How to unscrew a broken eccentric on a faucet

Eccentrics on faucets, especially those installed on a hot water supply pipe, can burst due to temperature or pressure changes. As a result, a stream flows out of them like a fountain, so the problem requires an urgent solution. The whole difficulty is that a cracked eccentric often breaks off, so it is difficult to unscrew and change it. So what to do if it breaks?

Tools and materials:

• new eccentrics;
  
• fum tape;
  
• adjustable wrenches;
  
• flat screwdriver;
  
• hammer;
  
• narrow hacksaw for metal.

Replacing the eccentric

Before replacing the eccentric, you need to turn off the water and remove the mixer. You should act carefully so as not to scratch the nuts with the wrench. Ideally, wrap the jaws of the key with electrical tape or masking tape, then there will definitely be no scratches.
You should try to unscrew the eccentric with a crack counterclockwise with an adjustable wrench. In this case, you should try to grab it as close to the water outlet as possible.

If the crack still turns out to be serious and the eccentric is broken, then you can, by placing a screwdriver against the protruding fragments, gently hit the hammer in a counterclockwise direction to unscrew it.Usually a cracked eccentric is made of silumin, not brass, so it is so fragile that it is not always possible to unscrew it even in this way.
If a screwdriver and hammer fail, then a hacksaw blade is guaranteed to help. It is inserted inside the broken eccentric, after which it needs to be sawed through to the water socket, being careful not to catch its thread.



After making the cut, you can again try to knock out the eccentric with a screwdriver and hammer, or simply crumble it into pieces. After removal in this way, you will need to supply water to rinse the water outlet and pipes from the fragments that have fallen inside.



Next, a new eccentric is taken and fum tape is wound around its thread clockwise. After that, it is wrapped in a water socket and adjusted to the width of the mixer. If the second eccentric turns out to be longer or shorter than the new one, then it will also have to be changed.

The mixer itself, if the sealing silicone washers are in normal condition, can be installed back on the eccentrics without fumigation. If they crack or lose elasticity, then the tape must be wound.
Before supplying water, you need to open the tap on the mixer to avoid water hammer on the valve axle. Once the air has been bled from the system and there is a calm flow, the mixer can be turned off to check for leaks.
If you have a broken eccentric, you will have to tinker, but you can still change it without damaging the water socket. Of course, when replacing, you need to install not a silumin, but a brass eccentric, then this problem will not arise again.

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