What’s a sear?

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A sear is a lever mechanism found in bathtubs and toilets that allows for easy movement of the plug or stopper to hold or release water. The linkage varies in design, using either springs or a hydraulic approach. Replacement kits can be purchased at hardware or home improvement stores.

A sear is a type of mechanism found in many different bathtub designs. The purpose of the lever is to allow for quick and easy movement of the tub plug. Essentially, the lever works as part of an apparatus that allows the stopper to be opened or closed, allowing water to be held in the tub or water to be flushed down the drain. A similar type of flip lever is also used in many toilets, allowing water to be held in or out of the tank into the fixture bowl.

With both applications of the sear, the device is normally connected to the actual catch via the so-called linkage. Sometimes known as a plunger linkage, this includes any mechanism that causes the catch to move up or down as the sear is switched from one position to another. With a bathtub, the lever is usually located at a convenient level above the drain, making it easy to move the stopper over the drain to hold water, or move the stopper away from the drain spout to release the water once the bath has finished. It is completed.

The exact nature of the link will vary in terms of the type of components used to trigger the desired action. One approach uses a simple design that involves the use of springs to help control the action. With this design, the lever action has the plug either completely out of the drain or completely into the drain. A slightly different mechanism uses a type of hydraulic approach that allows you to adjust the position of the stopper so that the flow of water out of the tub is slower or faster, depending on the desired effect.

As with many mechanical components, the linkage or even the actual sear may require replacement from time to time. Fortunately, kits that include all the parts needed to make the repair can be purchased at a local hardware store or even a home improvement store. Most of these kits will include step-by-step instructions for removing the old lever, retainer, and linkage and replacing them with the new parts. Depending on the type of materials used to manufacture the components, a new lever set can be very inexpensive. Kits that use brass components or other types of decorative metals typically cost a little more than lever mechanisms created with high-quality plastic.




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