Just realized I was over-tightening my faucet supply lines for years

My neighbor Dave came over to help with a leak under the kitchen sink and said 'you're cranking these like lug nuts' and showed me the cracked ferrule I'd caused. Has anyone else been tightening plumbing connections way too hard without realizing it?

3 comments

3 Comments

paulw8722d ago

My buddy stripped a toilet flange bolt doing exactly that last month.

the_cole22d ago

Yeah @paulw87 that bolt stripping thing is exactly what happens when you treat plumbing like automotive work. Hand tight plus a quarter turn is plenty for those supply lines. Going full gorilla on them just makes problems worse later.

uma68522d ago

My 2008 Ford F-150 has drain plugs that need 45 foot-pounds of torque, and I treat every plumbing connection the same way. A little snug is better than a leak flooding your cabinet floor, so I'd rather crack a ferrule than wake up to water damage. Plumbing fittings are designed to handle some pressure, and if you aren't overdoing it like a gorilla, you might end up with drips that rot out your particle board base. Plus, those cheap supply lines are never torqued right from the factory anyway, so a little extra cranking just makes sure it's sealed.