kitchen faucet - need a little advice

[sreigle]

I know several of you have removed two restrictors from the kitchen faucet or the line leading to the faucet.

I'm having a little trouble finding/identifying the restrictors. Once I find them, how do I remove them?

Here's a couple of pictures. Maybe some of you can point out to me what I need to do and how far off base I am. Much thanks to all for any help.

1. I remember reading there are two restrictors that need to be removed. Where are they?

2. End of the faucet - is that white thing a restrictor? If so, how do I remove it?


3. Is this brass-colored piece in the end of the water line, which connects into the faucet, a restrictor? If so, how do I remove it?


4. If I need to get to the inside of the faucet to remove anything then I first have to remove this light colored ring before I can remove that C-clip. I have no tool that will fit the star-shaped opening (which is very roughly 1/2 inch in diameter) to remove this thing, at least nothing that will avoid destroying it. Do I need to remove this? If so, what do I use to remove it?


Thanks for all help.

[Icehouse]

Steve, did you ever get an answer? I was also wondering the same thing and would like to know when you find out.
Thanks,
Bernie

[Trailer Trash 2]

Steve I just bought a new kitchen faucet Price Fister and the restrictor was in the aerator they come in different flow ratings GPM as for the spray head, mine goes twice the GPM's with a volume control on it.

[bigskyjimmy]

O.k .in your first picture I just popped that restrictor out and that made a nice difference in the second pic I left that one alone because it will not come out and the third pic(mine is a little different) I took it apart and took the plastic resrictor out of there and left the metal screen in put it back together and NICE difference

[sreigle]

Bernie, the replies following yours are the only ones I've received.

Don, thanks. That helps.

BigSkyJimmy, thanks for all the info.

I was able to remove the white collar in picture 1 once I got a small screwdriver under it to pry it up. Then the center pin comes out along with its larger collar and spring. However there is still a white piece down inside that doesn't seem to remove. It has a small hole in the center so maybe is also acting as a restrictor.

I also pulled out the white piece (and spring) from the aerator, leaving just the screen.

Unfortunately it did not help the really, really slow flow from this faucet. Our psi at the outside connection is over 50 psi. The shower and the upstairs faucet are fine. So is the washing machine. So apparently we have a problem either with this kitchen faucet or somewhere in the lines to that faucet. I saw exnavydiver's excellent description in another thread about how to pull out the guts of the faucet. In that case it was to lubricate the mechanism but it should also help me try to find whether there is a problem in there.

Since removing those restrictors didn't help, if anyone has any other ideas about where we might have something plugged up, please don't hesitate to post or email me.

This faucet is only a couple years old. It was ordered from Keystone by a Montana dealer.

Thanks.

[8.1al]

If the small white piece has a small hole it is probably a restrictor. How about making the hole larger?

[simonsrf]

Steve,
I think the restrictor is that black rubber deal in picture 2.

I've just removed (pulled it out) that piece.

[sreigle]

Robbie, please explain. The only black rubber piece I see in picture 2 is the o-ring. What am I missing?

Charlie, maybe that would work. I'm reluctant to drill that hole bigger until I understand its purpose and how it works. I'd not be too happy if I destroyed a not-cheap and not very old faucet.

Let's call this picture 4. Here you can see the white thing with the small hole inside the well in the white thing. Note that there is what appears to be a "stop" that will keep it from being pulled out, but just on one side. Maybe that stop is attached to the white thing, in which case it might come out if I could figure out how to get to it. Note also this white thing appears to not be fully perpendicular to the faucet body, not that that makes much difference. On the napkin, the spring and white piece came out of this end of the faucet.



I'd like to remove all restrictors. However, we still have a different problem with the very slow water flow. While the faucet was detached from the pull out hose I timed the filling of a glass of water, using the stream of water from the hose. Then with the faucet re-attached, I filled the same glass using the faucet. Exact same amount of time. So the cause of the slow water flow is prior to the faucet. Tomorrow I'll start taking things apart to see what I can find. If I solve it I'll post back. Meanwhile, all suggestions appreciated.

[simonsrf]

Steve,
We're talking about different pictures. I am talking about the second picture of your first post....It has a black rubber (restrictor) in the end of the hose. Just pull that black restrictor out and replace the parts.

[sreigle]

Robbie, I'm in extra dense mode today, apparently. You're talking the second picture in the first post in this thread, right? I don't see a black restrictor there. Just the brass end of the hose and the o-rings on that. I just removed the head and shined a flashlight down the hole of the brass end of the hose and there's nothing there I can see. Same when I stuck a small screwdriver in there. Are you saying that brass end come off and there is a restrictor behind it? If so, any idea how to get that brass end off? It doesn't appear to be removable from what I can tell.

[bigskyjimmy]

That last pic you posted I could not get that one out either so I left it in ,that is weird you did not see a difference we only have about 40 psi's at our place and that Really helped after I did all that..SOOOOOOO time to scrap yours and buck up buy a residential from Home Depot?? that's what I'm going to do because I want a big Candy cane like the new Montana's and my bronze finish is rubbing off

[sreigle]

Jimmy, I hope not to have to replace this faucet. It was brand new just over two years ago. It had been fine but recently started getting slower and slower. It may be the faucet has to be replaced again but first I want to see if there is something else slowing down the flow, something perhaps in the line or at a connection. In our last overnight stop in California we had something in the water that tasted awful so we put our whole house filter inline. Our bathroom sink faucet slowed down and then started spitting. It spit out a wad of some brown or dark red substance that went down the drain before I could catch it. After that the faucet was much better. I had to clean out the aerator, though, and still don't know what it was. I suspect we have something like that in our water lines to the kitchen faucet. Once we can get back to full pressure in the lines, then removing the restrictors in the faucet should make the flow better than it's ever been.

