Leaking mixer tap

[JibT]

Please can anyone recognise my leaking tap so I can Google it, or could someone tell me how to fix it?

Tried using grips (two grips on one tap) and twisting in opposite directions but no good.

Tried using a single grip to turn the entire tap clockwise and anti-clockwise but no good.

Or am I barking up the wrong tree and should I be removing the entire mixer head, rather than just the cold tap?

If so, any idea how I do that?

 

[oldbuffer]

The chrome "dome" caps outboard of the gold coloured rings should unscrew. This will reveal a small screw holding the handle to the spindle of the tap. Undo and remove screw and handle should pull off. Then unscrew the brass hexagon under the handle and the tap works will come out.

The cold looks as if the spindle may be bent. If its a quarter turn tap, the new cartridge will come with a new spindle. If they are screw down caps, you may need to get new inner works for the cold. However it would probably be cheaper to get new taps.

 

[JibT]

The chrome "dome" caps outboard of the gold coloured rings should unscrew. This will reveal a small screw holding the handle to the spindle of the tap. Undo and remove screw and handle should pull off. Then unscrew the brass hexagon under the handle and the tap works will come out.

The cold looks as if the spindle may be bent. If its a quarter turn tap, the new cartridge will come with a new spindle. If they are screw down caps, you may need to get new inner works for the cold. However it would probably be cheaper to get new taps.

Wow. Thank you for such a quick and detailed reply. I tried unscrewing (anti-clockwise) the dome, to the right of the gold rings but without success. Maybe not trying hard enough (was scared of breaking it).

I don't know about "bent" but I can push and pull the cold tap knob back and forth, left to right, about a quarter inch whereas the hot sits flush, without any play.

I was hoping it was just going to require a new rubber washer. Will I need a complete "cartridge" do you think?

How would I identify that so I could price up a replacement?

Thanks. OB.

 

[oldbuffer]

If the domed cover doesn't unscrew, then maybe the whole tap handle will pull off the spindle. They are sometimes made like that, usually held in place by an O ring with grooves in tap body or spindle and handle.

Try posting another photo, close up of either handle, showing from the top of the dome to the tap body, but dry the tap off first so that any boundary between parts shows as clearly as possible.

 

[JibT]

If the domed cover doesn't unscrew, then maybe the whole tap handle will pull off the spindle. They are sometimes made like that, usually held in place by an O ring with grooves in tap body or spindle and handle.

Try posting another photo, close up of either handle, showing from the top of the dome to the tap body, but dry the tap off first so that any boundary between parts shows as clearly as possible.

I have tried pulling (even prising with a large screwdriver), but with no "give" at all, once the knob reaches its ordinary limit.

The first picture here shows the nearest the knob can be pushed to the tap, compared to the second picture - being the hot tap. Image 3 shows how much movement there is in the cold tap. There is no movement with the hot one.

Images 4 and 5 show the dome and the gold bands. I can find no obvious gap between the bands and the dome, even with a Stanly blade (but that doesn't mean there isn't one). Maybe it has just seized up, through age and calcium build-up, inside.

It's very frustrating.