Help with shower.

knightstyle

So the previous house owners had a new bathroom fitted several years ago. There is a thermostatic shower and the thermostatic cartridge keeps seizing up. I would like to change it for a new one but cannot see how to remove it. I can get the on/off valve out easily but am now stuck.  Plus does anyone know what make it is as I bet it is not a standard cartridge.

Ebe_Scrooge

In the bottom picture, see that silver plate that's on top of the brass behind it, kind of beneath the control knob?  Looks like a retaining clip to me.  You should be able to get a couple of screwdrivers or a pair of pliers (opened) on to the left hand side as you look at it, one blade on each "prong of the horseshoe" if that makes sense, and push it to the right.  It should spring off (might need to be fairly firm with it).  Then the cartridge should be free to be pulled out.

Can't help with the make I'm afraid - but hopefully there will be some sort of part number stamped on the cartridge once you've got it out, which you can Google.  Most cartridges are fairly standard usually, odds on it'll be one of only about half a dozen different types.

Belenus

It looks similar to an Aqualisa shower that we had although that was two decades ago.

nofoollikeold

Another possibility:
1.  The half circle white plastic item may be part of the temperature setting mechanism.  If so, it is likely to sit on splines cut into the wider brass part behind the circlip.  Make a scratch mark on the little bit of brass showing, and an equivalent mark on the plastic so they can be reassembled the same way, then pull the white plastic part out.  
2. This may reveal a large hexagon on the brass part, behind the white plastic part, which can be unscrewed to get the cartridge out.  
3. Be careful, if the brass hexagon doesn't undo easily, it could be a push fit cartridge and forcing it to turn could ruin both cartridge and housing.  Sometimes they have a grub screw through the underside of the body of the shower into the thread to hold it in place.  
4. If in doubt, try sending photographs of the complete shower, and of it dismantled as far as you can, to showerdoc.com and see if they can identify it and supply spares.

theonlywayisup

I google imaged the logo and found this link.

https://www.divapor.com/spares/showers/thermostatic-cartridge/tf-thermostatic-shower-bar-cartridge-replacement-tf88827.php

Not sure if that means TF is the maker or if it is just abbreviated for something else but the logo is the same.  

knightstyle

Thanks everyone, wow I cannot believe the price of that cartridge! £90 is it made of gold!
I have put it back together for now but will have another go in a few days.  Looking at the replacement cartridge it looks as if I need a pipe with a bit cut out to remove it or perhaps they sell a special tool for lots of £.

NSG666

Someone has suggested showerdoc and you could also try National Shower Spares (NSS) who are excellent at identifying shower brands and parts given enough photos. Although yours seems to be the Di Vapor brand it is quite probably made on their behalf by a manufacturer who supplies many other brands and it might be possible to buy a much cheaper cartridge. What I found in very general terms with pricing though is if it's for an external shower that can easily be replaced then the spares are cheaper than a built in shower which would need major work to replace.

If yours is like the one in the link theonlyewayisup provided then that lug looks more like a location lug.

theonlywayisup

Yes do try other spares companies.  My link was hopefully only to suggest the actual item.  You should be able to find a compatible or even genuine part for much less with luck. 

Belenus

Rather than spending £90 on a replacement cartridge, you could consider getting a completely new unit of a different design for similar money or not very much more. I like the Hansgrohe range but there are many other good quality units available.

You would need to establish that the plumbing outlets suit and how many mounting holes there are behind the existing unit and whether they would still be visible and be difficult to disguise.

knightstyle

Thanks again but I think we are stuck with what we have as it is plumbed in behind the wallboard and would cause major disruption to replace it.
It seems to be working OK now but gets very stiff after a couple of days so I have force it all the way round a couple of times to loosen it again.