Shower valve

[Simon Man]

Hi there!

I hope u can help! The hot water in my shower keeps cutting out going not and cold. All other taps on the house are fine. I was advised to clean the mixer cartridge/ valves in the shower mixer. I have taken off the first few bits but I can not remove the bit in the picture, the copper part. There is a small screw on the top I have removed but it moves forward but then it sticks. I don’t want to pull it to hard. Any idea how to get it off?

I really appreciate your help!

 

[dilalio]

Try a kettle of boiling water and/or limescale remover on it all.
Everything on that spindle needs to be removed (including the chrome shroud) and this will reveal the outer circumference of the thermo cartridge, it will be brass with "flats" on it that require a spanner/wrench to undo (anticlockwise) till it can be removed.
You're fighting limescale thread sealant here and sometimes, it's such a battle that the thermo comes out in bits, which is why a standby replacement should be to hand.

 

[Simon Man]

Thanks for the advice! I have got it out! I now need to get what looks like the cartridge. It’s in a plastic case and the manual says I need to pull it out but it’s not moving and hard to get a grip on. It doesn’t look like you need to unscrew or use a spanner as there is no room for you to get one in..... any more advise please! I have attached a photo

 

[dilalio]

Looks like that shroud still needs to come off. Then it's elbow power... Did you get descaler on it? Doesn't look like it!

 

[Simon Man]

Hi

I got the first metal piece off from the first picture. But for this bit the manual says it’s all one piece so needs to come out together... I can’t get any descaler for a few days and it seems it’s may be a case of elbow grease! It’s frustrating as it looks like another piece should come of first but there is no way to get it off!

thanks again!

 

[dilalio]

You need a box spanner of the correct size then.

 

[Simon Man]

Ok.... might sound silly but what’s a box spanner , is it shaped like a normal one? Thanks!

 

[JimCrow]

What's the make and model of the valve?.

 

[picasso]

Did you check the boiler wasn't going on and off when the shower was running ?

 

[Simon Man]

Jimcrow

the make is camaya got it from soak.com but I don’t think it’s available anymore! Thanks!

 

[Simon Man]

Picasso

the boiler runs ok seems fine, the other taps in the house seen fine when running not water, thanks

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Soak it in citric acid, which is just lemon juice, or even lemon juice itself. You can get citric acid as a powder from the chemists, to dissolve in water. It dissolve the limescale quickly, which is causing your disassembly problems.

A box spanner is a tube spanner, a metal pipe, shaped with a hex at the end to fit a nut.