How do I find out what pressure tap I need?

taliwillow

We live in a house that was built 5 years ago and the tap in the kitchen is now leaking water out of the bottom leaving limescale and the tap drips so we have to turn it off really tight and sometimes we still can't stop it leaking. As we are on a water meter I just look at it and see £ signs dripping out of it and running down the drain so we think we need to hurry up and replace the tap. I have found a website that seems to do mixer taps at very good prices (I am sure one of them is the same as one we looked at in homebase yesterday for £89 and it's £25 including delivery on this website) but it talks about pressure of 0.5 and others I have found are 0.1 and 0.3. I assume this is quite important to get the right one so how would I go about finding out what pressure our existing one is or at least what pressure ones would be suitable in our house?

macman

Why do you need to replace the whole tap? Replace the washer or have it reseated maybe.
Even a cheap tap should last more than 5 years.

phill99

Macman is right. Get it fixed, not replaced.

vaio

If it’s a kitchen tap then the cold at least will be at mains pressure which is generally 3 or 4 bar.

Having said that, it might be the pressure you are talking about is the differential pressure between H & C but in any event, as others have said, all you actually need is a new washer, maybe a reseat and even if you have to buy a reseating tool it still won’t cost more than a tenner

taliwillow

Thanks everyone for your replies. Where would I get these things to fix it and is it a job that my husband could do quite eaily without paying a plumber to do it? As you can probably tell I know absolutely nothing about such things.

googler

taliwillow wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies. Where would I get these things to fix it and is it a job that my husband could do quite eaily without paying a plumber to do it? As you can probably tell I know absolutely nothing about such things.

If your husband as reasonably confident with normal DIY, then yes - he could do this.

Get the tools and washer from a plumber's merchant (find your local one with yell.com) or DIY shed (B&Q, Wickes, etc) and get the method from site guides such as https://www.diynot.com, also google for video and pictorial guides to what to do.

Aquatronixjenny

As long as you know how to isolate the water, then this is a pretty easy job. One word of advice though, before you start put the plug in the sink as the tiny screws that hold the tap together have a habit of leaping down the plug hole never to be seen again

keystone

Everyone so far has assumed it needs a new washer. If its a 1/4 turn ceramic disk type then the whole cartridge on the offending supply needs replacing. Still a simple job.

To answer the OPs quaetion though if you have two tanks in your roof then you have a low pressure supply for both H&C in all locations except for the cold in the kitchen which will be direct from mains. Save the kitchen cold suply the pressure on the first floor will be lower than the ground because of the smaller head (vertical separation of tank to tap). On the first floor the pressure it will typically be around 0.25 bar and on the ground (again excepting the kitchen cold) typically 0.5 bar.

If you have a combi boiler or an unvented cylinder then all your H&C supplies are at mains pressure - typically 3 bar.

But don't be misled, however. If you've got a low pressure system go for a conventional tap. The 1/4 turn ceramic disk type even if they claim 0.2 bar operation are just too restrictive to flow and although the pressure will be the same as before unfortunately the flow rate will be dire.

But I agree with everyoine else - repair it rather than replace.

HTH

Cheers