Question about new faucet

[DoYouKubuntu]

Last week I had a new faucet installed in the kitchen; it's a Pfister Marielle faucet.

I just bought this aerator/sprayer:



Is this part (circled) supposed to be able to detach from the faucet?



*I* couldn't make it budge. Not one iota. So I got my trusty parrot-nosed pliers...then thought, no!, I really don't want to damage my BRAND NEW faucet. I tried, pretty gingerly, with a washcloth between the pliers and the faucet, but got nowhere. I just need to know if I'm attempting to do something that SHOULDN'T be done. If it's removable, then I'll ask someone stronger than me to try unscrewing it. If not, I'll leave well enough alone.

[kubicle]

Kubuntuforums, everything but the kitchen sink...oh wait.

Typically, the tip of the faucet holds the mesh piece that needs to be cleaned periodically, so it really should be removable.

http://s7d1.scene7.com/is/content/Pfister/ex-072-01

[claydoh]

From the parts list it is threaded on; it has to be removeable I would think, to be able to replace the aerator that is inside it.

Do not try and force it, but do make sure that you are turning it the right direction to loosen it - this is always my big thing to forget. If you are looking at it from the top, it will be backwards from the Left-Lucy Rule. Gently try turning it the other direction just a little, and see if that works. You should not need brute force to get the thing off, I think.

[DoYouKubuntu]

Okay, guys, thanks for the input. I THOUGHT it must be removable, but it wasn't going anywhere for me. However, I'm now wondering if I was actually turning it the right, I mean CORRECT, way. My Nikon cameras and lenses always throw me for a loop, because they turn OPPOSITE from the righty/lefty rule. I'll try turning it the other way and see what happens. If I can't do it without pliers, I'll wait until someone else can do it for me. (Sometimes--only SOMETIMES--I hate being a girl. Well, a girl if the world is divided into boys and girls. Otherwise, it's known as...middle-aged woman.)

[DoYouKubuntu]

Well I'm stumped. I managed to get it off--I had been twisting it the wrong way. But the aerator doesn't fit. It's loose around the faucet. Plus its washer takes up some of the threaded area, so even if it weren't loose, it wouldn't be able to completely screw into place. Shouldn't these two brand new products fit each other? I mean, it's not like one is 50 years old and obsolete now. *sigh*

[Qqmike]

The maker of the aerator should have supplied an adaptor of sorts. Some products, like, Pur, are good about this. Look in the box the aerator came in, it may be a plastic or metal piece, threaded, an insert sort of thing, an alternate sizing thingy. Of course, Pfister won't be a party to this adventure as they will tell you that you void any warranty with them if you attach things, so don't call them. (And yes, looking from the top, you did it right by turning to the right, which would be counter-clockwise if looking up from the bottom.)

[oshunluvr]

When you say "it's loose" do you mean the threads are the wrong diameter or do you mean when the threads are tightened, the business end flops around?

[SteveRiley]

This thread obviously needs relocation to a "hardware support" subforum here

[DoYouKubuntu]

The maker of the aerator should have supplied an adaptor of sorts. Some products, like, Pur, are good about this. Look in the box the aerator came in, it may be a plastic or metal piece, threaded, an insert sort of thing, an alternate sizing thingy.

Thanks, but I'd already done that. There is an adapter that came with it, but it's only to change whether the threads are inside or outside--it has no effect on the size.

When you say "it's loose" do you mean the threads are the wrong diameter or do you mean when the threads are tightened, the business end flops around?

I mean that it's too big around--its diameter is larger than the diameter of the faucet. And I don't mean slightly larger which, of course, is necessary. I mean TOO MUCH larger, so there's no way it can be screwed on.

This thread obviously needs relocation to a "hardware support" subforum here

[Qqmike]

If this is a good aerator (and not some cheap China white box), I'd call the aerator folks, have your faucet model # ready. Or, take it back and try another aerator. The faucet you are stuck with, or I'd suggest Moen ;-)
Them aerator folks--make'm pay!

[DoYouKubuntu]

If this is a good aerator (and not some cheap China white box), I'd call the aerator folks, have your faucet model # ready. Or, take it back and try another aerator. The faucet you are stuck with, or I'd suggest Moen ;-)

Moen is a good company, too, but I've had really good experiences with Pfister, so I went with them. A few years ago I contacted them about ordering replacements for some pieces that got lost in the shuffle when my house [in Dallas] was packed up. I had a brand new bathroom faucet that I hadn't gotten around to having installed there, so once it was here I figured I'd use it. But once I started going through its box, I realized it was missing a few pieces. I fully expected, and intended, to PAY for the replacement parts--but Pfister sent them to me at no charge, not even shipping. That pretty much sold me on them for good.

Them aerator folks--make'm pay!

I paid a whopping FIVE BUCKS for it. So if I have to toss it, or give it away, it's not going to break the bank. I just assumed...yeah...I know...but I did! I assumed it would fit...

[vinnywright]

if the aerator's female threads are so much larger than the faucets male threads that the threads do not even touch ,,,,,you may be abel to take it to lowes/home depot and get an adapter ring that will just be ,,,,a ring sized adapter with female threads inside and male threads outside that you just screw into the aerator and then on to the faucet.

take the aerator with you and the make and model of the faucet .

VINNY

[SteveRiley]

if the aerator's female threads are so much larger than the faucets male threads

Or just wrap several rounds of plumber's tape around the male threads. Tape for natural gas pipes might work better, because it's thicker.

[vinnywright]

Or just wrap several rounds of plumber's tape around the male threads. Tape for natural gas pipes might work better, because it's thicker.

<Grin> IF the threads do not even touch this will only work for a limited amount of time ,,,and only if you wrap the "Teflon tape" real tite and get enough on the faucet to half to force thread the aerator

VINNY

[DoYouKubuntu]

Alrighty, then... The only tapes I have on hand are duct, electrical, and clear shipping tape. Any reason not to try duct or electrical tape? At least as a test to see if that would solve the problem, then I could get some plumber's tape and do it for real.