Change the gasket in the crane with your own hands

A leaking faucet is a waste of money from the pipes, besides, it pretty much gets on your nerves. Most often, the reason lies in the small part of the crane - a rubber gasket, designed to close the gap of the crane when it closes. There can be several reasons for the damage to the gasket: mismatch in the size of the gasket, poor quality of the rubber, misalignment during installation. Often the cause is the ingress of a foreign body under the padding - grains of sand, corrosion products. By applying point pressure, they gradually deform the rubber, and it breaks. Repair of the mixer in this case is quite simple, and you can change the gasket in the tap by anyone.

crane Preparatory work for

It is not a difficult task to change the gasket in the crane, but it requires preparation. First, you need to make sure that the water can be reliably closed by a valve. If, for any reason, the valve is defective, it is necessary to call the plumbing. You can not work on a water pipe without overlapping the water - the head will suddenly turn out to be strong, and you risk seriously sinking your neighbors!

The replacement gasket must be purchased in advance. If you have already changed it, the dimensions should be known to you, otherwise you can buy a set of gaskets for plumbing work. Prepare the cardboard to lay it on the bottom of the tub or ceramic sink - this will protect the plumber from damage if a key or other tool falls. In advance, dial into a bucket or another container of warm water, possibly, the crane-axle must be rinsed, rust, lime or sand.

From the tool you will need:

• Adjustable plumbing wrench. In its absence, you can do with a set of conventional wrenches;Screwdrivers, cross and flat;

Thin knife, scissors.

Gaskets replacement technology in the

crane The most common types of cranes and mixers are shown in the figure. In order to properly repair, you need to determine which crane you have installed: rotary with a metal head, rotary with a ceramic head or a single-lever mixer with a replaceable cartridge. The cause of leaks in the first and second cases may be the failed gaskets. A single-lever valve leaks when the cartridge is clogged or broken, and the only option is to clean or replace it.

If you have determined that your faucet belongs to the first or second type, you can determine, prior to the beginning of the repair, which kind of gasket is out of order, by characteristic features. If water leaks from the tap itself, there is a problem in the valve gasket. This is the most common fault, and the work to replace this gasket is extremely simple. If the water flows from under the valve head - you have to remove the axle and change the gasket between the valve head and the valve body.

Technology of gasket repair and replacement:

1. Shut off the water with a valve and drain the water from the pipes, completely opening all the faucets, powered from this pipe. If the water flows slightly, place any container under the mixer. The bottom of the sink or bath is covered with cardboard, this will protect it from damage if the instrument falls, and also eliminates the loss of small parts - fallen cogs or gaskets may fall into the sink.
2. Depending on the design of the crane, remove the crane handle. The design of the handles is different, some are simply put on the valve head, but most often they are fixed with a screw, covered with a decorative cap. This cap should be pierced with a knife or screwdriver, removed, then screw out the screw holding the crane handle. After that, the handle or flywheel is easily removed, giving access to the crane head.
   

   Remove the handle of the crane

3. The crane head is unscrewed using the adjustable wrench. If the head is equipped with ceramic discs, you should carefully, in good light, inspect the ceramic - it may be chipped, cracked, and most often they are the cause of leaks. In this case, you need to change the whole head.
   

   Unscrew the crane head using the

4. swivel wrench. If the head is metal, inspect the bottom washer in the form of a washer. Broken uneven edges, tears, loss of elasticity - these are the reasons for water leakage. In this case, the gasket must be replaced with a similar one from the previously purchased set. Sometimes it is enough to rinse the old gasket and turn it over. In some cases, when it is not possible to buy a gasket, you can make it yourself from sheet rubber, cutting it in the form of an old gasket, with a margin of 1 mm. The inner hole is also made slightly smaller, and the edges along the bottom are cut with small scissors at an angle of 45 degrees - this will protect the gasket from vibration when opening the crane and extend its service life.
   

   Unscrew the metal gasket on the

5. . To replace the O-ring on the head, it is picked up with a knife or screwdriver, carefully removed, the tap head is washed with water and a new O-ring is put on.
6. The assembly of the crane is carried out in the reverse order. First place the head in place, twist it with a swing or spanner tightly, but without much effort. Install protective covers, bushings and other elements, put on the handle, fix it with a screw and put in place a decorative cap-plug.
7. Open the tap and, gradually opening the valve on the pipe to the middle state, check to see if there are leaks in the open position of the crane. If the tap works normally, the water pressure is adjusted smoothly, then it is closed completely and the absence of leaks in the closed state is checked. After checking, the valve can be opened completely.

To reduce the wear of the gaskets, it is possible to install a coarse filter in the water supply system - it prevents sand and other small particles from entering the mixer, thus reducing the risk of rubber tears and cracks on the ceramic. Also, if possible, it is necessary to change the old pipes in time to modern ones.