Shower problems

neilmcl

akh43 said:

half_empty said:

As above, other taps OK?
Depending on what is inside the housing, you can replace the old for a newer ceramic cartridge or whatever it contains. My old tap fittings were washer but they take a standard ceramic cartridge and replaced them all for 1/4 turn.

But the unit will need to be taken apart to see what needs replacing. Just did my shower diverter valve and really needed to part out for comparison as the unit is no longer made, but the valves are.

Spanners and care is all I needed.

Other taps seem ok, I did try the tap part of the mixer earlier and that worked fine and water ran hot, so I then switched it to the shower and it was better than earlier some pressure, but not as good as usual, so made it a quick shower in case it went cold.

I don't want to make things worse by messing with what I don't understand. 

Plenty of repair operatives and items available off the shelf to if necessary repair that bsm, personally i would only fit a thermostatic mixer item.

But everyone knows why, Ta for the comment 

Not sure what a bsm product is? The cold tap works fine, but that is probably because it is rarely used.

Might seem easy for someone who knows what they are doing and has the correct tools I do have some spanners and other tools, but not sure if they would be the right ones. I have done a few minor plumbing jobs in the past. I have changed a ceramic cartridge in the sink taps that match the mixer, but it was years ago and I had spare taps under the bath that I could pinch the cartridges out of, they are now gone.  I think these would be bigger than the other taps, but without removing wouldn't know.

GDB2222 said:

akh43 said:

My mixer tap looks like this, except have replaced the shower fiitting over the years, it was in the house when I moved in 19 years ago. https://www.toolstation.com/deva-tudor-taps/p56897

If it looks like that, it's an easy job to disconnect the tap and replace it with similar. No need to delve under the bath. 

How would I replace with similar without the need to delve under the bath?

Just checked out a video on replacing the cartridge and now remember what I did, so think I could manage that, but not sure about anything else or changing the whole tap if that is actually needed as there is limited space around the bath area as right next to the sink.  Not sure whether I should try myself or just bring a plumber in to do it. 

This video will help with how you remove the tap mechanism. As I mentioned (and was dismissed by @Another_Level) it's unlikely to have a ceramic cartridge, it will be a traditional full turn tap mechanism where the washer may or not require replacing. The insides will likely need cleaning as it's probably gunked up, preventing it to turn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkXG50UfYjQ

[Deleted User]

Perhaps time to find a good plumber?

From description, is it the diverter valve?

Often the taps and valves can be changes without need to change the body. Just need to identify what it is off and what needs changing.

I just changed a tap valve for a ceramic off the shelf from screw fix. Some parts are only through more specialist suppliers.

GDB2222

neilmcl said:

akh43 said:

half_empty said:

As above, other taps OK?
Depending on what is inside the housing, you can replace the old for a newer ceramic cartridge or whatever it contains. My old tap fittings were washer but they take a standard ceramic cartridge and replaced them all for 1/4 turn.

But the unit will need to be taken apart to see what needs replacing. Just did my shower diverter valve and really needed to part out for comparison as the unit is no longer made, but the valves are.

Spanners and care is all I needed.

Other taps seem ok, I did try the tap part of the mixer earlier and that worked fine and water ran hot, so I then switched it to the shower and it was better than earlier some pressure, but not as good as usual, so made it a quick shower in case it went cold.

I don't want to make things worse by messing with what I don't understand. 

Plenty of repair operatives and items available off the shelf to if necessary repair that bsm, personally i would only fit a thermostatic mixer item.

But everyone knows why, Ta for the comment 

Not sure what a bsm product is? The cold tap works fine, but that is probably because it is rarely used.

Might seem easy for someone who knows what they are doing and has the correct tools I do have some spanners and other tools, but not sure if they would be the right ones. I have done a few minor plumbing jobs in the past. I have changed a ceramic cartridge in the sink taps that match the mixer, but it was years ago and I had spare taps under the bath that I could pinch the cartridges out of, they are now gone.  I think these would be bigger than the other taps, but without removing wouldn't know.

GDB2222 said:

akh43 said:

My mixer tap looks like this, except have replaced the shower fiitting over the years, it was in the house when I moved in 19 years ago. https://www.toolstation.com/deva-tudor-taps/p56897

If it looks like that, it's an easy job to disconnect the tap and replace it with similar. No need to delve under the bath. 

How would I replace with similar without the need to delve under the bath?

Just checked out a video on replacing the cartridge and now remember what I did, so think I could manage that, but not sure about anything else or changing the whole tap if that is actually needed as there is limited space around the bath area as right next to the sink.  Not sure whether I should try myself or just bring a plumber in to do it. 

This video will help with how you remove the tap mechanism. As I mentioned (and was dismissed by @Another_Level) it's unlikely to have a ceramic cartridge, it will be a traditional full turn tap mechanism where the washer may or not require replacing. The insides will likely need cleaning as it's probably gunked up, preventing it to turn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkXG50UfYjQ

That’s possibly a bit of a palaver. 

