ceramic disc taps - life of ?

[Andy165]

installed a bathroom suite for a relative approx. 18 months ago with an expensive looking chrome mixer bath tap with combined shower hose. Was informed it cost about £150 with a 12 month guarantee and product literature stating "ceramic discs will last a lifetime". Whose lifetime - a butterfly when you expect a galapagos turtle? There is now an annoying constant trickle coming from the cold water side of it, and on dismantling it the mechanism is over closing - about 95" instead of 90" with a crack in the top disc. Informed by the plumbers merchants that the whole cartridge has to be replaced rather than just a small disc the size of a trebor mint. Surely a box of universal size discs can be supplied like you can get for o rings. Merchant also require make and model of mixer tap of which there is none on the mixer tap and the packaging has long been dispatched. The original supplier does not want to know as his 12 month guarantee has expired. Are these type crap and long live the rubber washer type, or is it just certain brands? The installation of bathroom suites is not very well paid work anyway so crap products make it an even bigger b*** ache. Anyone any good opinions on these designer looking marvels !

 

[hi-spec plumbing heating]

as you say yes you can only change the cartridge not the disc.
i found limescale affects them the worst and scatching the discs causeing the to leak.

£150 is not expensive for bath taps and combined shower. more like £300 touch for a quality make.
i do have to agree that you can't beat the old washer taps.
there is no such thing as lifetime on any product, if they say that why do they only give a yr load of cobblers.

do you not know make and model then maybe lunns can help you.

 

[Andy165]

Dont know make or model but now informed by relative that she has a new mixer tap for me to install.Will take out the other one and beat it to death and put it in the scrap box! Good job i installed isolation valves in the pipework. Thanks for the reply.

 

[ChrisR]

SOme are terrible. One I put in started dripping after about 18 months and at 4 years the tenants have learned to turn it off at the iso valves under the sink!