How To Adjust A Trip Lever Bathtub Drain
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- Опубліковано 31 лип 2024
- Now that you've replaced the trip lever on your tub drain, you notice it isn't properly stopping the water. Watch this short video how to adjust the lever mechanism so it does!
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Thank you so much for posting this video, Joby. The slow draining shower was driving me nuts and I'm so glad I found this video telling me what was wrong and how to fix it. It was quick, easy and free. What a break. I fixed it in less than 5 minutes!
Thank you for the video. The difference is Joby - you're working with all new gear, I pulled out a unit that was old and totally corroded. There was no way to loosen anything due to the hard water corrosion. I spent $33 dollars in parts at Home Depot which from watching the video I knew what to buy. I appreciate being able to see what to do.
Thank you for this video .. My drain was doing the opposite for years..I had to hold the lever "down" to make the water go out, so then I turn the part so the weight was going in the "up" position.. Now it drains much faster ..Thank you !!
Bro... your my 4th video in and you finally explained what I need! Thank you so much!
OMG!!!! THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!! I have the same exact problem and I cannot wait to show my husband this video. I think I can fix it myself!
This helped me! Trying to take a relaxing bath was not happening with the water draining. This was the second video I saw & the twisting of the item worked ! Thank you
Glad it helped!
Thank you sir. You just saved me about 400.00 bucks. I replaced my whole assembly over the Labor day weekend.
Those plumbers sure are expensive.
I unclogged my drain today saving me a 400 bill myself.
Now I have to adjust the stopper which is why I watched this excellent video.
I like that you guys got to the problem quickly. 👍🏻👍🏻
OMG thank you so much! This video help me fix our drain!👍🏿👍🏿
Really works... thanks so much, my drain was accumulating water..so I did the opposite way ..it works great
Thank you. Mine needed to be lowered too. Saved me a bundle!
My dear brother you are the best thank you so much you've given me great counsel this day God bless you
When I replaced mine I noticed that a section of the rod had stripped threads. As an extra measure, I replaced the stock nut with two stainless nylock nuts, one on either side of the long clevis device, one on either side. It now works marvellously. Two notes: You need to leave it a little loose so the assembly can rotate. Also it was difficult to get back in place, but once in, it functions great.
Thank you for this video! It was extremely helpful!
THANK YOOOUUUU!! I haven't tried it yet but it's driving me crazy in my apartment that I could take a bath without the water leaking out!
Thank you! I learned all I was looking for, and quick!!
Nice Video! It works, I was able to adjusted! Thank You.
Thank you for explaining how it works and how to adjust it. The last vid I watched, the guy just said; "if it doesn't stop the water you probably need to lower it" and kept it moving haha
This was so helpful. Thank you.
Excellent explanation ! Thank you.
Thank you so much!!! Extremely helpful!!
This works great, thanks so much!
Nice and succinct. Good job...very helpful.
Easy fix, thanks for posting 👍.
thank you just what I needed
Thank you for this video!!
Happy holidays
Thanks for the video.
Hmm. I was going to replace it. THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for sharing!
Excellent. thanks!
Thank you! I will try it. I had mine replaced a month ago and my baths never stay in...
Thank you!
Worked 💯🙏
Thank you! Now I can adjust mine and won't have to pay a fortune to have someone do it for me.
Thank You!
so i adjusted the float up AND down, but the water is still draining a little bit when it is supposed to be closed... i have a plastic float with 2 o rings at both ends, i inspected it and it seems to be perfectly fine after a good cleaning, any thoughts as to what it may be? i've been opening and closing the plate, adjusting and readjusting the float for the past 2 hours to no avail, and not sure what to do now. please help!
Thanks!!
Nice, I just fixed my drain and saved myself some $$
Great! You're buying!!
I did adjusted plunger many times up AND down, but the water is still draining a little bit. Doesn't hold properly. Plunger looks good. What else can be issue with drain system?
My trip lever fell out and I think the button is up when the water is stopped I tried to take it out trip lever and it’s hard to take it out when it is fell off
Checked mine it doesn't have the trip leveler wth lol but did unclogging of the drain yuck 😳 and omg never ever seen it drain that fast before.
