Epoxy Fix Question

Yes. Be sure to clean off all the crud first. Then give it a solvent cleaning for organic residue. Acetone is a frequently recommended solvent for epoxy jobs.

Joe

On 11/17/2010 8:13 AM Michael Dobony spake thus:

My guess(R)(tm)* is no, at least not reliably.

Are you talking about the faucet *arms* that swing around? And what's the "lead nut"--the one that secures the faucet arm to the faucet body?

• with apologies to Jeff Liebermann from sci.electronics.repair.

he means the faucets are loose on the sink.

On 11/17/2010 11:49 AM jamesgangnc spake thus:

OK, so the faucet *bodies* are loose and "swing around" (i.e., turn) when one turns the faucet handle, is that right?

So how does this lead to "frequent floods"? Which makes it all the more doubtful that epoxy is gonna fix this problem. (I'm still confused and wouldn't mind seeing some pictures, or getting a better explanation from the OP of what's what here.)

Correct.

Kids turn the faucet almost off and spin the faucet so that the spicate is aimed at the sink ledge instead of in the bowl, and it flows onto the floor.

The lead nut is the nut that holds the faucet to the sink, single hole.

We are hoping some epoxy will lock the faucet in place so that the water will only flow into the sink bowl instead of on the side and onto the floor.

On 11/17/2010 2:53 PM Michael Dobony spake thus:

OK, gotcha. No, epoxy ain't going to work here. Just too much force and too problematic a gluing surface.

How hard would it be to just replace the faucets altogether? That sounds like what's needed here.

If it's like the megabuck faucets in the kitchen at the office, you don't want (or need) to replace them. They really need the nut tightened up, and if that's not possible a bead of good urethane caulk will hold it in place, particularly on a solid surface counter top. If it is on a chipboard or mdf based formica top, all bets are off.

And I wouldn't necessarily rule out an epoxy solution either, but it would need to be one of those epoxy putties that can be used in a wet location and I'd put a couple of screws or something in from the bottom of the counter for the epoxy to "bite" to.

On 11/17/2010 5:04 PM snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca spake thus:

Re-read the original message. The faucets are mounted on a porcelain sink, not a countertop. They don't sound fancy at all; old, perhaps. Sounds like replacement is the way to go.

Those sinks are quite raw on the bottom side, and if you can get the epoxy in that location, and then tighten the nut, filling the slack space around the faucets thread, i would expect things to stay in place. In fact, I think you would have to smash the sink to remove the faucets.

On 11/17/2010 5:47 PM Sjouke Burry spake thus:

You need to re-read the original message too; the nuts are frozen and can't be tightened or removed.

Next!

David Nebenzahl wrote in news:4ce48f98$0$2545 $ snipped-for-privacy@news.adtechcomputers.com:

A nut-splitter was suggested at one point. Those work quite well.

Alternatively, you can grind down the nut with a Dremel. You'd thin the available side right down to the threads, which should make it let go of the stud.

Rereading the original post:

I have a number of individual hot/cold faucets (commercial) that swing around when used. The lead nut is corroded to the faucets in most instances. There is no room to put a saw blade to them, even if I take the sink off the wall. We are considering epoxying the faucets to the sink to prevent the frequent floods. Will epoxy stick to the porcelain finish?

OK.Perhaps I misunderstood when he said individual faucets I thought he meant individual TAPS and a separate individual spout. He did say "commercial" and the only individual tap commercial faucets I've seen where the tap could be turned loose in the sink are pretty high end units,(The Moen units I'm thinking of retail for something like $285 Canadian) The gooseneck can be turned from sink to sink, and if loose can go beyond and drip on the counter or sink ledge, and the taps, connected to the spout by flex hoses, can turn individually when you try to tighten them (shut them off)

If on the other hand they are the old crappy hot and cold water taps, each with it's own spout, they are GENERALLY solidly attached to rigid coper tubing or iron pipe, and it's pretty hard to turn them in the sink.

Perhaps they are connected using flex hoses??

Or you could just clean it up and use the "american bodger's best friend" - J-B weld. under the sink, of course

On 11/17/2010 7:28 PM snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca spake thus:

We need pictures!

The OP needs a plumber.

--Vic

Replace faucets and sinks. Like I said, no room to get a saw blade on the nuts to cut them off.

I've yet to see a sink that had old faucets you didn't care about destroying and could not get the faucets off one way or another. Some pics would be helpful.

Totally ridiculous to say you can't get a faucet off a sink. Somebody got those nuts on. Ever hear of a basin wrench? Besides, you said they were lead nuts. Doubt it - probably brass. If they were lead you could torch and melt them out. Here's what you can do. Shoot some liquid wrench or similar up there between the nut and sink bottom. Get a basin wrench on the nut and tighten it up. If you can't turn it with basin wrench alone, put an 18" pipe wrench on the basin wrench to assist. If it's still frozen, get a hacksaw blade or moto tool flex extension up there and cut it off. Then you have to disconnect the feed line, find a new nut, clean the faucet shank threads to accept a new nut, and reconnect the feed line. That's assuming you re-use the old faucet. Most faucets should have gasketing/sealer on both sides of the sink hole, certainly on the top side. If you can't do this yourself, get a plumber of somebody who can do it, otherwise you're spinning your wheels.

--Vic