Hi Andy, I have a feeling I have done this a couple of times before now, hopefully I won't forget anything.
Fossettes do vary a little so this may not be exactly what you find. Hopefully it will be close enough to be helpful. First, turn off the water to the tap. there may be a stop cock under the sink with a tube leading to the tap to turn off the water otherwise you may have to turn off the entire water to the house. Next open the tap to relieve the pressure and once the water has finished dripping put a plug in the sink or a rag to keep anything you drop from going down the drain. Now prize the plastic cap out of the top of the knob and you should find a Philips screw. Remove this and you should be able to lift the knob off of the top of the tap. If it has been there a while you may have to rock it a little as you pull. Now there should be a nut below the knob through which the stem of the tap protrudes. This must be loosened and removed. It will draw the stem out with it. The business end of the tap stem has a screw in it, usually a slot screw but it could be a Philips. This holds a rubber washer into a seat, usually a sort of cup shaped affair. Remove that screw and replace the rubber washer with a new one. You will be surprised to discover that the washer you remove is flat, maybe even indented and might even have a nick or two in it. The replacement will usually be slightly cone shaped toward one side. The flat side fits down into the cup and the screw goes through the hole in the center of the washer into the middle of the cup. Tighten the screw down to hold the washer into the end of the valve stem and replace the stem into the valve by tightening the nut back down into the valve. Before putting the stem back into the body of the valve turn the stem into the fully open position, that means withdrawing it as much as possible so the nut can be fully inserted into the valve body without the stem bottoming out and when tight replace the knob and it's screw and the central cap then turn the tap off before turning the water back on. Remove the plug or rag in the sink so it doesn't overflow should the water come on strong. You now should have a smoothly working tap which turns off easily. You might like to change both washers while you are at it so they both work equally well. I recommend you purchase a package of assorted washers. They come in a variety of sizes, some of which I have never seen use for but there isn't anything more frustrating than taking the damn thing apart only to discover you don't have a washer of the correct size. These assortments often come with spare screws and other washer parts like a selection of 'O' rings and fibre washers to go under that nut you removed to release the stem. They don't cost much I don't think and I keep the left over washers to use behind those occasional plugs which are recessed a little too far for the face plates to fit snugly against or other similar purposes. I hope I have described this adequately and it is helpful. Dale Leavens, Cochrane Ontario Canada [EMAIL PROTECTED] Skype DaleLeavens Come and meet Aurora, Nakita and Nanook at our polar bear habitat. ----- Original Message ----- From: Andy Collins To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 4:48 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] KITCHEN FAUCET QUESTION And on something similar - I need to fit a new washer to my very hard to turn off cold water tap, and I'm not sure how to get at the washer. The tap has a circular disk on the top that looks as if it should prise off, but doesn't with my thumb nail. Basic job I know, but would be grateful for some guidance. Thanks - Andy ----- Original Message ----- From: Sparkey Bailey To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 8:57 PM Subject: [BlindHandyMan] KITCHEN FAUCET QUESTION Hi all, First of all, please be kind to me, I don't know anything about faucets. Ok, We need a new kitchen faucet and we bought one. It is one of those faucets that has the lever for both hot and cold water.The lever on the new faucet doesn't really move much, I don't see how this one is going to work at all........do any of you know why this new faucet's lever is almost paralyzed? Thanks, Sparkey [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -- This email has been verified as Virus free Virus Protection and more available at http://www.plus.net [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
