With daily use of the tap in the kitchen, there is a desire to change it from time to time. Often it starts to leak and, thus, the owner's money “flies away” into the sink drop by drop. The main reason for this is the rubber gasket, which has worn out over the entire period of use. Poor material quality and assembly errors will shorten the life of the crane. In this article, we will look at the aspects of the work, as well as tell you how to assemble and install a new mixer.
Types of kitchen sink faucets
The main reasons for replacing a faucet in a kitchen are interior changes, sink replacement and wear of faucet parts. The process of disassembling and replacing a faucet in the kitchen, regardless of the model, is almost the same, but before that, the homeowner needs to decide on the most suitable type of it. They can be delivered to stores of various configurations, materials, designs.
Attention! Earned on our website kitchen designer. You can familiarize yourself with it and design your dream kitchen for free! May also come in handy wardrobes designer.
The crane configuration is directly related to the type of installation. There are desktop and wall-mounted ones, but most often in the kitchen they install a faucet on the countertop or on the side of the sink. In most cases, faucets are attached to the wall in expensive kitchen interiors and not everyone can afford them.
If the old mixer was inexpensive, then when dismantling it, it is advisable to install new flexible hoses so that in the future they do not fail earlier than the new faucet.
Bronze, brass, ceramics, and silumin are used as materials for plumbing. When using silumin, the device has a long service life, lightest weight and reasonable price. If you prefer reliability to cheapness, then you should choose products from ceramics, bronze and brass. They are significantly more expensive, but they also last much longer. Therefore, for long-term use, this type of product is considered more profitable than silumin valves.
Types of hoses for kitchen faucets
To install a kitchen faucet, you need to pay special attention to the type of hose to connect to the water pipe. In order not to often have to install a new liner to the tap, you should choose them with care and look at their reliability.
They can be:
- bellows with an outer metal corrugated layer and an inner rubber insert;
- reinforced - flexible, covered with a metal mesh on top, the hoses at the edges have fittings of standard sizes with connecting nuts;
- flexible hoses made of aluminum braid with a short service life;
- steel hoses are used as temporary liners, they last less than a year.
With the correct assembly of the mixer, it will serve for several years. Therefore, in the process of connecting the hoses, it is recommended to use a seal and rubber gaskets.
The advantages of reinforced hoses include: flexibility, ease of installation using an adjustable wrench, resistance to sudden changes in water pressure. Disadvantages: pushing through the rubber gasket and quick wear of the fastening nuts.
The most durable hoses are considered to be nylon and stainless steel, which can withstand high water temperatures and last an average of 10 years.
Benefits of bellows hoses: they can withstand very high water temperatures, are easy to install, fittings are securely welded to the corrugated tube, flexible and resistant to mechanical stress. The disadvantages include a low level of sound insulation. This problem is solved by installing a hose with a larger diameter than the water pipe.
If the distance from the inlet to the pipe is about 25 cm, then standard hoses can be used. In another case, they buy long flexible hoses in stainless braid so as not to flood the neighbor.
Mixer spout
The issue of choosing the height of the spout should be given due attention, since at a high height and a sink with a small diameter, water will start to spray. Otherwise: if the height of the spout is low, it will be inconvenient to wash bulky dishes. Therefore, the average height of the spout is chosen based on the washing parameters.
This problem can be easily solved by buying a sink complete with a mixer or paying attention to a pull-out spout that can be removed from the nest by 60-120 cm. The use of a modern spout hose helps to keep the kitchen time and clean.
Dismantling the old tap before replacing it. How to remove?
To dismantle and assemble a new crane, you will need tools: an adjustable wrench, Phillips and flat screwdrivers, sandpaper, a flashlight, cleaning agent, fum tape, sealant.
Before you replace the mixer in the kitchen with your own hands, you need to carry out a number of preparatory work:
- Cover the floor with a rag and remove all unnecessary items.
- Shut off the water supply valves.
- Old rusty pipes are heated with a blowtorch or nuts and couplings are treated with kerosene.
- Carefully unscrew the nut that secures the faucet to the sink with pliers.
- The seat is washed.
When unscrewing the nut, be careful not to damage the bore. If the sink is removable and not a cut-in one, then it is easier to remove it for dismantling and installing a new mixer. In this case, additional tools may be required.
How to assemble, install and connect the mixer?
The installation of the kitchen faucet begins after its assembly, which includes a connection with flexible hoses. The two-valve mixer is first assembled: the spout is inserted into the body until it stops and is not tightened very tightly, the end of the liner is wrapped with fum tape.
There is no need to wrap around the hose as there is a gasket at the end. The end of the first hose is inserted into the desired hole and screwed with a 10 open-end wrench. Then they do the same with the second hose.
Tightening too tight is not recommended because the gasket could be damaged. Not keeping up is also bad.
At the end, screw the pin-pin into the hole with the thread upwards. After that, the mixer can be installed: both connections are threaded into the O-ring, brought to the base of the valve body and fastened.
Make sure that the hoses are connected correctly. They should sag a little, since under the pressure of water they can twitch if they are too tight. In this case, the structure will quickly become unusable.
After the end of the work, water is supplied and the tightness of the connection is checked. Now we know how to replace the faucet in the kitchen. But what to do when buying a new mixer is too expensive?
How to change? Repair recommendations
Regardless of the type of crane used, unexpected breakdowns can occur at any time. In such cases, it is possible not to completely change the mixer, but only to eliminate the malfunction.
Types of kitchen faucet breakdowns:
-
Wear of the gasket, as a result of which the leak begins. To replace all seals, carefully unscrew the fixing nut so as not to damage the chrome plating. The sink can be left on. Even if all the gaskets are visually normal, it is still advisable to change them. - A defect in the axle box, due to which it begins to flow from under the valve and it becomes impossible to completely shut off the water. To eliminate this problem, shut off the water, remove the cap from the flywheel, then remove the lamb and all decorative accessories. The axle box is unscrewed with a wrench. Install a new gasket or the entire mechanism.
- Breakage of the cartridge at lever mixers. To repair it, unscrew the pin located behind the decorative plug and remove the cartridge casing. The brass or copper retainer is unscrewed with a wrench. Replace the old cartridge with a new one. The crane is assembled in the reverse order.
When buying a cartridge, you need to pay attention to its design, as they may differ. Therefore, before going to the store, it is better to disassemble the mixer and look at the broken cartridge.
Replacing a faucet in the kitchen or repairing it is not very difficult. The main thing is to approach this issue responsibly, and the installation work can be carried out on our own, and how to connect a mixer in the kitchen is shown in the video.
How to replace: installation in a sink, connection (video)
average rating 0 / 5. Number of ratings: 0
No ratings yet. Be the first to rate.
