# Metered Lav Faucet



## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

I had a call from a local church to repair this.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

(3192) Metered Lav Faucet in Church - YouTube


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Sounds like the fog horn on the Queen Mary II as she's pulling into port. The church asked me to repair it.
I don't have the foggiest idea what causes this. And I installed the faucets for them....LOL.

I called Pro-Flow customer service and they don't know. So customer support sent me a few repl. stems. 
Have any of you my highly esteemed colleagues run into this? Tommy plumber is clueless. It isn't a half-closed angle stop under the sink. That's the 1st thing that I checked. Stems don't have a visible washer that could be the problem.
Faucets were installed April of 2022 so less than a year old. Also, it's only the hot stem on one lav faucet in the ladies' room. 
The stems have a small hex nut on the bottom which may be loose. I haven't taken them apart yet.
It has to be a loose nut or washer in the stem. What else could this be? I asked two other plumbers here locally and they didn't know.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

As the lav faucet is about to shut off, the noise begins. You can see the water flow slow down right as the fog horn blows.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

The seal or I’ll call it the washer gets worn and a thin lip or ridge develops. Water flowing past that lip/ridge makes the equivalent of a musical instrument.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

I’d start by replacing the stems/ cartridges. That’ll do it until next time.

I’m more impressed by that hole you broke innthe slab through the bottom of that cabinet on your YouTube channel. I bet that was some work ✌


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

TerryTotoSucks said:


> I’d start by replacing the stems/ cartridges. That’ll do it until next time.
> 
> I’m more impressed by that hole you broke innthe slab through the bottom of that cabinet on your YouTube channel. I bet that was some work ✌



Hah...you must be referring to the slab leak under someone's kitchen sink. Yup those are a bit of work. But Tommy plumber is the hero when he gets those slab leaks repaired. LOL.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

Also when the valve is closing the he velocity of the water speeds up. That velocity increase can make noise. 

Ever hear a sloan valve make that shrreeeek when it cuts off ?


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

TerryTotoSucks said:


> Also when the valve is closing the he velocity of the water speeds up. That velocity increase can make noise.
> 
> *Ever hear a sloan valve make that shrreeeek when it cuts off ?*





Yes I have heard flushometers make the noise. But not like the lav in the video. 

Once years ago I had a call for a Sloan flushometer valve not opening {I think. It was so long ago.} Turns out the water pressure was too high in the building and the unusually high water pressure was preventing the valve from opening.
I can't remember exactly what the Sloan valve was doing, but we traced it back to unusually high water pressure in the building which was causing the Sloan valve to malfunction.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

Toilet ballcocks can sound like a boat motor when they do it. 🤣

You think it could be the stop valve washer ? What kind of stop valve do they have ?


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Tommy plumber said:


> (3192) Metered Lav Faucet in Church - YouTube


Tommy that's the new foghorn for ships coming in lolololol


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Tommy when you have stems out blow the lines out real good,some calcium from water heater could be lodged in the check valve or stem,I bet the stem is still good,got trash in check valve or stem


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Sound like a bad cartridge.


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## chonkie (Jul 31, 2014)

Tell them it's a feature, a warning that the water is about to shut off so get your hands rinsed off asap.


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Tommy plumber said:


> I called Pro-Flow customer service and they don't know. ...


Dere ya go rite dere. Pro-Flow is caca.
Replace them with Chicago and be done with it. The church will love you for eating the cost....

btw, how ya doing, Tommy?


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Why go with a two handle faucet if it's metered anyway? They can't effectively control the temp and you probably had to temper the hot side anyway to prevent scalding.

We installed about a dozen Symmons single handle metered faucets with tempering valves about a year ago and they've been good. On a few we had to remove or add some timing washers a little farther down the road to adjust the time, but this place has had habitual lack of water so 10 seconds mattered to them. We also only did those adjustments when we went back for other issues.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Plumber said:


> Dere ya go rite dere. Pro-Flow is caca.
> Replace them with Chicago and be done with it. The church will love you for eating the cost....
> 
> btw, how ya doing, Tommy?


Or T&S


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

skoronesa said:


> Why go with a two handle faucet if it's metered anyway? They can't effectively control the temp and you probably had to temper the hot side anyway to prevent scalding.
> 
> We installed about a dozen Symmons single handle metered faucets with tempering valves about a year ago and they've been good. On a few we had to remove or add some timing washers a little farther down the road to adjust the time, but this place has had habitual lack of water so 10 seconds mattered to them. We also only did those adjustments when we went back for other issues.


I bet you keep those timing washers stocked on the van lolololo


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

sparky said:


> I bet you keep those timing washers stocked on the van lolololo


You're darn tootin I have a few


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Plumber said:


> Dere ya go rite dere. Pro-Flow is caca.
> Replace them with Chicago and be done with it. The church will love you for eating the cost....
> 
> btw, how ya doing, Tommy?


I'm doing well Plumber. It's been a while since I have seen you around here. Nice to see you back buddy.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tommy, I can send you a couple of Chicao spring loaded lav faucets
that have been laying around my shop since about 1990 if you want to just chit-can that junk








The handles are not correct but the body is solid brass and nearly impossible to damage
Techincally the faucets are old-style metered faucets for schools


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Update:
I was ruminating about this problem and the only thing that I could think of was that the water pressure is too high in the bldg.
So I tested a hose spigot; 70 psi. Out at the RPZ backflow assembly; 80 psi. When I throttled down the volume by partially closing valves, the offending noise stops. {I can't locate a PRV}

I am recommending a new RPZ and and a PRV. I told the man in charge of maintenance that this will permanently solve the problem. He told me to get him some prices.

Years ago I had a service call down in West Palm Beach, FL in a mid-rise building. The Sloan flushometer valve wasn't operating properly. In fact if memory serves me correctly, it wasn't even opening when you tried to flush the fixture. We traced it back to extremely high water pressure in the bldg. They had booster pumps to raise the water pressure to get the water up to the upper floors and the pressure was so high that the flushometer valve in a men's room bathroom wouldn't work.


Thank you to all of you my highly esteemed plumbing colleagues for your assistance.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

I believe those faucets should work with 80 psi. What’s the box say ?

That’s the max of acceptable pressure for most codes. But I ageee 60 psi would smooth everything out…..


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

TerryTotoSucks said:


> I believe those faucets should work with 80 psi. What’s the box say ?
> 
> That’s the max of acceptable pressure for most codes. But I ageee 60 psi would smooth everything out…..



The box is long gone. I agree that up to 80 psi shouldn't be a problem. After I get the new PRV installed, I will throttle the pressure down to 50 psi.


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## TerryTotoSucks (5 mo ago)

Tommy plumber said:


> The box is long gone. I agree that up to 80 psi shouldn't be a problem. After I get the new PRV installed, I will throttle the pressure down to 50 psi.


I just hope you don’t do all that work then they call you back and say “ that faucets making that noise again “

Thats always a bad position to be in.


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

TerryTotoSucks said:


> I just hope you don’t do all that work then they call you back and say “ that faucets making that noise again “
> 
> Thats always a bad position to be in.


Yep and it very well may happen,I would put a definite maybe it will work in the quote😛


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