumbing supply is a bit over 20 miles one way so going back and forth more than once isn't appealing.
It's amazing how long the orignal washers performed. They actually were pretty still pretty darn good until a couple of years ago.
Hugh
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
Wheelchair (IL)
Before you jump into "no where" why not call the manufacturer's USA Office
Grohe- America
Roselle, Illinois
800-444-7643
I know that TAPCO- Division of Elias Ind, stocks an inventory of Grohe parts both new and old. But call the company Monday Morning.
Best Wishes
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
packy (MA)
hugh, that is a very good, quality faucet. grohe may not make that faucet any longer but they may still have replacement parts for it. you can contact a local plumbing supply house, show them the picture of the faucet and they may have parts right on their shelf.
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
asktom (MT)
The OEM# of the stem is 07.146. The seat is 45.141. I'm almost certain the washer is a special one.
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
sciguy (NY)
Here are some pictures of the stem. Amazingly the washers themselves are not as bad as one would expect after 30 years. It's more the internals of the stem that don't turn easily that make the faucet really tough to tighten. Is there a way to get some silicone grease into the innner mechanism. I popped the small circlip of the shaft but was scared to try to tap the shaft out for fear of tearing an internal "O" ring.
I'm certainly up for replacing the stems if available.
[oi59.tinypic.com]
[oi61.tinypic.com]
and here seems to be the appropriate replacement.
[imp] [#$%&][/imp]
Thanks so much for all the help.
Hugh
Edited 1 times.
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
KCRoto (MO)
Honestly, I think I would just buy the new stems and call it a day. 30 years for stems under 20 bucks are a good purchase in my book. Keep the old ones and the documentation on the new stems. In the event something happens down the road, you can get a repair kit and fix the old or new stems and swap them out.
|
Post Reply
|
Author:
sciguy (NY)
You're absolutely right as long as thry're the correct part and available. No one in our area stocks any Grohe parts what so ever. The Grohe dealers I called mentioned they'd be glad to order them if the correct part number could be figured out but would take 10 days or so.
I'll call the factory on Monday to make sure I can confirm the part number and go from there. In the mean time the valves are back togeather for hopefully a short time before final repare.
Thanks all.
Hugh
Edited 1 times.
|
Post Reply
|
Please note:
- Inappropriate messages or blatant advertising will be deleted. We cannot be held responsible for bad or inadequate advice.
- Plbg.com has no control over external content that may be linked to from messages posted here. Please follow external links with caution.
- Plbg.com is strictly for the exchange of plumbing related advice and NOT to ask about pricing/costs, nor where to find a product (try Google), nor how to operate or promote a business, nor for ethics (law) and the like questions.
- Plbg.com is also not a place to ask radiant heating (try HeatingHelp.com), electrical or even general construction type questions. We are exclusively for plumbing questions.
Search for plumbing parts on our sponsor's site:
Special thanks to our sponsor:
|