poor flow rate from monobloc kitchen mixer taps

[chocdrop]

Hi
i'm not a plumber, but was asked to look at a monobloc kitchen mixer tap yesterday as the flow from it was very slow. The downstairs toilet sink taps work fine(which takes its hot and cold feeds from under the kitchen sink), so do the bathroom taps upstairs, so wasn't concerned about low pressure, or possible partial blockage in the pipes.

Tried to open the taps up, but the retaining screws under the caps on the taps heads were siezed, when I managed to get one screw off and then the tap shield/shroud, I couldn't get the headgear off (as this was seized up too)

Firstly:
- any suggestions for how to get the retaining screws off with ruining the slot head (tried WD40 + 10 minute wait),
Secondly:
- suggestions as to how to get out the headgear without burring off the angles( tried WD40 + 10 minute wait),
Finally:
I think the washers may be sticking or gunked up. Any other suggestions as to why the low flow rate?

Thanks in advance

 

[chrishutt]

Sometimes it's less hassle just to fit new taps. Might this be such an occasion? Just make sure that any new taps are suitable for the hot water pressure available.

 

[chocdrop]

Thanks Chrishutt.

Replacing the taps seems a liekly option, as it took an hour to prise off just one take shield.

hoe do I ensure that a replacement tap suits local hot water pressure.

 

[chrishutt]

If hot water is fed from a tank (rather than off mains), you measure the vertical distance from base of supply tank (not hot water cylinder) to level of tap. If this is low (say less than 5 metres) you need to check with tap manufacturer if the tap is suitable for this pressure (5 metres head = 0.5 bar).