Dripping tap on bath shower mixer - advice/ID?

[j.aldous]

Hi everyone - sorry if if this post doesn't comply with forum rules, I'm a first-time poster here!

I've just moved into a new house which has a Victorian-style bath shower mixer mounted above the bath on the wall. There's a constant, fairly heavy drip coming from the spot, which shifts to coming out of the shower attachment when we push the lever to the other side.

We had a plumber around yesterday for a different issue, and he recommended that we tackle it ourselves by changing the tap handles, to save a bit of money/avoid having to buy a full new mixer. The problem is that I can't identify the model that the mixer is - the handles seem to have quite a thin attachment to the tap body, and every model I look at online has slightly thicker ones (this may be wrong though, and it may fit standard tap handles - apologies, I'm very new to all this!)


Does anyone have any advice about how to find the right tap handles, or if standard Victorian-style tap handles would fit? And once I've managed to track them down, is there anything I need to watch out for?



The other thing is that we're going away for a week tomorrow, and I'm a bit concerned that this kind of thing might eventually cause damage... I realise it needs sorting sooner rather than later, but is this kind of thing urgent?



Thanks a lot!

 

[avonmouth]

I would just change the tap washers first.An easy job if you have a few spanners or wrench.
3/4 inch bath tap washers.

 

[j.aldous]

Hey avonmouth,

I would just change the tap washers first.An easy job if you have a few spanners or wrench.
3/4 inch bath tap washers.

Thanks a lot for the speedy reply, I really appreciate it! I'll try doing that.

For a tap like this, am I right in thinking I'll have to unscrew the taps under the hot and cold taps (it looks like this may have been attempted before, there's some kind of sticker on one of the taps, I wonder if the screw head has been worn down...) and then pull them out, and that should release the valve? It doesn't look like there's anywhere else to unscrew anything as the bit beyond that is smooth and curved so I'd imagine so - guess there's only one way to find out!

 

[Madrab]

Turn off the water
There should be a screw holding the cross tap heads on, can't see one on the cold tap but not sure if the indice is fully removed. Undo the tap heads by removing whatever is holding them on and pull them off
Grab the tap shrouds with grips and a cloth (to protect the shroud), the curved chrome bit, they should unscrew and then take them off, that will reveal the valve underneath.
Adjustable spanner and undo the valves, you'll see the washers at the bottom of the valve once removed.

 

[j.aldous]

Turn off the water
There should be a screw holding the cross tap heads on, can't see one on the cold tap but not sure if the indice is fully removed. Undo the tap heads by removing whatever is holding them on and pull them off
Grab the tap shrouds with grips and a cloth (to protect the shroud), the curved chrome bit, they should unscrew and then take them off, that will reveal the valve underneath.
Adjustable spanner and undo the valves, you'll see the washers at the bottom of the valve once removed.

Thanks a lot for this! I'll give that all a go. Really appreciate the help!

 

[j.aldous]

Okay, so unscrewed the screws holding the tap heads on - but try as I might I can’t get the tap heads off. Feels like they’re held in place by something, but may just be stiff, I’m not sure. Is it worth trying to unscrew the shrouds before taking them off to see the valve? Or should I try and pull the tap heads off first in some way?

 

[avonmouth]

Sometimes you can get to the valve without taking the heads off. Open both taps fully,unscrew shroud and you should see the nut that you need to undo. A thin spanner might get in there ?

 

[Madrab]

Given there is a reasonable length of stem sticking out then you may be able to get the shrouds off enough to get access to the valves, you can only try and see.

 

[j.aldous]

Thanks a lot for the help guys - I managed to get in, unscrewed the shrouds and got the tap heads off. Turns out they’re ceramic disc valves, there’s a worn O ring on one of them but wonder if it’s worth just replacing them entirely - if I can get them off the tap handle… not quite sure how I’ll do that!

 

[avonmouth]

I would change the o ring but also if you take the blue and red covers off on the end of the valve,then take out white ceramic bits you will then see two X shaped ceramic pieces.Remember how it all came apart and replace the X pieces.They are on ebay for a couple of ££££s.
Or buy new valves for many ££££s.The pic below is 1/2 ones you will need 3/4

 

[Madrab]

Ah ok - usually cross head tap heads like that would indicate traditional screw down compression type valves, hence the replace the washer suggestion.

You would need new valves with the extended stem which you wouldn't get down your local shed I don't think. New ceramic innards may be the easiest option, just make sure what comes out of the valve looks exactly the same as what is being bought.

 

[j.aldous]

Thanks guys! I ended up managing to find some replacement valves at a handy DIY shop down the road from me, think I got lucky with them being in - especially since I got home and found that one of them doesn't fit. Turns out that there was some kind of insert in the part of the tap body where the cold tap valve screwed into it which made the diameter of the hole smaller; it meant that one of the valves screwed in perfectly, while the other (the hot valve) was loose due to not having any kind of insert, and I had to still use the old one. So one new one in, one old one in!

The good news is that it seems like the cold valve was the main issue - so the dripping has almost all stopped - there's just a very, very slow drip now, which I'd imagine is coming from the hot one being slightly imperfect. Happy days, for now!

Looks like my options now are either:

- find a valve that has a wider circumference where it screws in and replace the hot one
- change the X pieces in the hot valve to refurb it
- find the same insert (I'm sure it probably has a different name than that) that fits into the tap body, so I can use the new valve I've already bought.

I'd imagine the second option is cheaper so I'll try that first, unless I can figure out how to find said insert. Either way it's way less drastic than it was now so I've bought a little bit of time I think.

Thanks again for all your help on this one!