Help with cartridge in Bristan Pisa shower

[TheBartman]

Good evening all,

I have a Bristan Pisa shower that's been dripping from the handle for some time, so I've tried to be proactive and fix it myself. The cartridge it takes is a CART 06732COMPL, and so I thought it may be a seal as I found seal kit SK00400185.

The cartridge only had 3 out of 4 seals, but the instructions did state that the 4th may not be present and that's ok.

I've replaced the seals in exactly the same orientation, and I've lubed with silicone grease, but it still leaks. Without the handles it still leaks like a banshee! Pics:

View media item 78595 View media item 78596
So my question, is from your experience, have I done something wrong? I believe it's leaking worse than before I started which is frustrating.

I am confident I have screwed and clipped everything into it's correct place. Could this be a faulty cartridge? Or maybe a defective CD valve?

Any help would be very gladly accepted! I don't want to pay £90 for a cartridge in case it's something else, or a cheaper part.

Finally, is this kind of shower a standard size (I am wondering if it's cheaper to replace the whole shower) as in the pipes are standard spacing and size? Worse case I will replace the shower as this may be a better alternate to paying £90 for just a new cart?

It seems criminally expensive for what it is, but c'est la vie!

My final thought is when I put the cartridge back into the housing, can it go in any way I want, or is there a specific "up" way, and by failing to do this cause it to leak?



links:
Cartridge maintenance:
http://www.bristan.com/WebRoot/BristanNewDB/Shops/Bristan/Products/INSTRUC. PDF-1081536-1-D1-1.PDF
Seal kit:
http://www.bristan.com/epages/Bristan.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/Bristan/Products/"SK 00400185"

 

[footprints]

I can only suggest the O rings have been damaged when replacing or there is scale still in the unit.
Try removing with descaler, vinegar will work, and replace the seals using silicone grease on them.

 

[TheBartman]

Hmmm the O rings still look perfect, but never say never I guess.

If I use 50/50 white vinegar and water, is 4 hours enough for a good descale? Or would you use stronger?

I'll have to find somewhere local that stocks the seals, or hit ebay!

Thankyou for your advice

 

[picasso]

Some of these shower valves leak through the hole where the handle screws on to, try putting the handle back on(make sure the o ring is in place) and see if it still leaks.

 

[TheBartman]

seriously?..... wow.

Side question:

Apparently the pisa is 153mm..... I found this on ebay, would this be almost as simple as unbolting the old and screwing in a new? I am thinking if it is the cartridge this is only £19 more than a cart....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141036809847?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

 

[footprints]

I would go neat vinegar, and then rinse after an hour or so, see how it goes.

 

[footprints]

It's not coming out of the cenre hole is it? I had a Bristan deck mixer that did that it was quite normal the centre screw had a small O ring to seal it.

 

[TheBartman]

From the picture, what part is the centre hole? Are you talking about where the screw goes in to hold the temp adjuster in place? If so, definitely not.

 

[footprints]

Yes that's the hole I had it coming from where the adjustment is.

 

[Matttaylor]

I've had my Bristan shower system for about 10 years now and I'm quite used to replacing the CART 06732COMPL.
I actually have two of these cartridges and I've noticed that one always drips from the controls whilst the other one does not.
I believe that the one that leaks has had new seals fitted from the SK 00400185 pack.

The pack has seals with the following numbers on them 1, 5, 14, & 25.
Taking a look at both cartridges side by side I could see that the No. 1 seal was visibly different.
After measuring them both I found that the seal on the good cartridge was about 40mm in diameter whilst the seal on the leaking cartridge was 38mm.

I took a look in a brand new SK 00400185 pack that I have and the No. 1 seal in that also measures 38mm.
So I've taken the No.1 seal off the good cartridge and placed it on the leaky cartridge to find that it fixed the drip.

I think there's a problem with the size of the No. 1 seal in the replacement pack and I think it's been a problem for quite a few years.
Has anyone else noticed it?