TOM'S TECH TIPS
LAVATORY CARTRIDGES
Your customer Mr. Jones calls to tell you that his Grohe wideset faucet is dripping, and he needs a new cartridge. You ask, "Hot-side or cold-side?" Mr. Jones, of course, doesn't know. You can sell him both – but you can save him money and time by helping him decide which cartridge to buy.
Ask him to turn off the hot-side angle-stop under the sink. If the faucet stops dripping, then you know he needs a hot side cartridge. If the faucet continues to drip, have him turn off the cold-side angle-stop under the sink. If the faucet stops dripping, then you know he needs a cold-side cartridge.
Next, ask him how far the handle rotates from off to fully on. If he says 1/4 turn, then you know it's a ceramic cartridge. If he says that it is more than a complete rotation, then you know that he has an older compression cartridge.
Right-close or left close?
There are two function types of Grohe cartridge: "right-close" or "left-close." This refers to the direction the handle is turned to the off position, looking from above.
If he has a ceramic cartridge, you need to know if that's a right-close or a left-close cartridge. You can memorize that hot-side = right-close (part # 45882), and cold-side = left close (part # 45883), or you can picture looking down at the top of the lever handle. To turn off, the hot-side lever turns away from the spout and toward that wall, rotating clockwise or to the right. The cold-side lever turns away from the spout and toward that wall, rotating counter-clockwise or to the left.
If Mr. Jones has a compression cartridge, you need to advise him that these have been discontinued, due to the California AB-1953 Lead Law, and that he'll need to upgrade to ceramic cartridges. His older compression cartridges would be both right-close (close by turning clockwise looking down at the top of the cartridge). He will probably be more comfortable if the handles turned the same direction as formerly, so you should probably replace both old cartridges with 45882 right-close ceramic cartridges.
Apply what you learned: Mr. Jones doesn't remember the name of his Grohe faucet, but he told you that it turns on with a 1/4 turn. You then jointly determine that it's the cold side cartridge. What part number do you order for him?