shower mixer bars on ebay

shrike · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:11 pm Post Subject: shower mixer bars on ebay

I have seen fairly cheap e.g £30, thermostatic shower mixer bars on ebay, claimed to be german, italian manufactured some even with 5 yr guarantee

Anyone know if these are any good? or is it advised to stick with well known brands?

Wickes are also selling some with a riser kit for around £60.

What would you clever people recommend?

Bahco · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:24 pm Post Subject:

Ebay = CAVEAT EMPTOR

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kevplumb · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:34 pm Post Subject:

Quote:

claimed to be german, italian manufactured some even with 5 yr guarantee

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Softus · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:42 pm Post Subject:

Ya gets what ya pays for.

shrike · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:16 pm Post Subject:

if there is a difference in quality can you explain what is different between a cheaper and more expensive one.

And what is more likely to fail in a 'cheaper' one, is it the thermostat part? To a lay person, it seems the internals aren't that complicated so just wondering what would go wrong in one of them.

The ones I have seen are sold by plumbers merchants on ebay.

I have a traditional thermostatic mixer, i replaced the ceramic cartridge once a few years ago and its been fine since but I would like to replace it with a modern style bar mixer.

Any particular brand more reliable than another?

cheers

gas4you · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:25 pm Post Subject:

Stick to main brands that are sold by the major plumbers merchants. These cheap foriegn c*** may work for a while but wait till you try to get spares. More often than not they will probably have 'unique'fittings that are almost impossible to source here

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Softus · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 5:43 pm Post Subject:

shrike wrote:

if there is a difference in quality can you explain what is different between a cheaper and more expensive one.

Could you define the difference between a Ford and a Mercedes?

It's the same as with any engineered product.

Care taken during design? Time spent on refining components and toolmaking? Smaller manufacturing tolerances that increase reliability? More testing to discover design flaws? Quality control and sampling of components to discover manufacturing flaws?

Quote:

The ones I have seen are sold by plumbers merchants on ebay.

To be picky, I doubt that many plumbers' merchants use eBay, but in any case you're better off using a local company.

Quote:

...I would like to replace it with a modern style bar mixer.

Any particular brand more reliable than another?

Personally I'd buy an Aqualisa valve, but, as I said before, you get what you pay for. You should expect a minimum of a 5-year manufacturer's warranty.