“I would NOT have been able to get the old Cartridge out without the included little plastic helper piece.Just put it on and with channel locks or vice grips, try to rock it back/forth in place. I kept doing that then pulled while going back/forth a tad. It took a hot minute but I got it! Grateful for that piece & avoided spending $15 at plumbingsupplyandmore for a metal puller. No leaks with the new Cartridge!”
“For a dripping or hard-to-turn shower/tub faucet, replacing the existing cartridge with one of these is the absolute best first step. The instructional video parked here on plumbingsupplyandmore is clear and precise. Couldn't be easier. Good luck to all the DIY'ers out there with your projects.”
“Same valve that came with our original shower. Old one was a bit tough to remove. Get a remover tool if you have hard water or the unit has been installed for 9 years like mine was. Be sure to use the lubricants that come with the new one. Install was super easy.”
“I have a shower that was dripping. I ordered this replacement cartridge to make the repair. Getting the old cartridge out was a damaged some how. but i didn't have hard time to remove damage cartridge, , After getting the old one out, installing a new cartridge was easy and everything works great. No more dripping! and half of the price then plumbingsupplyandmore or lowe's”
“First of all, I should have changed the old one at the first signs of it going bad. The white lime deposits or whatever you want to call it is what causes the problem. You will notice the black side rubber pieces, when you try to remove the old cartridge, they can get stuck in the internal slots inside as you're pulling it out. Once that happens you're going to have a very hard time getting it out. In the long run my old one snapped in half. I had to break it out in small pieces being careful not to scar up the inside of the housing.All that said, I didn't have a cartridge puller. They sell an all brass 1222 replacement cartridge claiming it will last longer. First of all the plastic housing of my old cartridge didn't fail. Those rubber inserts started to catch in the internal slots. It actually stopped turning when I tried to get out of the shower leaving me standing ice water to get it stopped. Since my old cartridge was plastic I was eventually able to break it apart. If it was the brass cartridge it would still be in there with the rubber pieces folded over making it impossible to remove. There is not enough clearance for it to come out if the rubber gets doubled over. Even with a puller. The brass cartridge sounds like a great idea. But not if it gets really stuck like mine did. You can not break it into little pieces to remove it. You'll have to buy an entire new cartridge housing. About $100Now if I wanted to use the brass cartridge you would have to change it at the very first sign of trouble. I don't know if they sell just the black side rubber pieces so you could change them. But if they don't you're going to have to buy a cheap plastic cartridge just to get them. So what did you save?I will just keep on using the plastic cartridges. Keeping an eye out for the first signs of failure. My new plastic one works as smooth as hot butter. I'll be buying a cartridge puller. And a spare plastic cartridge. I won't be waiting until I can't turn it off to swap it out. I should have changed it a year or two ago. Especially now that I see how it works and how it can fail. Plus it's a pretty easy fix. If you don't have to destroy the old cartridge to remove it.One more thing as mentioned in another review, buy some silicon lube and coat it real good when you install it. And maybe as a preventive measure, pull it out once in a while and lube it up again. 3 Phillips screws, one Allen screw and the retainer clip. Pull it out check the condition of the rubber side pieces and smear it up, and put it back in. Very simple job if you do it before it turns into a nightmare.”
