Any plumbers around?

[Flying Torquewrench]

I could do with some help with a dripping tap. Our elderly neighbour has a dripping tap that has ceramic disk valves.

Initially I changed the cold water disk valve but the drip continues. To change the hot water disk valve the whole hot water system has to be drained as there are no valves between the hot water tank and the tap!

Today I drained the hot water system and replaced the valve. All the mating sufaces are clean but I just had a message saying that the tap still drips.

As far as I am aware it can only be one (or both) of the disk valves as there is nothing else to the tap.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. :bow

 

[terranosaurusdoug]

I could do with some help with a dripping tap. Our elderly neighbour has a dripping tap that has ceramic disk valves.

Initially I changed the cold water disk valve but the drip continues. To change the hot water disk valve the whole hot water system has to be drained as there are no valves between the hot water tank and the tap!

Today I drained the hot water system and replaced the valve. All the mating sufaces are clean but I just had a message saying that the tap still drips.

As far as I am aware it can only be one (or both) of the disk valves as there is nothing else to the tap.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated. :bow

Did you strip them down and replace just the disks or did you change the complete cartridge?

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

Changed the complete cartridge. Her son order them online and I swapped them over. Measurements for the cartridges were the same so it should have been a straight forward swap.

 

[panelbeater]

dripping nightmare then.might have been easier to chang to new tap.not costly nowadays.hope you sort it.i put a ceramic tap in my kitchen years ago and i think its getting tighter to turn on and off.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

I went over today and put some food grade silicone sealant on the bottom o-ring. Where the valve body meets the tap, so far it seems to have done the trick.

If it starts leaking again then the tap will be replaced.

We have the same issue with the mixer tap in on our bath. When we bought the house it was slowly dripping and the cartridge was replaced. Unfortunately it didn’t stop the dripping. It has now got some strategically placed silicone sealant and the dripping has stopped, just means that we can’t use the tap. If we use the tap it starts dripping again. To replace the tap the side panel of the bath has to be removed and that is tiled. For the time being we live with not using the tap on the bath.

 

[panelbeater]

i have never seen inside one but wonders what causes them to drip even after a new parts fitted.could it be a fine scale build up on discs,wonder if soaking in vinarger might clean them.

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

On the caravan taps, which use ceramic inserts, the one in the loo started dripping, so I replaced the cartridge at phenomenal cost ( it's a mixer tap), only for it to continue dripping. Eventually, it turned out that the seat at the bottom, where the cartridge seals down with a rubber O ring, was damaged. In the caravans case, it had frozen over the winter, as I forgot to blow it through when I was winterising it and had split the plastic seat. I ended up putting silicon in place of the seal, can't replace the cartridge again, but in the caravan, it should outlast the van...

If you are in a high lime scale area, maybe its got some scale built up on the seat, so the seal is not working.

Basically, the water is puahing up past the outside of the cartridge, so the actual cartridge can not stop the flow.

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[Flying Torquewrench]

Thank you :thumb2:thumb2

The tap at my neighbours house is still fine so that is good.

Will take our own tap apart again and see if the seat is damaged. The ceramic cartridges are not cheap at all!

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

Thank you :thumb2:thumb2

The tap at my neighbours house is still fine so that is good.

Will take our own tap apart again and see if the seat is damaged. The ceramic cartridges are not cheap at all!

Stick the word caravan in front, or Carver/Truma/Whale, and the price rockets... Luckily, I did find that there was a normal non caravan one, it just took a bit of digging. The price fell from £36 to £15!!

 

[macabethiel]

My recent experience

Our kitchen mixer tap started dripping just before the lock down, bought a pair of tap revivers and it was worse even though they were the right size.

After some difficulty getting the Bristan tap I liked - its the new Easyfit type so if I need to replace it in the future its a doddle to fit a new Bristan replacement as they have a clever fitting. The Easyfit base unit has had a couple of modifications since it was first introduced a few years ago and they are a neat idea.

Oddly enough the Hot tap part of the mixer that is low pressure side was worse than the cold side - it also developed a leak on the swivel. Luckily the isolator valves were ok.

