How to remove stripped seats
How to remove stripped seats
How to remove stripped seats with the Zip Seat Extractor
One of the most common issues we run into when attempting to replace the seats in the Symmons TempTrol Tub / Shower Valves are “STRIPPED SEATS”.
This is typically the result of previous attempts to remove the seats (especially the larger Cold Seat in the front) with the inconsistently fitting hand tools traditionally available to perform this task. Inside these round seats are notches or receivers which allows a tool to insert into the notches, engage, and lock in to unscrew the seat out. A “stripped seat” means these notches have been worn away so there’s nothing for the tool to grab and lock into.
The traditional hand tools are made offshore with cheap steel which allows their edges the get rounded. The seats are made out of soft brass. This makes it easy to strip the notches out, rounding the inside of the seat and stripping the seat.
In many cases, the seats can no longer be removed and the valve will need to be replaced. As a result, repairing a simple leaky faucet has often become an expensive project, sometimes requiring the shower wall to be opened in order to replace the valve.
That means the wall needs to be repaired too, and you may be without a shower for a few days while these repairs take place.
UNTIL NOW
The Zip Seat Extractor has successfully removed these stripped seats 100% of the time to date. That means no expensive valve replacement or shower wall repair.
Unlike the hand tools, the Zip Seat Extractor is made with hardened steel. It’s stronger than the brass seats so it can “bite” into the brass effectively for the user to unscrew them. The Zip Seat Extractor is made with the tightest tolerances and sharpest edges possible.
For this reason, the Zip Seat Extractor can make its own notches in the soft brass seats.
STEP 1
Try both the Classic Bit (square oriented) and the Evolve Bit (hex oriented) in the seat by hand and spin each one to see if either one will feel like it can catch a remaining notch in the seat.
STEP 2
For partially Stripped Seats
If one seems to fit better than the other, tap it in with a hammer until it feels LOCKED IN. Then insert your 18V impact gun, put it on reverse, and lean into the valve while pulling the trigger. Start slow and gradually build to full power until it breaks free.
STEP 3
For completely Stripped Seats
If neither Bit wants to grab, we recommend using the Classic (square) Bit. The square bit has the sharpest edges and will be the easiest to sink into the soft brass stripped seat.
Tap it in with a hammer until it feels LOCKED IN. Then insert your 18V impact gun, put it on reverse, and lean into the valve while pulling the trigger. Start slow and gradually build to full power until it breaks free.
If at any point you feel the bit spinning freely in the valve… STOP. You may be stripping it worse. The bit needs to be tapped in better and you need to put more leverage into the valve while letting the impact gun break it free.
It’s all basic physics.
Harden steel will win over soft brass every single time. It will easily sink into the seat making its own notches. Be careful. You don’t need to smash it in. Just tap it in with discretion.
When holding your impact gun, apply leverage into the valve to help prevent it from skipping and stripping. (Lean into it a little.)
The action of the impact gun will promote the bit to dig into the soft brass seat with short bursts of intense torque, grabbing the stripped frozen sea, and ultimately breaking it free.
Like with any tool, the action and success are based on the discretion, finesse and mechanical ability of the user. This tool is the best chance anyone has to remove frozen seats, as well as strip seats when proper procedure is taken.
To date, we have had 100% success in removing frozen and stripped seats out of every single valve tested.