Moen 1200 One-Handle Kitchen and Bathroom Faucet Cartridge Replacement, Brass

I bought this part in 2011 and had it sitting around for quite a while before changing the cartridge in a shower yesterday. I didnt notice that is replacement for the Moen part. The O-rings on the outside of the part looked loose, but what do I know. I installed the new part and the shower leaked. When I tried to pull the cartridge to look it over, the stem pulled out of the body. I got the body out and saw that one of the O-rings had split in half. So I had a part that didnt work and came apart. The genuine part I bought from the store for a couple of bucks more worked perfectly. Not a well made part.

The pull-out, on/off, hot-cold, knob for the shower in the travel trailer leaked pretty bad. Water conservation is important but especially in a rv/travel trailer when your water supply is limited. The old knob actually pulled off too. During repair, it was determined there was no problem with the knob, but the valve was bad and the retaining clip had broke as well. When using this for your repair make sure your retaining clip is in good condition. It is a separate part, so order it as well if you need it. It is the part that keeps this valve, handle, and everything locked in place, it is a gold U-shaped retaining clip with a little hole in the middle and little protusions on the ends which installs beneath the stop gap (if you search moen retaining clip in Amazon you will see it). I highly recommend this part to repair your fixture instead of simply replacing it, replacing it fixed the leak, and the original part was from 1972. I hope it lasts another 30-40 years. The part is not cheap, but I think it is easier to replace it than to replace the whole fixture, especially in hard to reach places with limited access.

I ordered one of these on November 1st, 2012 to replace a plastic stem in our Moen bathroom sink faucet which kept requiring an o-ring replacement or lubrication. I thought maybe being a Genuine Moen part, and of brass construction the sealing valve surfaces for the moving O-rings would be of higher quality and not need such frequent attention. This sink gets a lot of warm water usage, dozens of cycles on this valve every day. As of February 17, 2013 this stem is already worn out, and presents extreme resistance to pulling the faucet handle. I removed it and carefully pulled the inner stem out and cleaned and lubricated it with FDA approved silicone grease, and re-assembled it. It doesnt leak, but it is still hard to pull and actually squeaks when pushed closed. The sealing o-rings look like new, but since half the O-ring seals in this model are mounted inside the barrel into grooves, instead of having all of them mounted in grooves on the removable stem (stupid design!!) it would be very difficult to try to remove the hidden o-rings and get a new set installed without scratching the brass in the process, which could lead to premature damage of any newly installed o-rings. So I am replacing this piece of junk and going back to the cheap plastic style of stem. At least those CAN be serviced, after which they work very well for several months, until their o-rings wear out and need to be replaced and re-greased. Of course, if Moen could simply make a faucet that did not NEED all this attention, I would not be in this predicament. But at least this lasts longer than the lousy single handle Delta model it replaced.

I purchased this directly from Amazon (not a vendor selling through Amazon) for $22.00. It looks entirely different in appearance than the 2 year old authentic Moen cartridge (purchased from Moen) it replaces. This one is stamped M-O-E-N in big letters on the brass. The packaging is also extremely different than the previous authentic one. Considering that Moen sells their cartridge for $24.00, I hope I have not been duped in buying a Chinese copy.

Arrived on time in good packaging. Product is as described and works just fine.

I replaced this easily enough but within a month it failed and started leaking again, stiff to open and close, etc.. Still fresh in my memory, lets have a look. I went to pull out packing and only the inner stainless shaft came out, the outer brass valve stayed inside housing. The spring steel (outer) C-clip failed. Fortunately Im only out the $25 I paid for this Chinese Moen knock off. Also check your review, whoever monitors this likes to change your 1 star rating 5 stars.

Update: A few days later...After using the 1200 caetrage, o have noticed that if you want to reduce the water pressure by pushing it in some (with it connected to the Moen shower knob) it starts to make a very loud sound that radiates through the metal pipes. The original caetrage did not do this, as id often use about half the water pressure while washing and then would increase it when rinsing, and the original caetrage was quite regardless of how much water you adjusted it to by pulling or pushing it in. But this all brass 1200 makes a lot of noise unless you have it pulled all the way out with no water being restricted. Once you start to push it in some to reduce the water pressure, the sound gets louder and louder. I was thinking that its because the brass of the cartridge is vibrating against the metal valve assembly. So I decided to try the 1225 model cartridge since the outside is plastic. Today I took out the brass 1200 and put in the plastic 1225. That right there solved the problem. Now I can use it and like before and push it in to reduce the water pressure without any resistance noise coming from it or the pipes. So Ill be using the 1225 instead. Just have to see how long it will last. Originally review: The main headache is having to use a cartridge remover to remove the old one. Mine was Ori from when this house was built in 1986, and over the past year its been harder to turn the shower water knob and now it wont entire turn off (water still comes out some). So I had to replace the cartridge. I went with the 1200 model since it was all brass and not any plastic like the 1225. After I got the original one out, it actually had some plastic on it, though it was never replaced. The new 1200 all brass one looked much better quality. Got it installed and tested it out. Now you can adjust the temp knob with one finger it moves so easily. I just hope it last almost 37 years like the original.

So far so good, smooth as butter

Better than plastic cartridge. And no matter what, you HAVE to use OEM Moen made cartridge. Replica after market replacements - dont waste your time!

Excellent product, works great!