BRAMHAM BATH SHOWER MIXER TAP - STIFF CHANGE-OVER LEVER:

[RONCHAM]

I've got a Bramham bath shower mixer tap - the classic type like the old cradle telephones. It has a lever between the taps which is swung one side or the other to change from bath to shower - this has become incredibly difficult to move. I'm not familiar with the internal mechanism - is this likely to be scale or a defective washer or some other simple cause??. More to the point, is it likely to be easily fixable?!
Any help/advice appreciated.

PS I did see an exploded diagram of a similar mixer and it did look more complicated than I imagined!

 

[Dan Robinson]

Could just be an O-ring slipped out of position.

Could be natural wear and tear on the mechanism.

Different taps have different arrangements.

Take it apart carefully and have a tub of silicone lubricant and an assortment of O-rings on hand for reassembly.

 

[Burnerman]

These things are fairly easy to take apart, so undo the nut that allows the change over lever to be pulled off.
Next undo the boss that holds the change over spindle into the tap body - with this out you'll see a brass disc with an eccentric peg that locates into the change over mechanism. Often enough these pegs break off, in which case you can't change from bath to shower.
If yours is ok the problem will be verdigris between the spindle and the boss so you should gently be able to pull the spindle through, twisting as you go. As said above, proper lube helps a lot - with luck the 'o' rings (2 if I remember) will survive.
John

 

[RONCHAM]

Thanks to you both for the advice.
I notice Burnerman you've been giving good advice for some years and helped a guy some time back with a Screwfix mixer tap ("turn operation not working"). That guy attached photos - one seemed to be the disc with a peg?? You said to prise off a clip below splines to withdraw peg part (although I'm not sure what to then do with it??). Or is that another part? Not sure if that guy resolved his problem - his tap was only 6 months old!!

For the operation you suggested, is there any need to turn off the water supplies (not actually an easy job in my house) or will hot and cold taps turned off be sufficient? Also, have you got a trade name for the silicon lube suggested? Is this its normal purpose?

Regards.

 

[Burnerman]

The central shaft may well have a circlip that is prised off to allow the shaft to withdraw - sorry I just can't remember!
Anyway, no need to turn the water off, just hot and cold turned off at the taps.
As for the lube, spending lots of time in the motor trade I actually use red rubber grease by Granville - not much help to you! Maybe others will be able to help with that one. You may find that polishing the shaft with wire wool could be sufficient, but don't damage any 'o'rings.
Any slight leak here won't be terminal, so don't think you'll have a flood.
John

 

[RONCHAM]

Thanks again.
Not surprised you can't remember, I think it was at the beginning of the year and taps have passed a lot of water since then!

 

[RONCHAM]

Hi again Burnerman (if you happen to see this) - is the brass disc/peg an integral part of the change over mechanism? What I mean is when I undo the nut/boss that holds the change over spindle into the tap body, will the peg also turn? If so, is that a problem? Can I undo boss as the first job to inspect the mixer or does anything else need to be removed before I do that?
Also, is the silicon lube purely for any o-rings or on all moving parts?
Regards.

 

[Burnerman]

Well hello again
The peg that you mention is attached to a brass disc that turns with the change over lever......in fact its this peg that sometimes breaks off. If I remember, the peg locates into a white plastic ball that switches from one water spout to the other, but for the life of me I can't remember what it looks like
The change over lever has a nut holding it on, and behind that is a chrome cover that also unscrews. Getting rid of that allows you to remove the boss that covers the change over mechanism and the brass spindle and peg comes with it.
Please don't think this is gospel, by the way (rusty memory) - but the tap does come to bits without force.
I have a feeling that this tap is a copy of similar Bristan ones, and their own web site does have exploded diagrams thats worth a look.
Use lube on any moving part and you won't go far wrong.
Be lucky!
John

 

[RONCHAM]

Hi - thanks for getting back so quickly with more advice. My dilemma is that if I create an unacceptable leak I'm not in a position just now to quickly rectify it with, perhaps, a new unit if that's what's needed.
I'm good at dismantling things, not so good at re-assembly!

On another topic I had some aggro with the world's smallest component - a grub screw requiring a 1.5mm allen key and securing a motor shaft. I had a quality allen DRIVER which wouldn't budge it but a very cheap well-fitting traditional L-shaped key did the trick (probably because of the small but significant leverage it gave).
Regards.

 

[RONCHAM]

Here's a couple of photos I took tonight.

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• 26 Sep 2012
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[RONCHAM]

A guy you helped before had a Screwfix clone of my tap which I found under "Mixer Turn Operation Not Working"- I assume they're similar internally? He took some great photos as he dismantled it. One of the photos shows the disc and peg attached to the boss unit. I assumed the peg engaged with the internal nylon fitting which is why I thought there might be a problem when the boss unit was unscrewed (and the peg turned?).
Regards.

 

[Burnerman]

Certainly I don't want to get myself into deep water here (pun intended )
The obvious thing to do would be to heave on that brass nut, and undo the insert.
However.....I'm reasonably sure that there is a brass peg on the back of that thing, that engages into whats called a shuttle that lifts within the tap body. When the shuttle is down, the shower works - when it is up the bath filler works. Therefore, we rely on that peg disengaging from the shuttle as the insert is turned but we can't be at all sure this would happen.
If the tap was mine, I'd want to hold the central spindle still whilst the nut is undone......this will leave the pin in place in the shuttle.
Presumably there is a circlip holding the central spindle in place which can be prised off? The central spindle could then be held with pliers as the nut is undone (WD40 would help here).
Worst scenario - the shower / bath filler wouldn't operate as it should, but at least there wont be a flood as the main hot and cold taps control that bit.
At this point, how I wish that others would chip in
John

 

[RONCHAM]

Thanks yet again (I even laughed at your pun!).
Photos here are what the other guy submitted - it seems he removed it with the peg and circlip intact. I don't apear to have a circlip but I suppose I could still hold the spindle regardless.
Never did find out what happened with his mixer although it was only a few months old and still under guarantee.
Regards.

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• RONCHAM
• 27 Sep 2012
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