The OP can undo the two big nuts at the back of the tap, leaving the two bits sticking up from the bath. Then just bolt a complete new tap onto those. Job done.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/swirl-deck-mounted-bath-shower-mixer-tap/28552

If the OP wants to keep the tap, there are tap saver kits available for £10 or so.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/swirl-contract-bath-tap-reviver-kit/19163

neilmcl

GDB2222 said:

neilmcl said:

akh43 said:

half_empty said:

As above, other taps OK?
Depending on what is inside the housing, you can replace the old for a newer ceramic cartridge or whatever it contains. My old tap fittings were washer but they take a standard ceramic cartridge and replaced them all for 1/4 turn.

But the unit will need to be taken apart to see what needs replacing. Just did my shower diverter valve and really needed to part out for comparison as the unit is no longer made, but the valves are.

Spanners and care is all I needed.

Other taps seem ok, I did try the tap part of the mixer earlier and that worked fine and water ran hot, so I then switched it to the shower and it was better than earlier some pressure, but not as good as usual, so made it a quick shower in case it went cold.

I don't want to make things worse by messing with what I don't understand. 

Plenty of repair operatives and items available off the shelf to if necessary repair that bsm, personally i would only fit a thermostatic mixer item.

But everyone knows why, Ta for the comment 

Not sure what a bsm product is? The cold tap works fine, but that is probably because it is rarely used.

Might seem easy for someone who knows what they are doing and has the correct tools I do have some spanners and other tools, but not sure if they would be the right ones. I have done a few minor plumbing jobs in the past. I have changed a ceramic cartridge in the sink taps that match the mixer, but it was years ago and I had spare taps under the bath that I could pinch the cartridges out of, they are now gone.  I think these would be bigger than the other taps, but without removing wouldn't know.

GDB2222 said:

akh43 said:

My mixer tap looks like this, except have replaced the shower fiitting over the years, it was in the house when I moved in 19 years ago. https://www.toolstation.com/deva-tudor-taps/p56897

If it looks like that, it's an easy job to disconnect the tap and replace it with similar. No need to delve under the bath. 

How would I replace with similar without the need to delve under the bath?

Just checked out a video on replacing the cartridge and now remember what I did, so think I could manage that, but not sure about anything else or changing the whole tap if that is actually needed as there is limited space around the bath area as right next to the sink.  Not sure whether I should try myself or just bring a plumber in to do it. 

This video will help with how you remove the tap mechanism. As I mentioned (and was dismissed by @Another_Level) it's unlikely to have a ceramic cartridge, it will be a traditional full turn tap mechanism where the washer may or not require replacing. The insides will likely need cleaning as it's probably gunked up, preventing it to turn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkXG50UfYjQ

That’s possibly a bit of a palaver. 

The OP can undo the two big nuts at the back of the tap, leaving the two bits sticking up from the bath. Then just bolt a complete new tap onto those. Job done.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/swirl-deck-mounted-bath-shower-mixer-tap/28552

If the OP wants to keep the tap, there are tap saver kits available for £10 or so.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/swirl-contract-bath-tap-reviver-kit/19163

I wasn't suggesting the OP goes through that to re-seat the tap, it was merely to show how to remove the tap and what to expect from it, eg, no cartridge.

There is another video that show, potentially, what the problem is and how to fix it by the simple use of some wire wool. Even though it's a standard tap, it should still work as the mechanism will be similar I'd imagine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8D-NhReAXY

Bendy_House

AKH, first fully confirm what the issue is (although it's almost certainly as others have suggested before).

The hot tap is stiff in operation, and probably doesn't 'spin' as many times as the cold one? Ok, turn the diverter leaver to the 'bath' side so the water comes out the spout, and then individually try the cold followed by the hot. What are the flows like, and how do the two taps compare in movement and feel.

Very likely this will conform the previous diagnosis. Ie, it has nothing to do with the diverter or the shower hose or head, but is the actual tap mechanism. In which case, turn off the water to that tap, and follow the video above. (You'll first have to unscrew the decorative cover over the nut inside. Wrap a cloth over this before using a spanner on it.)

akh43

Thanks for all the info and the videos, which I have now watched.  The cold tap works fine as does the tap when I switch to the bath option, which I did today to get the water flowing hot and then switched over to the shower and was able to get a quick shower albeit with lower pressure.

I definitely think it is the tap but could not do anything today as trapped by the Manchester Marathon and no point removing the tap when I could not go out and get whatever I might need.  Will be looking at it tomorrow and hopefully it will be one of the suggestions given and an easy fix

akh43

Well we tried today and got nowhere as we could not undo the bit the arrow is pointing to, no matter how hard we both tried with several different tools so had to give up without finding the cause of the problem.  It looks like we will need to get a plumber in after all and easiest option might be just to replace the whole tap.  Thanks for all the help.

akh43

* Update, found a plumber and he managed to unscrew the part we could not, but it came off with the cartridge stuck inside!!  Luckily he was able to release the cartridge and I had a spare cartridge from the last time I replaced one as I had to buy a pair of taps to get the cartridges and it fitted the tap so he was able to quickly swap them over and everything working fine now. He only charged me £20 as he also serviced my boiler at the same time so £80 for both so I was happy with that.