I took mine out of the tub and put only the face plate back on because the plunger was causing the water to drain slowly. I could adjust it, but it is so corroded and if I remember right it also didn't hold water very well. Now maybe the water in the tub won't rise and half fill the tub during a shower. Don't really need the drain to ever hold water anyways and If I ever need to fill the tub for anything like maybe washing a large quanity of dishes or getting sliced up by my cats for trying to give them a bath I can just put some sort of plug over the drain hole.
I’m gonna try and fix mine tomorrow. Mine isn’t stopping the ester at all it’s fully draining!!
I have to say ..... thank you
We just had a new bathtub put in. It was not properly holding so I did like you said and adjusted it. It was a little better but it still leaks. Mine is plastic. could that be the problem of why its not properly holding the water for baths?
Richard Linsalato if it is the piece meant for the drain, it should be fine and work. If there is any more adjustment down, I would use it. If there is still a problem, call the installer.
Que bueno
Thank You for this video, the Bell that is supposed to be attached to the trip lever mechanism is stuck in the drain and I can not fish it out. Any way I can get it out? I tried snaking but can't hook onto it. Help!
Shireen Damghani a metal coat hangar usually works.
Terrific and simple for the home do it yourselfer.
I just got the tub unclogged, and now the stopper isn't quite fitting. My issue us the opposite of yours. It won't open enough to let the water run out. It was a nasty clog and still wouldn't let the water drain even with the stopper removed so I know it wasn't the poor adjustment on the stopper from letting the water drain.. I need to make mine shorter.
I just don't understand how it happened. It was always fine until my wife told me the drain wasn't working.
Bee Bob Remove the entire stopping mechanism to make sure you have good drain flow. You’ll notice I have a little bend in the non threaded rod. You may need to do that if you can’t adjust the stopper enough. Of course, try using the threaded portion first. Good luck!
Thanks, I'm on it.
I replaced my trip lever and a week later I noticed that when I open the drain the lever slowly goes back up and I have to push it down again ad again. Do you know of a fix for this one? Thanks.
Sounds like the spring needs to be re-seated. You should have a spring that keeps the lever in position. It's possible you hit it or something as you installed the lever. I would pull it out and make sure the spring is doing it's job.
What would make my trip lever close on its own? I try to push down to drain water it will close itself ? Any ideas before I mess with it? Mind you I had to replace the cover maybe I messed up the adjustment
Sounds like maybe you unseated the spring or something. I would definitely look to the spring as the issue there.
I just installed a brass one from Lowe’s and made it longer like you showed on the video. It’s still not stopping the water. Any ideas?
Are you sure you made it long enough to bottom out?
I bought a new stopper and lever. I can move them up and down before installing them, but when they’re installed, I can’t push the lever down to drain the water. Any ideas? The screw is adjusted as high as it can go. Thanks
The bore that houses the stopper must have some stuff in there to keep the stopper from dropping smoothly.
hey I can't get the trip lever to move back and forth on it when I try to put a new one
+zach miller make sure the internal mechanism isn't jamming itself when you push it inside the drain. It's possible you are jamming it in.
how do you pull that lever back out to open my drainage , and its not draining the water because of that lever has been broken and blocking the water drainage.
So the rod that holds and adjusts the plug broke or something?
here's a question, how do you fix it when the lever wants to stay up but you want it to stay down?
There is a spring that should be putting tension on it. Its just on the other side of the plate. Check to make sure it is seated correctly. It might just be worn out.
Thank you so much! Is there a such thing as dropping it too low? I dropped mine down as far as it could go and it still doesn't work. Another thing is the plunger is brass and the drain is plastic.
You can't drop it too low, it just sits at the bottom there. It must be a slower kind of leak? Is this replacing the old one?
@@JayferRattrap yes, it's replacing the old one. I'm starting to wonder if it's just not dropping low enough now. Is there a way to put some kind of extension on it to make it longer? 🤔
This might be a dumb question but I am going to ask it anyway. If you pull out the lever mechanism and make the adjustment, will it automatically go back into place when you re-insert it into the tub or do you have to jiggle the blocker part of it (at the end) so that it will go where it needs to go to stop the drain? Did that make sense?
