pop up bath waste

[BrianT]

Having fitted a new bath with a pop up waste, I have found a major snag!. Although the pop up works perfectly when empty, or even with 3-4 inches of water, it is simply impossible to get it to lift with 6 inches of water in the bath! The system isn't man enought to lift against the head pressure, but there is no adjustment available on the cable to take out slack. I cant raise the plug bit any more, or it will leak Any ideas?

 

[Gees]

I had the same thing when on holiday in portugal. When I raised it with the hotel manager he said "dont fill the bath so full " What a help he was. I had to use a corkscrew to lift the plug for a whole fortnight.....

 

[breezer]

at least you had a cork screw.

I just looked at ours and if the plug itself is pulled out there is an adjustment screw if that helps?

 

[BrianT]

I adjusted the plug up as high as I could without the plug failing to close, and it didn't help! However careful examination has revealed that the rubber O ring seal on the plug is very flexible, and when the plug is lifted it just flexes and remains attached to the waste pipe by water pressure. This pulls the plug back down. I am going to experiment by siliconing the rubber to the metal plug so it cant flex and must lift with the plug as it comes up. I'll keep you posted.

 

[masona]

You could try using slightly thinner 'O' ring seal

 

[BrianT]

Tried siliconing the rubber seal - No go , the silicone wont stick to the rubber!
Have now inserted an elastic band between the metal plug and the O ring which takes out the flex, puts a slight curve on the seal and reduces its contact area with the waste outlet. Lets see if this works

 

[masona]

You could also make sure the plug hole is very clean and no hard water scale deposit left on it etc.(bathroom scaler or T-cut ?) and also could it be a wrong size 'O' ring seal?

 

[BrianT]

The whole thing is brand new, so no scaling. The problem really seems to be that the O ring is quite wide, flat and very flexible, so even if you push up the middle of the plug the seal simply flexes upward but stays in contact with the waste pipe surface as the amount of lift the mechanism can supply is only about 5-6mm. This is not enough to pull the seal off the waste with a head pressure of 6 inches or more. Bad design I think

 

[masona]

Could be bad design or faulty? Sounds like suction problems,why not take it back and see if they give you another one or ring the manufacter. If you don't mind paying,maybe buy another one with a difference design but make sure it's suitable for your bath etc........

 

[talkofthetown2004]

This is a photo of the pop up drain I have. http://www.konceptinteriors.com/BathRoom/KI-W-00062.asp

I understand that I have to push down the center piece to hold water in the sink. And I push it again to release the water. But what about normal everyday use of the sink? If the stopper is down, water is left in the sink, if it is up, water has nowhere to go either (except the crevice left along the outside edges). Very confused! Help! I just want water to go down the drain!

 

[Gees]

My american friend. I would assume that the pictures show the plug "in" when the centre is pushed down it will latch in the down position allowing the water to flow away. Another press and it will seal the hole. One big problem.. what happens if you have very hot water in the sink? Asbestos gloves required.??