Hi all, I'm tired of replacing the crappy rubber tap washers ( Bibb - on compression style taps) around the house. Yes, I know the seat has to be clean or reseated for long term leak prevention.
I was wondering if anyone here has machined their own teflon, delrin or whatever bibb washers?
Opinions? Results?
Thanks! Bart
Bart, forget teflon. Too soft and cold flows. I tried it. Delrin is too hard. Nylon or polyetheylene? I went back to buying the correct seal washers. I have a leaker now to replace. RichD
Yep. Works great. Once.
Have not tried it, but I would guess polyureathane would the best bet. Now what durometer to use, that is the question.
Thank You, Randy
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I've had some commercial/institutional-grade fixtures apart, and they're not designed with any similarity to common home-grade retail store fixtures.
I was surprised to see so much stainless steel used, the number of machined parts, and that the valve stems didn't rotate. Instead, the stems were raised and lowered, and gently touched on the seats. There were mechanical stops to prevent the user from forcing the off position (something that's often the cause of early seal failure on stem-type valves).
The seals appeared to be a very firm (thumbnail pressure tester) polyurethane material set into a stainless cup.
I'm fairly certain that the fixtures were made by Eljer, and the styles were similar to what might be found in hospitals. These grades of fixtures would be essentailly maintence free in a home application, unless someone would intentionally beat on them.
WB ......... metalworking projects
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