Yes it does make sense and it is a good question. You may have to jiggle the whole thing a little just to get it going in there (look at 2:15 of this video) but once the whole thing starts going in you will have no problems. Hope that helps and feel free to ask any other questions you may have.
are you keeping the tapered/thin side on the upside ? Isn't that supposed to be at the bottom ?
You can't attach it backwards like you are suggesting. It's more or less idiot-proof that way.
Wow I haven't tried this yet but if it works I'll be the hero of the century to my 7 year old grandson he moved in with us recently and takes baths not showers we now use a rubber stopper for the bath drain and it does not keep the water in I Don't know if this will work our house was as built in 1962 and we are seniors and never have taken a bath in this house - we just take showers because with bad hips it is impossible to get up from a bath tub -- I just took the overflow cover off and it looks like it was on wrong - one of the bolts was not connected and the cover anchor bar/seat was attached with screws where the cover should have been bolted in So this might not work - looks like a Mickey mouse job from the beginning
Oh well wish me luck I am going to my nearby friendly Family Hardware on Cape Coral Florida in the a.m. they always have retired people on hand to give advice and helpful hints - I will post my video of my attempt to do get this done and will place a link to this video if it works !!
I tried this, but it still isn't stopping the water at all. It's a brand new tub (installed by previous owners), and the little stopper weight is plastic - is that the problem? Is it too light and thus not dropping down?
Emily Belanger even if it was plastic, the metal rods should force it down. Try making it much longer that you think it should be just to make sure it’s going the entire way. The plastic stopper is shaped like the brass one I am using I’m assuming.
NICE...mine is frozen in place in a drian pipe plugged position..can i simply lock onto the lead and force it up ? i am lost here and i am too broke to call a pro. this whole assembly should just come right out like it did in this video, correct ?
Don't know what you mean "lock onto the lead." If you mean getting a vice grips or something to lock onto the rod, it might work. Or you might just break the connection that connects rod and drain plug. I might try, with a little pressure, trying to jiggle it to see if maybe you can unfreeze it.
i jiggled and all of that, tried lifting the rod and pushing it down too. the plug was stuck in place. i used pliers and leveraged the rod assembly upwards..the bottom part of the 2 rod assembly pulled free of the plug itself. i am wondering if i remove the drain, can i angle a screw driver into the pipe and hammer that plug to allow water to pass..as it stands,it is in the closed position. i cant afford a plumber or a bathroom remodel. but 2 minute military showers and getting out with anckle deep water in the tub has gotten old, quickly.
the pipes are cast iron,so if that plug is brass then i should be able to distort it and eliminate its ability to hold water...i believe. what say you ? oh ya, thanx for the quick reply to this retired roofer/current truck driver @@JayferRattrap
how do i know how many turns to do? ive already tried twice and did 4 turns each time and keep putting it back in and screwing it back in and its still not working.
fhg1128 you just need to keep going through the process. Take it out, turn it five to ten times, and try again. Sorry.
Do you know how to take this part out if it falls inside. Mine fall off with weight and the entire hooks. Dont know how to take it out. My water dosent drain at all.
Get a metal coat hanger and make a little hook. You can usually grab it with that.
Hi, so mine doent hold watet at all for a bath , do you you think i need to loosen it up, this looks pretty simple thanks for sharing
Julie Ducastel I would say that is where you should start.
Joby F. Randrup I did everything not your fault if you would seen me you would've been laughing so hard, I was ...I unscrewed it took the thingee out carefully, lifted the long thing out which was short and was hollow, lololol.!!! Now what?
Julie Ducastel look just before 1:57 and you will see how to make it longer. Your stopper is probably too high, meaning it is not dropping far enough to block the drain. So, you have to make it longer.
Can you tell me why a lever would go up and down when it's outside of the tub but when I install it the lever will not move?
My guess is corrosion or something that has adhered in that area. See if you can get a bristle brush into the area.
Melissa Conn it is either getting caught up in the space like maybe the linkage is getting stuck. Its completely frozen? It doesn't move up or down?
