bath waste

[Stephen]

Hello,

I bought a plastic bath waste from Screwfix (I didn't realise it was plastic at the time, IIRC the catalogue is a bit misleading). Unfortunately I screwed it too tight and the plastic cracked and the bath leaked.

So I bought another and screwed it loosely; so loosely it leaked again ;)

So I've now bought a metal waste from BES, so that this cannot break if I overtighten it. The problem is that it does not come with instructions, nor can BES supply any. They gave me the manufacturer's email but they haven't replied.

It is a slotted metal waste that obviously drops through the plughole but there is a plastic "thing" that fits around the waste under the bath. This covers the slot, so that the overfow can be connected. The only way I can describe the plastic "thing" is to say it is like a circular one-way conduit box: a circle with a bit extending, onto which the overflow pipe is connected.

I cannot see how I make this plastic thing make a watertight seal. there don't seem to be enough washers in the kit. There is also a rigid "washer", a donought of black plastic that is a few millimetres thick and I can't see the point of that? Surely a washer should be flexible; a thick, rigid washer will not make a watertight seal.

Can anyone help me?

Thanks.

[fictitiousemail]

Is this kit just the waste or is it both waste AND overflow?

I have just looked under my bath to see how I did it ,probably with the same waste . The drain fits in to the bath hole and iirc I used some LSX sealant .The thing that covers the slots in the drain( Banjo fitting) goes under the bath ,again using LSX,the black washer goes next and the backnut last .The black washer I fitted is quite thin so I don't recognise anything a few mill thick .Is there not a thinner washer( or two) ? in the set .

What I am not sure about looking at it is whether the "banjo" fitting for the overflow has flanges top and bottom or whether I have put washers above and below .Obviously I don't want unscrew it to check . I have a funny feeling that there was a solid washer that was supposed to go at the back of the overflow but I couldn't get it to tighten so I cut out a round piece of rubber and fitted that to the back of the overflow ( under the bath) and secured it with LSX then fitted the backnut .It all sealed very well .

[R D S]

Shit aren't they? Mine is the same. I ended up smearing silicone all over the bloody thing, there was still a slight weep, I put a tub under it to catch the drips with a view to faffing with it some more but it seems to have sorted itself out, I presume regular bath waste has clogged the leak and made a seal.

[The Natural Philosopher]

welcome to the world of crap bath fittings.

generally there is a rigid washer and a flexible rubber one on most fittings. Perhaps you have a part missing. ts fairly common in DIY sheds for people to nick parts they hace broken out of the bxes on the shelves ;-)

But in the end, most of thee cheap fittings are crap anyway: the answer is a tube of silicone sealer. Smear every surface that needs to be watertight with it, screw up finger tight, remove surplus, wait 24 hours and then tighten fairly hard.

[Stephen]

There is waste and overflow, so some of the washers are for the overflow, I guess.

[fictitiousemail]

As I said before the thick one is ,iirc,for behind the overflow .I'd suggest you do as I did and, if you are replacing the waste,get yourself a piece of thinner rubber( I can't remember what I used ) and cut a hole in it same size as the hole in the bath and fix it to the reverse of the bath with LSX or other silicone sealant .Then fit the waste and use sealant as well to seal everything .

[Stephen]

I have had a closer look at the thick, rigid, washer. The hole is too small to accept the waste, so it must be for the overflow. I assume it is to be used as a spacer.

There seems to be a flange at the bottom but not at the top. Even so, I'm not sure that the bottom would be watertight; what is to stop water running down the threads? I think I will buy an extra washer so that I can fit them above and below.

Yes, I think that's what it is for.

I didn't know that the part was called a banjo fitting. Once I learned that, I typed it into google. I found two sites that mentioned fitting wastes, though they didn't help with what washer goes where. The strange thing is that the text on the two sites was identical. Is this plagiarism or is it one person trying to get double the audience with the same material?

I am wondering whether in the future it might be better to get one of those wastes where the overflow connects directly to the trap and there is no need for banjos. Do you think they are any better/less leaky?

Thanks, Stephen.

[fictitiousemail]

If you think about it the only way water will get to the threads is from up above ( inside the bath) so the waste fitting should be smeared with some form of sealant before you place it in to the hole in the bath . I guess if you turn the banjo fitting round the flange will then be next to the bath so you can put the thin washer on the base of the banjo then the backnut . Use LSX or similar sealant between banjo and bath and between washer and banjo then screw the backnut up . I think I used sealant on both ends of the overflow pipe as well just in case. .

It's a type of fitting used in some industries like car industry .I think it's because of the shape . It's used to feed liquid from one pipe along another pipe at right angles to the first .

Re your last point I've never used one of them .The other type ( the type you have) should be ok but as I said you need to assemble it carefully and use sealant.

[Stephen]

But there are two slots in the waste to allow the overflow to drain in; when you empty the bath doesn't some water pass through these slots and if so, wouldn't it get onto the threads that way?

Or if the overflow was used, wouldn't that put water on the threads?

Thanks.

[fictitiousemail]

Thats what the banjo fitting (together with the washers and sealant) is for .Properly sealed and with the backnut tightened up water shall not pass....Trust me ..it works OK if done properly .

[John]

You have bought a basin waste!

[fictitiousemail]

No he hasn't ......

[Stephen]

Hello again,

I have put it all together. Like you said, the overflow needed some silicone to properly seal it. I think the problem there is that the hole in the bath is wider than the overflow fitting, so without some extra help, the fitting will slide slightly from side to side.

I really don't like plastic backnuts! Where can you get spanners large enough to fit them? I was using a pair of pump pliers but they chew into the plastic where you grip them. I know, I should have wrapped a cloth around them, but I forgot. You can't see what you're doing when the cloth is in the way!

Can you upgrade the backnut to a brass one? If so, what size do I need? Is it a simple matter of getting a 1 1/2 inch backnut for 40mm waste? I wasn't sure what the measurement of a backnut refers to. Is a

1 1/2 inch backnut 1 1/2 inches across the nut's faces, or is it the diameter of the hole? IIRC this one was about 50mm af

Thanks.

[fictitiousemail]

I've remembered thats the problem I had and cut a piece of rigid plasticy rubbery stuff with a suitable hole cut in it and siliconed it to the bath overflow ( at the back of course) and allowed it to set then fitted the overflow .That stopped it moving around and enabled it to be tightened up.

Use you hands .They don't need to be that tight .

See above reply .