I'm going to start disconnecting things tomorrow, checking flow at each point. Haven't quite decided how to do that without making a real mess under the sink. I have an old water hose that I might be able to slip over the end of the line if I cut off the end of the hose. If I'm lucky it will fit tight enough for me to run the hose into the drain or even to outside the rig.

When we replaced this faucet we originally were going to go with a home type. But the connections would have required some jerry-rigging and my back just isn't up to laying under the sink and doing all that twisting. So we went with a replacement from Keystone.

[jimcol]

Steve, Is the pressure problem on both hot and cold? What model faucet is it? (post a picture)You have proven the problem is not in the hand held spout. Sounds like you are going to have to disassemble the valve from the valve body which is probably not that difficult. If it is both hot and cold I doubt this is your problem but you can also open up the water lines before the faucet to insure you have good flow there? Turn the water and pump off, discnnnect the pex feeding one side of the faucet, hold it in a pan or jug while someone either turns the water back on or turns the pump on. You should be able to tell quickly if you have pressure. Jim

[sreigle]

Jim, thanks. It is both hot and cold. We have some pressure but I'd guess that it's equivalent to what we have when we are connected to a spigot with about 20 psi pressure. In this park my gauge says pressure is 56 psi at the connection point on the Montana. And our pressure at the shower and upstairs faucet are fine.

Opening the water lines is my next step, as you suggest. I just got off the phone with Robbie and I think my first next step is to dig out my old connector used for putting air through the lines to blow out the water to winterize. I have an air compressor that will work well for that and I think I still have that connector. If not, walmart has them. If there is still a problem, then I'll start disconnecting one at a time and see if I can find the problem.

I have this small cup I used to time how long it takes to fill that cup. The upstairs bathroom sink faucet will fill it in 3 1/2 seconds. The kitchen faucet takes six seconds. The pressure is low enough that it won't even turn the spray function back to stream when you open the faucet after using the spray function.

Since the problem exists for both hot and cold, then the problem is after the water heater, after the split where one side goes to the kitchen faucet. It also has to be after the hot and cold come together, which means inside the faucet. Unless I have two blockages, one in each line. It's not in the faucet head, so it has to be in the faucet body. Maybe I'll first try blowing it out and, if that fails, then take the faucet apart. Exnavydiver posted in another thread the steps for disassembling the faucet. Just thinking out loud and not doing a very good job of it!

Jim, the faucet is the single handle, single head, pull out head with stream/spray button on top. It's the standard faucet installed by Keystone although this one is a replacement from a couple of years ago and may vary slightly from the 2007 original. If you need a picture, I'll take one and post it.

[Rondo]

Steve I think you need to come on up to the Central Plains Rally in about three weeks--by then Vickie and you should have used up all your dishes because they are all dirty from not being able to use the sink-- and Jim, myself and the other 13 units owners can get down and dirty with that faucet! Jim, don't you agree??!!?? If you watched Undercover Boss the other night he had the perfect solution to fixing a sink faucet that was not working! Let me know if you saw it and if not I'll let you know what he did!

[sreigle]

Ron, we'd love to do that but it's that or go to a granddaughter's 7th birthday party. Oops, you lose. Sorry! You all could come down here, though!

Undercover Boss? Never heard of that. So what did he do?

Ours works. It's just slooooow. It does have its advantages, though. I can start it filling the sink and go do other thing while it's filling. I won't get into what those things might be.

[Rondo]

The Boss was the head man for one of the exclusive resort systems around he nations and he went into on resort as a maintenance man. He was left to remove the faucet while the head of maintenance went to get something else. All he had was a pair of vice-grips and he took the faucet apart piece by piece in fact he even tore the coiled tubing out of the faucet removable spout. He broke the pipes off from the faucet base with the vice-grips also. You should have seen the maintenance man's face when he came back! Undercover Boss is on Friday nights at 7:00 Central on CBS, I think!

I won't ask what you were doing while that cup was filling! " What happens in the Montana stays in the Montana!"

[jimcol]

Steve, Be sure and take the spout off the hose before applying the air. If you don't it may dislodge the stoppage and deposit it in the spout head. From your pictures and explanations that is more complicated to take apart. Simple solution to Rondo's suggestion, Bring the Granddaughter with you to the rally. Her presents would certainly lower the average age. Jim

[sreigle]

Jim, I will be sure to remove the head so it's just an open line. When I do this, Vicki will be out shopping so I want to clip the hose in position so it blows into the sink (with stopper in place) since after I connect the air compressor to the input I can't run fast enough to get back inside by the sink before the air comes out. Too old, I guess.

[jimcol]

Will Rogers must have been younger when he did that light switch deal. You can hook up the compressor then go inside and hold the hose in the sink then operate the valve on the faucet. Jim