Joby F. Randrup I got it kind of moving up and down by adjusting the linkage up but now it doesn't hold water very well so I guess I will have to experiment with it
Melissa Conn so, its possible the drain was adjusted way too low, meaning the stopper is not going way too far down and bottoming out. You have to find the right adjustment. It can be a little frustrating to keep pulling it out, adjusting, putting it in, checking it, pulling it out, etc... i guess the other possibility is the stopper is damaged in some way so gets stuck when it goes into the drain.
We just bought a house and the problem I’m having with mine is the lever won’t stay down so the tub will drain, it keeps popping up plugging the drain, any thoughts?
I would replace the trip lever. There is a spring that keeps tension on the lever. My guess is the spring is broken or unseated. You should feel some tension when you move the lever either way. If you don’t feel much tension, it’s the spring. The video will show you how to remove it.
Joby F. Randrup okay thank you for responding quickly, I’ll do that!
I understand what you're saying in the video but....If the mechanism can be too high (allowing water to drain when it's not supposed to) can it also be too low when it's supposed to be open, causing the water to drain too slowly while taking a shower? Is there a way to find that happy medium?
Good question. The mechanism “bottoms out” meaning it can only drop to the bottom of the drain. That is a good thing because, just like your question is alluding to, it would take a lot of adjusting to find the perfect position.
@@JayferRattrap I understand that there is a point (the bottom of the drain) in which the mechanism must stop. But I want the mechanism low enough so that water doesn't leak out when taking a bath but I don't want it too low that it causes the water to drain slowly (when showering). I guess it's just a matter of tinkering with it until I get it at the right spot. That just means removing/installing the contraption over and over again, while filling and re-filling the tub and taking countless showers. I admit it, I was looking for an easy solution. Thanks for your help.
I'm scared. But I have to do this
You can do it. The worst thing that will happen is it will still be broken when you are done.
This is what I came to UA-cam to find. I’m soaking in the tub and the water slowly leaks out. If this fixes it I will tell my Bro, the same thing is happening at his home,
How do I fix one that keeps going up on its own?
They are cheap enough to replace and you may think about that. Your spring pressure might not be high enough to keep the stopper in place.
What happens if you remove it while the trip lever is in a close position ? And you put it back and now it’s im close position and it won’t go back to open position
You should check the linkage that connects the trip lever to the stopper. Sounds like it's jammed
@@JayferRattrap what is it that I’m looking for? I’m sorry I have never done that
It’s basically the chain that connects the stopper to the lever. It’s possible something just didn’t slide in right and is jammed which is why it’s not moving.
@@JayferRattrap thank you I'm gonna give it another try 😃
is this the same fix if it doesnt stop the water at all?!
Probably. The stopper isn't going far enough down, which is allowing water to pass through.
Mr. Randrup from Randolph Heights?? Is that you????
Thank you, But my drain is still not draining. Thank I think I have got to raise it.
If it's not clogged, I'd say you are right.
Mine is 36 years old and is wore out at the face plate , so that will be replaced .
After unscrewing the trip lever, I can't pull the drain stopper out. Therefore, I can't make any adjustments.
nuraman00 Sometimes our have to bend the rod slightly to give you enough wiggle room.
If you make a quarter turn should come out. I had the same problem and that got it out.
Just an update on this. The handyman came over. The drain stopper was rusted stuck. He was finally able to pull it out, but the round part broke off. Options were to replace the trip lever system, or just put a blank plate instead of a trip lever and get a new type of drain stopper. I think I will get a new type of drain stopper, a simpler one. Either the push-pull, or toe touch one.
www.thespruce.com/bathtub-drain-stopper-types-2718995
Wow, I've never heard of that happening before. I agree with your choice rather than replacing the entire system. As long as the round stopper is broken off but out of the way of the water flow you should be good to go! Sorry about that happening. I hate when jobs don't go the way they are supposed to.
Thanks for your prompt comments. The handyman was also saying that if I were to replace the trip lever system, he suggested a plastic one this time instead of a metal one. He said plastic wouldn't get rusted like this metal one would. This bath tub only gets used a few days during the year.
Do you have any pros/cons between a push-pull stopper, or a toe touch one? Thanks.
