[TiaJitsu]

Well, I'm new to all this. we just bought our house about 6 months ago. And i just had the displeasure of dealing with Moen for the first time. Our shower temp selection handle completely broke off with part of the moen cartridge stuck in it. We managed to get that out so we could find a part number, bought the part for $35, and the cartridge puller for 30. So $70 bucks when all was said and done, we could have bought a whole new shower kit for that, i discovered later. Got home and couldn't use the puller bc the part it threads on to was broken off. We managed to twist it once with the plastic piece the part came with, which took 2 of us about 25 minutes. It still wouldn't come out, it was hopelessly stuck and we had no way of pulling on it, twisting wasn't doing anything but breaking the plastic. I finally thought to use a couple of self tapping screws and screw them in to the plastic of the cartridge to give us something to pull on which helped considerably, no way it'd have come out without that. It still took 3 of us another 45 minutes to get it out. The seals were totally stuck and ripped on the way out.
I had a little hope when the employee at home Depot told me that moen had a lifetime warranty, and since my moen kitchen faucet has been leaking like a sieve, I figured I'd give them a call. They first informed me that we weren't covered by their warranty because we aren't the original buyers, and that the parts for my sink would be another $46. And they could get them to me in 2 weeks! So I asked if the new parts we were buying and had recently bought would be covered by that awesome lifetime warranty? Nope, because we didn't buy the original assembly in the first place, these are just considered replacement parts and "you'll always have to pay to replace the parts that break" this house was just built in 2005 and I've had 2 moen parts go out so far. When we remodel, I'm not going for moen, that's for sure.

 

[plummen]

Was it a plastic or brass cartridge?
Once you remove the c-clip that holds the cartridge in put the puller on there and see if you can get the outer shell of cartridge to spin.
Then lock down on whats left of the brass pull out where handle goes with a pair of vise grips and give it a yank to see if the cartridge will come out.
If the cartridge comes out problem solved,If not move on to plan b.
If the center comes out of cartridge leaving the shell get a piece of 1/4" copper about an 1" long and stick it in where the stem came out.
Then screw a 1/2" pipe tap into the shell of cartridge,as it bottems out against the piece of tubing in will push the shell out.
Make sure to clean the valve out really good and lube the new cartridge before reinstalling.
No brand of faucet has a perfect record,**** happens sometimes as they say.
As far as warrantee parts I still have a moen rep I deal with that sends me free parts anytime I need them.

 

[TiaJitsu]

It was a plastic cartridge and there was no metal anywhere to grab on to because it was broken off. but we did eventually get it out with the self tapers to pull on. anyway, Moen has a chance with me yet, i complained and they're sending me the sink parts free and giving me 15% off my next order

 

[plummen]

Usually the plastic versions don't get stuck,unless it was a cheap non moen cartridge.

 

[Bob Sanders]

hands down, no contest!!

Moen is great because, if you experience a leaky cartridge, ANY hardware store carries a FREE replacement. Their quality surpasses delta and pfister- (whatever, silly name and owned by black and decker). Moen has been building quality products for a very long time.

It's no different for delta

Oh wow... just noticed... 4 year old thread.

 

[Timdan03]

I thought this was an entertaining read....

Because this is a "DIY chat room" I assume that most people reading this will be purchasing and installing the faucets themselves. With that said I have purchased (at Lowes/Menards/HD) and installed 3 bathroom faucets, 2 shower/tub faucets and 2 kitchen faucets. Here are my opinions.....

The first faucet was a Pfister, I didn't care for the first one however it was a rental home so I went for the cheapest. It did feel cheap, however no leaks or issues in the past 8 years.

The second Pfister was only purchased because it was THE ONLY oil rubbed bronze wide spread sink faucet in town. No issues in the past 2 years.

The third sink faucet and matching shower set was a moen. I accidentally threw out the sink stopper and they sent me a new one free of charge with no questions asked. I do have an issue with the shower set. The screws that were provided to screw the escutcheon on to the actual brass diverter did not thread correctly. I stripped both screws trying to get them on and had to use pliers to back them out. They also sent me two new screws free of charge, unfortunately the same exact thing happened! I have now given up and my escutcheon plate is just being held on by the shower handle. Not too happy!

We recently replaced our kitchen faucet with a delta pull out single spout and handle and we love it. My mom also loved it and went out and bought herself one like ours, except she bought a moen and had me install it. I noticed a huge difference in quality between the two, the moen feels very plasticy while our delta feels solid and made of metal. Also the counter weight on the Delta is brass while the counterweight on her moen is plastic (not much weight to it). Also our Delta easily "sucks" back into its home while the Moen doesn't seem to go back in as smoothly and you almost have to push it back together each time (probably to do with the counterweight).

With all that said we just went out and bought a Delta sink and shower/tub set for our new bathroom we are adding in the basement.