Leaking compression connector PEX hose under sink

[TexanLady]

Ok so my very first home has the smallest and most inconvenient faucet ever. So I upgrade to a nice Kohler. I have my husband below the sink and I'm reading directions. Vague to say the least. I am not a manicure/pedicure girl. I'm a handy kinda a gal. I like to work on things and don't mind getting messy in the least. My terminology is layman though, I apologize.

Here's where things went wrong. We had the faucet in, the hot and cold connected (after to trips to Lowes to get the right size connectors). No leaks and center pose was connected. yeah us, right? Then I see this weight thing. Well crud, why didn't it tell me I had to have that put in first? Ugh. So I ask my husband to undo the last step. What I didn't realize was he had just refitted the hot water connection to the faucet lines from the water supply line. When he undid it, I said "not that one". So we try to put it back. Well... it won't sit right anymore.

It leaks. We've used plumber's tape to try to get a better seal but its still leaking. I'm actually thinking its the connector on the water supply. I don't have a photo of the leak itself. That will probably be tomorrow. But I have photos of the two hoses without the compression connector. I think it leaks behind the black part you see below. When we shut off the water and unscrew it the pressure spray comes from the back. Or at least that's how it felt to me.

Question #1: how much trouble am I in? I feel bad enough that if I had just let it go, we'd have a working faucet by now...

Question #2: should we try to replace the connector or the hose?

Question #3: can a plumber cheaply do this as we don't have any of the tools?

and frankly any advice is welcome..

Thank you

 

[Krow]

Any "weight thing" that I have ever installed usually came where you could open it or split it in half and put it on after the hose is connected.Either clipped together or 2 scews to fasten the 2 components.

The plastic nuts are never a good idea for compression fittings. If you over tighten them, they will crack

Its not as bad as it looks.

Assuming the rest of the faucet was installed properly, a plumber would have a small service call to do . 30 minutes tops.(probably a one hour minimum charge)

 

[Sponsor]

 

[hj]

From the two pictures, it appears you need an adapter to connect the two hoses. The red one should have a gasket, or rubber "cone" slipped into it to seal to the adapter. Many companies are going to the one piece weight that you have to install before connecting the spout hose to the faucet. The idea behind it is that the weight can slide which means you can pull the hose out of the faucet further.

 

[Terry]

Connectors with the PEX look to me 1/2" FIP needing a rubber cone washer.
Supplies from the faucet need a 3/8" compression fittings.
You may need a 1/2" MIP by 3/8" compression in between with a cone washer on the 1/2" side.

They make brass fittings that are 1/2" MIP by 3/8" compression. I carry a bag of them in the van.
Or you could use a 1/2" IIP by 3/8" comp stop if you have one handy.​

 

[TexanLady]

Well $100 later..

It just needed some plumbers bonding stuff.. then it worked fine.

The plumber nearly kinked a hose but with the pressure of the water on it seems to be fine.

I just needed more 'stuff'

 

[hj]

I cannot imagine what kind of "plumber's bonding stuff" he would have used on those connections because NEITHER one depends on the thread to be leakproof.

 

[Jimbo]

Well $100 later..

It just needed some plumbers bonding stuff.. then it worked fine.

The plumber nearly kinked a hose but with the pressure of the water on it seems to be fine.

I just needed more 'stuff'

Nothing in any of those fitting needs or should have any kind of "bonding stuff" involved, including teflon tape , putty, or pipe joint compound. You have at best a 50/50 chance that a leak, possibly a big one, won't occur within a month.