Brown water from new tub faucet


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Old 12-26-05, 12:19 AM
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Brown water from new tub faucet

I'm sure I've read about this before, but I don't remember what this means or what the corrective action is, so someone please refresh my memory so I can take care of this, if necessary, before I enclose the new tub with my tiled tub surround.

I've installed a new bathroom with a whirlpool tub in our new master bedroom. I ran new hot and cold 3/4" copper supply lines into our addition to supply the whirlpool tub, then a pedestal sink, then a shower stall, in that order. Water comes out clean for the pedestal sink and shower stall, which are after the tub in the sequence of where things go by...

I'm getting brown water coming out of the spout whether I run hot or cold. It seems like it's gotten less brown, but it's still there after a few months of being hooked up. The longer it sits unused, the more concentrated the brown is, and if I use the cold every day but not use the hot for longer, the cold will stay lighter brown while the hot will get darker. (We use the cold to refill a room humidifier)

It's kinda annoying too... Before filling the tub, I'll run the water to get it to come out clear before closing the drain to fill the tub, and when we're done using the tub it will look clear, but leave a brown ring on the tub. I guess I thought maybe it was from overfluxing the bejesus out of a joint or 2 and it would go away, but it doesn't seem that it's totally gone away and I want to know if there's something I should do before I make it harder to access

(The plan was to get this done before my son was born, which was supposed to happen in November.. He decided to change our plans by coming out 2 months early, and ever since my weekdays have yielded no progress on my projects, and weekends have been as productive as weekdays once were at best!)
 
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Old 12-26-05, 05:39 AM
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Oh bloody hell, maybe if I describe it you'll see how I might be answering my own question:

From the soldered copper pipes, I have a copper threaded fitting soldered to the end.

Over this, I wrapped my usual 2 layers of teflon tape.

And here is what surely is the source of the problem: To attach to the male threaded fitting, I have used a cast iron union fitting.

This attaches to the faucet.

So, in case anyone can tell me what I should use between a 3/4" male brass threaded fitting on the faucet and the 3/4" male copper threaded fitting on the end of my supply line, I'd be greatful...

Do I need a dielectric fitting, or are copper and brass compatible and it doesn't matter if I use a copper or brass fitting? I'm guessing the latter since brass has copper in it.
 
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Old 12-26-05, 07:24 AM
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bRASS TO COPPER

The iron that you have in the hook-up is the problem, switch to brass and you should solve it. You don't need a dielectric fitting. Lots of luck.
 
 

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