Exposing the Home Depot Danco Faucet Repair Kit Scam for Delta

Notice how this says "for Delta" - so it's the ONLY faucet repair kit sold at Home Depot for the Single Ball Faucet. The parts look "the same" but there are subtle differences that make the kit ineffective! I thought it was just me being overly "sensitive" and I should just accept a repair job that was not really repaired. But then I dug deeper!

The Delta seat and springs

The Danco seats and springs - a close facsimile but not close enough!

First of all the main parts that need to be replaced are the "seat" and "springs" - and so here is what others have exposed about the Danco repair kit for Delta:

1)

 For the short style set: Skirt / flair on seat (bottom of seat) too large in diameter and spring too tall for seat to install properly. Had to return and buy OEM Delta part at Lowes (which costs twice as much).

2) 

Last week, I went to a real plumbing supply store and bought OEM Delta seats. I just installed them on all three sinks today, and am hoping for a longer lifespan. Even initially, it's clear that the Delta product is better than the Danco. The rubber is softer. The seats actually drop right into the faucets, unlike the Dancos which require copious wrestling to force them into the holes. The OEM parts cost me a few bucks more - but so far I've spent more on the Danco parts because I have to keep replacing them. If the Deltas last two or three years, they'll ultimately be a better value.

If you have a leaky Delta faucet, you can use these Danco seats in a pinch 

3) 

This is an alternative to a Delta faucet spring set. It really doesn't fit as well as the actual Delta product.

4) 

Agree with other reviewers. You can get the work done, but the leak comes back soon. I kept changing the seats and springs 3 times (with Danco 86968) in a couple of months but it still leaks. Will buy Delta parts from now on.

5) 

These may even work on some Delta faucets but in my case they did not. The spring is slightly higher as is the seal versus the Delta part. So the fit is not proper and within a few days the leak will return due to excessive rubbing/cutting of the seal surface by the bottom of the cartridge. Just buy the Delta part and be done.

6) 

I bought these to fix a slow drip on my Delta shower faucet back in Oct '17, and less than two months later the drip was back. I had replaced the seats and springs on this shower maybe 7 years ago, and I used Delta parts last time. And it worked fine for many years. So I was forced to by the official Delta seats and springs, and noticed a definite difference. When I pulled the Danco seats out one was stuck and not moving at all with the spring, and the other felt really tight. These springs that were only installed for 2 months. The Delta seats and springs felt much looser and moved a lot easier, and the drip is gone again.

7) 

 Only down side was that I needed to reuse the springs for the 2 bushings since the new ones were a little too long.

So the seat and springs by Danco are now PROVEN not to be effective.

Next part in the repair kit to be exposed:

The Danco imitation #70 ball is MISSING A HOLE!!

Someone reports:

The ball was the right size in diameter but the holes were different than the
Delta part. Otherwise all parts seemed to be ok. Had to get a ball from Delta.

2)

 I had to buy TWO of the kits for this project. I bought a Danco Kit for "Delta with # 70 Stainless steel ball" initially because the corresponding Delta Kit on the shelf had been previously purchased, opened, re closed, and returned and I didn't trust that all required parts were still included. After installation of the Danco kit the faucet did not work properly. I went back to Home Depot, crossed my fingers, and bought the previously opened (& still the only) Delta kit in stock. Upon installation I discovered that the rubber flow control (on & off) cups were the wrong size in the Danco kit, even though the Danco kit indicated it was correct for my faucet. Fortunately the Delta kit did in fact contain all the necessary parts for my faucet, and luckily I was able to complete the repair to the faucet with the Delta kit which had been opened. This is not a Delta problem, but a Home Depot issue, which I encounter all the time, and the reason I normally drive an extra 12 miles to get to Lowe's to but this type of item. The faucet now works properly. Dont buy DANCO

 

Notice the REAL or RP70 Delta ball has TWO BIG HOLES (not just one like the fake Danco ball)

 OK onto part 3 of the repair kit:

Oh here is the "other" side of the Ball #70 from Danco - NO big hole! It's missing!

OK onto part 3 of the repair kit:

The Cam!!

Someone reports:

I used this product to repair a delta faucet as there were no delta parts at my local home depot. After repairs the faucet leaked worse than before the repairs. Through trial and error I was able to find that the plastic guide for the ball stick ("V" shaped) was the cause. I put the original delta guide piece back in and the faucet did not leak. The steel ball was ok, the spring set and washer seemed to work, the blasted Danco plastic guide piece was the source of my new leak. I will strive to get the delta parts next time, even if I have to travel to another big box hardware store.

So the actual Delta "cam" aka plastic guide piece - looks like this:

The Danco Cam is actually the "older" version (or attempted version) of a Two Piece cam - with a rubber washer and plastic piece. Point being is that it also does not work.

This is the scam Danco kit with the fake wrong Ball, and fake wrong springs and seals and fake wrong Cam

The real Delta repair kit.

Sometimes the photo will show a "white" cam or two white cams but the actual kit has the newer cam that is gray. And YES the cam part does wear out and so having the correct cam makes a huge difference.