On 2010-11-08, Adam Funk wrote:

I have a Bristian 1901 kitchen mixer tap, which contains two rising
spindle taps. The cold one was leaking between the spindle and the
gland nut, so I opened it up and (stupidly --- yes, I know) scraped
out the plastic seal, then went to the plumbing shop to look for a
replacement. It turns out that you can't get them now because Bristan
changed suppliers for the internal parts about 5 or so years ago., so
I've been trying to repack the seal the old fashioned way, with
plumbing hemp. So far, I haven't been able to get a satisfactory,
lasting result.

Every time I try this, I end up a while later with some problem: the
hemp leaks out between the spindle and the gland nut; water leaks out
through the same gap; or the gland nut rotates with the spindle. I've
tried plain hemp and (now) hemp rubbed with petroleum jelly, and I've
paid attention to the direction of winding.

If anyone has succeeded in this, I would appreciate any tips.


I just realized my tap has been "stable" for a while --- thanks to the
people who replied --- and I ought to summarize what seemed to work
for me:

- letting the hemp settle in, opening the gland nut, packing
in more hemp, and tightening it back, several times;

- twisting the hemp into a thicker little "rope" so it couldn't ooze
out as easily between the gland nut and the spindle;

- getting some bits of hemp caught in the threads so the nut doesn't
work loose again.

(Thanks again for the advice.)