One of the trickiest problems to tackle in plumbing is fixing an old 2 or 3 handle faucet. While these faucets, if kept in good condition, work very well, they are dangerous and illegal. The reason for this is that they are not pressure balanced. This means that the hot and cold inlet feeds are completely independent of each other. The reason this is unsafe is because the cold water being mixed with the hot water in the tub or shower can actually lose pressure slightly when another fixture such as a toilet, shower, or wash machine is being used somewhere else in the house. When this happens, the water can become very hot, even hot enough to scald instantly. Anybody with a 2 or 3 handle faucet in their home knows exactly what i’m talking about. On a pressure balanced single handle faucet (not all single handle faucets are pressure balanced), there is a balancing spindle inside of the valve that keeps the incoming pressure constant and will not allow for drastic changes in temperature.
3 Handle Faucet
The first thing you need to determine is if your faucet is leaking or running. If it is coming out of the spout like it should but won’t shut off, it is running or dripping. If it is coming out of the handles, it is leaking. If you are brave enough to proceed, you will need a few tools. Don’t forget to shut your water off, and keep in mind, there is no turning back once you dive into this project. It is all or none because you cannot turn the water back on with the stems out. You begin by removing the handles on the stems. If they are “frozen” in place you may need a set of handle pullers. Once you have removed the handles, you will now need to remove the stems.
Removing the stems will be much easier with a set of stem wrenches. If the stem was leaking at one of the handles, you may be able to simply get away with tightening the packing nut. The stem wrenches will also make this possible. If you cannot tighten it to the point of stopping the leak, you will need to have the stem repaired or replaced. If the water was not leaking at a handle, but instead was running out of the spout, you have a few options. The two things that make the water stop running are the seat and washer. The valve stem goes in and out with a washer attached to the back end and it comes to rest on the valve seat in the closed position. If it is continuing to run, it either has a bad seat or bad washer or both.
To remove the seat located inside the valve body, you will need some sort of seat removal tool. There are a few different styles available that all work well. Over time the brass seat can become “pitted”. When this happens it does not allow the washer to make a proper seal. If the stem is in good shaped, you can simply replace the seat and washer. If the cradle of the stem that holds the washer is in bad shape, you should replace the entire stem (and don’t forget the seat). Remember to always replace the stem in the OPEN position.
With the proper tools at your disposal, a little courage and a plumber you can trust on speed dial, you will be able to fix your own two or three handle faucet.
Best Wishes!