Leak between faucet and base.

[Burner1515]

Hello!

I have a moen adler Ca87681 I got for a good price to replace a leaky moen single handle sink. The old sink was dripping and the center o ring was bad (probably) causing a leak each time it was used. It also had a slow drip. The water would drip down bekow the sink as well. This faucet was of a heavier weight and came with my house. I replaced it recently with the Ca87681 that is lighter.

All seemed fine with no leaks or drips when I poured water around the sink base. Recently there was a drip below the sink again. It only came from the center hole. I poured water and was able to duplicate it. I could not force extra putty to fill any gap I must have missed. I used a caulk around it and after fully curing i had the same issue. I pin pointed it down to the area where the faucet meets the base. There is a small gap here water is flowing through freely only if it gets wet.

Is this normal? I am thinking the original just had the same issue and it was also a moen. Could it be the pur filter weighing the faucet down so much I am damaging a o ring in that area? If it could is there a different faucet type I should look for to avoid this issue with my pur filter? When I placed on the filter its weight made the base go down in the front and up in the back slightly making it not level. It seemed to swing fine still and leak persists if I drop water there with the filter off and it goes back to being level.

Here is a picture of the area. Where the two flashes meet and are broken by the gap is what I am talking about.

edit to add pictures. It seems the weight of the nozzle is good the unit as a whole was just lighter than the previous. Anyway I saw youtube videos and it looked like there should be no gaps. I unscrewed the top and took the nozzle off. There is a plastic grey peice with a crack in it by design. There is one at the top as well where the cap screws on. It appears the metal housing is off center and may be the cause for the leak. I can still return this unit until august 20th so I probably will abd try another brand. Thoughts and comments appreciated. I was thinking of adding plumbers putty here but I think its poor it leaks here in the first place when wet. The black foam they put below tge spray nozzle had no gaps and required no putty. The foam for the faucet base had a gap and I thought that was shoddy since the install instructions did not note to use putty. I of corse used putty on the actual edge ehere the foam was much deeper inside the base away from the edge.

 

[Burner1515]

I think will be returning this. It seems crazy it is normal by their design to me to leak here. This was the response I got.

'Thank you for your interest and support of Moen products.

Do you know if any sealant or plumbers putty was used under the faucet in that area when it was installed?

The faucet is designed to be water resistant around those gaps but not water tight. Sealant or plumbers putty is often used to keep additional water from getting under a faucet.'

I did not seal there because they put a big black foam 1 inch in from around the edge. I sealed the edge. Inside the edge it is raised up and would require a high height of plumbers putty that i am not sure would get sqeezed down fully to form a seal if I tried to seal around the hole. Even if I did water would get trapped and probably get moldy over time just sitting there. Maybe I am just asking too much and thats how its supposed to be.

I am looking at these deltas and they come with a gasket and plate. The plate has a raised lip in the center that would stop gravity from dripping the water down at least. I liked tge life time guarentee of the moen but two model had the same issue it seems and its by their design.

Edit Well I decided it would not hurt since I want to return anyway to put plumbers in the gap ubder tge plastic. Its not leaking down anymore. Still thinking of returning. I dont think my solution is proper and with the movement back and forth will move the putty a bit each time until it breaks the seal. The plastic is between the two though. I am also concerned since i touched the washers a bit i took the grease off. I know I can put more on. I am still concerned about that center metal being skewed to the left rather than center.

Any opinions? If it is good to go like this per experts I will feel better and may keep and just grease a bit as well as register for their lifetime guarentee.