A Leaky Shower Faucet
Drip, drip, drip…….That is the sound I hear every time I go into our main floor bathroom. Our house is about 8 years old, so it is about time that some things start failing. After doing some research I determine that the problem must be a faulty cartridge in the shower faucet handle. I watch a few YouTube videos and decide that this should be a fairly easy fix.
A Stuck Delta Cartridge
I purchase a new cartridge and shut off the houses water supply. Now all I have to do is remove the handle and the bonnet nut and then pull out the faulty cartridge. The handle and bonnet nut are easily removed. However, the cartridge only budges about 1/8 inch. Time to watch a few more YouTube videos. I try rocking the cartridge side-to-side while pulling, but that doesn’t help. Worried that I may be causing stress to the plumbing behind the shower I decide to look for another solution. Is there a tool that can help? There is, but it appears to be geared toward a plumber that will be using this tool at least once a week. As a DIY homeowner I just can’t justify spending over $100 for a tool I will use only once every few years (hopefully less).
3D Printing a Solution
The goal is to create a tool that can pull the cartridge straight out from the plumbing without causing stress to the plumbing. The easiest approach will be to thread the tool onto the pipe that the bonnet nut threads onto. This will provide a secure and stable attachment. I see that the cartridge has a threaded hole in the front. I would guess this threaded hole is for the attachment of other style handles. My shower handle uses a set screw from the side and doesn’t use the threaded hole. If I thread a bolt into the hole on the front of the cartridge and provide a stationary face for the bolt head a pulling action will be applied to the cartridge. I don’t want the bolt head to bind on the face of the tool as the cartridge pull force gets larger, so I add a pocket for a bearing.
After printing the tool out and inserting the bearing I’m ready for a test run. It works like a charm! The tool applies the desired inline force to the cartridge without applying side loads to the plumbing. The old cartridge comes out and the new cartridge goes in. I reassemble the shower faucet, turn the water back on and no more dripping!
Conclusion
DIY home repair can be rewarding, but it can also be frustrating. If a fix is not going the way you envisioned it may be necessary to take deep breath and consider how else you could solve the problem. In my situation 3D printing came to the rescue. This was a situation in which 3D printing excels; creating a one time use specialty tool. If you are struggling with a stuck delta shower cartridge you find my pulling tool here.