Can we talk about those cheap cam locks that snap on installation day?

I had a full kitchen job in Portland where 8 of those cheap cam locks snapped right when I tightened them, leaving me scrambling to find replacements on a Saturday. Turns out the batch I ordered from a discount supplier had visible cracks in the plastic housing. Has anyone found a brand of cam locks that actually holds up without going bankrupt?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkerh3823d ago

Dude, yes. Same thing happened to me on a bathroom vanity job last spring. Had a whole box of those cheap ones from an online wholesaler, and three of them literally crumbled when I went to tighten them down. The plastic was so thin you could see light through it. Ended up using some old ones I had kicking around from a different project, but it totally killed my whole afternoon. I will never buy those bulk pack mystery brands again, learned that lesson hard.

wesley_thompson22d ago

And what gets me is nobody talks about how the cheap plastic ones can actually mess up the finish on your drain flange. I had one of those crumbly ones that basically fused itself to the metal ring and left this weird white residue ring around the pop-up assembly. Took me forever with a toothbrush and some polish to get it off without scratching the chrome. So it's not just a matter of them breaking, it's the cleanup and possible damage to parts that cost way more than a few cents per washer.