Lazy Daze Owners' Group

Original faucet cartridge was shot, and I couldn't find a replacement, as well water was seeping from the head of the original equipment water pump. Time for some plumbing!

First step, remove the sink. So happy to have one of those old rigs with a nice stainless steel model. This opened up the workspace and made removing the faucet easy. I unscrewed the feed lines, and ran a variety of knives around the edge to separate the sink lip from the counter top. This was not easy, but patience and a bit of warmth worked. 

Here is a Flickr album of some of the work.

I sourced the new faucet from Home Depot. Thankfully the fit is no problem. I chose their Banbury model, because they named it for me, and it provided the height and sprayer feature I wanted. Then the search for adapters was on! It would have taken a few fitting that our tiny town plumbing suppliers didn't have, so the project went on hold for a couple of days of research.

I learned that my LD is plumbed with Polybutylene tubing, the grey stuff. It was the cat's pajamas in the early 90's when they built mine. Now PEX tubing is the thing. The polybutylene is OK, but may turn brittle and develop microcracks when exposed to chlorinated water over time. I was not too worried about that, this LD has lived in the country on well water most of its days, and did not get the same use as a home might. So I decided to minimize replacement of what's not broke.

I found a Polybutylene to PEX Sharkbite fitting on Amazon . I was skeptical of these because they went together too easily, but reviews are good. I decided I would convert the last part of the plumbing runs to PEX and connect up my faucet and pump to that, since the fittings are readily available here.

Once I cleaned the sink flange and installed the faucet, cut and changed the supply line to PEX, I set all that aside to work on the pump. I ordered the usual, a ShurFlo 4008 pump, as well as a ShurFlo pump silencing kit and a Camco wintering kit. Overkill is just enough.

Getting the pump out was no drama. And it was a good thing. The leak, as most leaks go, was worse than I thought. But not yet a major problem. Good. I wanted to install a shutoff between the tank and the pump, as I learned to do here, to allow an easier swap if I need to in the future. That was what the winterizing kit did, I installed it on the fitting coming out of the tank. This was the hardest part, since I wanted to eliminate the elbow that was in place. That done, I put half of the pump silencing kit on the other side of the pump to give me plenty of play for easy installation and maybe to quiet the pump.  Then I put bayonet connectors on the wires, again to ease replacement.  All that was left was screw it down, check fittings and install the sink.

I re-used the putty the Mothership used to install the sink, just rework it and re-apply on the bottom of the sink flange presto. Hook the supply up, cross fingers, test all systems.

Power on, pump works!
Paper towels under all connections to check leaks. 
Pressure builds, pump shuts off.
Faucet on, water flows, hot side hot, cold side cold.
Run water...
Check paper towels- one leak, at drain.
Remove, inspect, go back to town for the 1.25" washer required that I don't have in my plumbing box. Return, install, test.
Fixed.

Leave pressure for 3 hours, no loss, pump doesn't run. Turn on faucet. Pump runs. Repeat. Leave overnight. In the morning, no leaks, run water, pump turns on. 

Sharkbite fittings are cool!

Test antifreeze siphon using water. It draws. Retest. No leaks.

Pronounce myself THE MAN. Demonstrate new faucet, seek admiration from wife. Mission accomplished.

Is the pump quieter? I don't think so. The faucet base plate was slightly wider, so I had to take a little wood off the sink cover cutting board to make it lay flat. Washing pans is now easier with a higher rise faucet and pull out sprayer. But why is THE MAN doing the dishes? Wait a minute here...

The polybutylene is OK, but may turn brittle and develop microcracks when exposed to chlorinated water over time. I was not too worried about that, this LD has lived in the country on well water most of its days, and did not get the same use as a home might. So I decided to minimize replacement of what's not broke.

The polybutylene is OK, but may turn brittle and develop microcracks when exposed to chlorinated water over time. I was not too worried about that, this LD has lived in the country on well water most of its days, and did not get the same use as a home might. So I decided to minimize replacement of what's not broke.

Which part of the fittings cracked?