I have been told that the main reason they develop leaks is due to grit wearing the disc surface. There has been a lot of work on our mains supply pipes in the area resulting in lots of muddy water over many months by STWA.

We used to have a cold water mains feed filter & pressure regulator but it fell apart internally after 20 years and was not replaced - wish I had now but they are quite expensive.

 

[Flying Torquewrench]

The cartridge for our mixer tap was around £35 from Bristan. You can get the same cartridge from Screwfix for £4.95 :nenau

When lockdown is over I need to find some matching tile and replace the bath mixer tap. Our bathroom is in a part of the house that is 260 years old and everything is curved or out of square. Don’t really fancy tiling the whole bathroom just to replace a tap!

Never heard of the Bristan Easyfit. Certainly worth looking into in case of future problems. However I also wonder if a tiled bath surround is the way forward as for any problem it all has to come off. I may have to make a panel that I can remove and gives access to the vitals.

 

[macabethiel]

Bristan Video on U tube

The cartridge for our mixer tap was around £35 from Bristan. You can get the same cartridge from Screwfix for £4.95 :nenau

When lockdown is over I need to find some matching tile and replace the bath mixer tap. Our bathroom is in a part of the house that is 260 years old and everything is curved or out of square. Don’t really fancy tiling the whole bathroom just to replace a tap!

Never heard of the Bristan Easyfit. Certainly worth looking into in case of future problems. However I also wonder if a tiled bath surround is the way forward as for any problem it all has to come off. I may have to make a panel that I can remove and gives access to the vitals.

This is a video showing how it works earlier versions had problems with blow off but they improved the way it fixes so I went for it. Our old tap was a cheap one fitted by contractor - I do like Bristan & Screwfix & others do some decent discounts. Ours came with decent length tails & isolation valves in the box supplied.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym4pKPwmZfc

 

[solarman216]

Ceramic disc, over rated rubbish, give me screw down any time for long life and reliability, plumber with over 40 years in the plumbing trade among others, Rick

 

[panelbeater]

nice clear vid on taps.

 

[macabethiel]

Ceramic V Screw Down

Ceramic disc, over rated rubbish, give me screw down any time for long life and reliability, plumber with over 40 years in the plumbing trade among others, Rick

In terms of longevity especially with better tap washer materials you are absolutely right Rick.

It's just that 1/4 turn taps that you can push with your elbow is some cases are just so easy to operate especially for older folk with arthritis and thin skin they make life just a tad easier.

My biggest issue with modernity is getting the foil top off some Milk containers - the pull off tab is just too small dam it.

 

[solarman216]

Lever screw down are readily available, and yes getting into some packaging can be a right problem, Rick

 

[Lazy-Ferret]

In terms of longevity especially with better tap washer materials you are absolutely right Rick.



It's just that 1/4 turn taps that you can push with your elbow is some cases are just so easy to operate especially for older folk with arthritis and thin skin they make life just a tad easier.



My biggest issue with modernity is getting the foil top off some Milk containers - the pull off tab is just too small dam it.

We get Lactofree milk for the ferrets, and trying to open some of them is a farce. You can't get your finger through the loop, if you use a spoon handle, it breaks the loop. Once the loop is broken, it's down to pliers. On top of that, if you do get to pull it open, you are holding the cartoon so tight, you squash it and get milk every where..


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[macabethiel]

Modern packaging seals.

We get Lactofree milk for the ferrets, and trying to open some of them is a farce. You can't get your finger through the loop, if you use a spoon handle, it breaks the loop. Once the loop is broken, it's down to pliers. On top of that, if you do get to pull it open, you are holding the cartoon so tight, you squash it and get milk every where..


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You have painted a great verbal picture there I'm sure most of us have done that.

I tried to open a can of soup a few months back - it had a pull ring top - yes the ring snapped off when I used a teaspoon as a lever but just enough of a hole to eject some Tomato soup on my T shirt & shoes. I even noticed ten minutes later that my finger was bleeding as well.