Looks good, but I noticed you pushed the lever UP to block the drain and that the faceplate was installed with the narrow part UP and therefore the faceplate was attached upside down. It works to stop/allow water to flow out of the tub, but I suspect water is leaking down behind the plate and damaging the wall and floor behind.
Christine Quiriy Not really sure what you are referring to. It would look awful funny if you did that because the knock out that acts as an emergency overflow would show if you placed it upside down. You would see the knockout. No matter how you placed it, the trip lever style only works to block the drain if you pull the lever up. As I explain, the connection rod is solid which means as I lift the lever up, the connected stop goes down. As the lever goes down, the drain stop rises. Thanks for watching!
Hmm. I was confused because in the video, when the faceplate is screwed on, it looks to be attached correctly, i.e., with the "knockout" positioned down (at 6 o'clock). However, after you detach it and hold it in your hands to show how moving the lever up and down moves the plunger up and down, the knockout is positioned up; at least that's how it looks to me. I took this to mean that when it was screwed on, the knockout was positioned up, but when I went back and looked at the video, it looks like the faceplate meets the tub at the top.
Gotcha. As I look at the video you are right. The lever system works the same way whether you have it right side up or not and that was the relationship I was trying to describe. Whether or not you attach it right-side-up or upside-down though, the tapered stop would still fit the same way.
If it's 2 low what is the visual identification
The trip lever will not go all the way down or not as far as usual
Will it stop the water or does it still flow through the stopper 4 the overflow drain
Thnx, wanted 2 know all b4 tackling the job. Mine has slight leak.
The tub I grew up with I want to say had a brass chain instead of the linked rods & was very easy 2 remove 4 cleaning, but other than that I couldn't remember what stopper actually looks/looked like.
😎👍🍺!!
i tried to pull the whole assembly out and it left the plug itself in the overflow pipe. now what
Not a heck of a lot you can do now besides removing the whole assembly. You could hook the plug easy enough with something as simple as a string and hook but, if the plug is jammed, you would never be able to get enough force.
thanx for you input on my situation. @@JayferRattrap
Alright, so I’m assuming you can’t access the drain assembly. I would be careful of that cast iron. It gets remarkably brittle as it ages. I redid the bathroom in a 1928 bungalow and ended up replacing all the cast iron because it was so rotted. If your drains are like those, that plunger is probably stronger than your pipes. That is probably where your problem originated meaning old cast iron pipes corroding and the brass plunger probably seating improperly because of it. If you are hell bent on trying to remove it and getting in the wall is not something you want to do, you might try sacrificing a good long screwdriver, making a hook at the end, trying to hook the plunger, attaching a vice grips and giving it a good try that way.
@@JayferRattrap made a slim jim of sorts with a lumber strap..jiggled up and down for 4-5 minutes, reconnected the rod hook and gave it a yank, presto , the drain plug came out . tub is still stopped up so now i know at least it is my wifes long hair now. man i was trying to figure out the plumbing guts to the tub and i stumbled onto your upload here. worlds of help man. i didnt even know the type of drain i had by name till watching your video. you saved me a plumbers call and a lot of bucks i do not have to spend on this. thanx again
Wow! Persistence pays off. Impressive work my friend. Congratulations! I’m really glad you didn’t have to go farther. Now leave that plunger out and take a nice long shower tomorrow!
2:05 😳
Put a cloth in the bath before putting tools into it, you will scratch the bath.
The piece on the bottom that drops into the drain hole on mine broke off and is stuck in there somewhere and clogging the tub. =( Someone help!
My trip lever won't extend fully into the lock position , no matter how long or short I adjust it.
You mean the lever doesn’t go all the way down, up or both?
@@JayferRattrap I solved it. The new counterweight was just a bit wider than the original one. So I just connected the original weight to the new linkage .However, I've noticed that even when using the old weight the lever will not smoothly transition when going between locked and open. It was also like this with the original too.
Michael Maneage it is a pretty archaic device. When you look at about 1:27 of the movie, you will see it is just a spring that keeps the lever in position. Not a very smooth system. However, you might also have some sort of abstraction. Remove the lever and look and feel as far as you can in the hole.