Help needed with plumbing

Tango589 · 02-04-17, 01:10 PM

The hot tap (faucet) in the kitchen sink has got a worn 1/4 turn valve so it keeps leaking. Unfortunately I can't remove the Allen screw to take the tap handle off to allow me to replace the valve. Does anyone have any clever ideas?

Commander Wallace · 02-04-17, 01:46 PM

If the screw is deep enough, you can drill maybe 1/16 of an inch and use an " easy out " to remove the screw.

Good luck Tango.

Tango589 · 02-04-17, 02:45 PM

Unfortunately, it is only a tiny screw.

fumo30 · 02-04-17, 03:21 PM

Use the force!

Remove the tap handle by breaking it using hacksaw/pincers etc..
A new valve comes with a new handle huh?

Eichhörnchen · 02-04-17, 05:44 PM

Have you got any WD-40?

Catfish · 02-04-17, 06:21 PM

+1 what Wallace posted, you need a smaller drill and according 'remover' of course.

I take it the inner 6-faced opening has become circular during trying to get it out? What yo can do is use a small torx bit that is a litttle bit bigger, and hammer this in. Maybe you can get it out this way – if not the Commander's advice is the only solution. Or a new faucet.

But i still don't understand: Usually you gave two 1/4" valves for warm and cold water, and then two pipes/tubes going up to the faucet. Why do you have to take out the faucet to remove the valves?

And WD-40 is ok but not really good. Get something like rust-shock or similar "chemical wrench" stuff, this usually solves the problem. What also works well is a mixture between acetone and ATF oil. You even might get those 40-year-old wishbone bolts off this rusted Triumph chassis..

propbeanie · 02-04-17, 06:25 PM

Do you not have the correct-sized allen wrench (aka: Hex Key), or did the hole's "octagonal" corners round-out on you? Is it ~really~ an Allen, or maybe a square head? I've had a couple of those. Either way, if it's stripped and worthless, Commander Wallace's tap suggestion would still work, and you might not even need to drill it, if you can find a small set. My experiences with "EZ-Outs" though, has been more along the lines of "EZ-Curse", and I've made-up new swear words as I go... I usually break the easy out, and those things, you can NOT drill out...

Not to scare you, but you might then have to go purchase a whole new faucet just to get the "leak" changed-out... and if you're like me, you'll not be able to get the old faucet off the sink, without taking the sink off the counter... which the wife will then go "Oh... well... in that case, let's buy a new sink." Then you'll have trouble with the drain, and next thing you know, you'll be getting yourself a new garbage disposal!...

A quick repair with $3 US for parts initially, turned into a $350 "fix-it nightmare"... I should have recorded it and posted on ToobYu, and it would have gone viral...

02-04-17, 01:10 PM	#1
Tango589 Still crazy as ever! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 3,375 Downloads: 180 Uploads: 1	Help needed with plumbing The hot tap (faucet) in the kitchen sink has got a worn 1/4 turn valve so it keeps leaking. Unfortunately I can't remove the Allen screw to take the tap handle off to allow me to replace the valve. Does anyone have any clever ideas? __________________ Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

02-04-17, 02:45 PM	#3
Tango589 Still crazy as ever! Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: A little south of sanity Posts: 3,375 Downloads: 180 Uploads: 1	Unfortunately, it is only a tiny screw. __________________ Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...

02-04-17, 05:44 PM	#5
Eichhörnchen Starte das Auto Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: The Fens Posts: 17,384 Downloads: 5 Uploads: 0	Have you got any WD-40? __________________

02-04-17, 06:21 PM	#6
Catfish Dipped Squirrel Operative Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: ..where the ocean meets the sky Posts: 17,766 Downloads: 38 Uploads: 0	+1 what Wallace posted, you need a smaller drill and according 'remover' of course. I take it the inner 6-faced opening has become circular during trying to get it out? What yo can do is use a small torx bit that is a litttle bit bigger, and hammer this in. Maybe you can get it out this way – if not the Commander's advice is the only solution. Or a new faucet. But i still don't understand: Usually you gave two 1/4" valves for warm and cold water, and then two pipes/tubes going up to the faucet. Why do you have to take out the faucet to remove the valves? And WD-40 is ok but not really good. Get something like rust-shock or similar "chemical wrench" stuff, this usually solves the problem. What also works well is a mixture between acetone and ATF oil. You even might get those 40-year-old wishbone bolts off this rusted Triumph chassis.. __________________ >^..^<*)))>{ All generalizations are wrong.

02-04-17, 06:25 PM	#7
propbeanie CTD - it's not just a job Join Date: May 2016 Location: One hour from Music City USA! Posts: 10,098 Downloads: 451 Uploads: 2	Do you not have the correct-sized allen wrench (aka: Hex Key), or did the hole's "octagonal" corners round-out on you? Is it ~really~ an Allen, or maybe a square head? I've had a couple of those. Either way, if it's stripped and worthless, Commander Wallace's tap suggestion would still work, and you might not even need to drill it, if you can find a small set. My experiences with "EZ-Outs" though, has been more along the lines of "EZ-Curse", and I've made-up new swear words as I go... I usually break the easy out, and those things, you can NOT drill out... Not to scare you, but you might then have to go purchase a whole new faucet just to get the "leak" changed-out... and if you're like me, you'll not be able to get the old faucet off the sink, without taking the sink off the counter... which the wife will then go "Oh... well... in that case, let's buy a new sink." Then you'll have trouble with the drain, and next thing you know, you'll be getting yourself a new garbage disposal!... A quick repair with $3 US for parts initially, turned into a $350 "fix-it nightmare"... I should have recorded it and posted on ToobYu, and it would have gone viral... __________________ "...and bollocks to the naysayers" - Jimbuna

02-04-17, 01:46 PM	#2
Commander Wallace Navy Seal Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Under the sea in an Octupus garden in the shade Posts: 5,295 Downloads: 366 Uploads: 0	If the screw is deep enough, you can drill maybe 1/16 of an inch and use an " easy out " to remove the screw. Good luck Tango.

02-04-17, 03:21 PM	#4
fumo30 Grey Wolf Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 872 Downloads: 15 Uploads: 0	Use the force! Remove the tap handle by breaking it using hacksaw/pincers etc.. A new valve comes with a new handle huh?