Zafira Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Evening All As ever I'm sure there will be someone on this very helpful forum who will be able to point me in the right direction.............. Van had been left in a drained-down state (procedure I had adopted in previous 4 years) since the end of October 2020. Filled tank with fresh water prior to first site visit and started to prime the water system - however I found that the shower mixer tap was leaking (not just a dribble!) just behind the lever. I took the lever off, sourced a new 35mm cartridge in case that needed replacing, only to find that I cannot remove the plastic/nylon nut surrounding the cartridge - I've got the appropriately sized plumber's box spanner but even with some moderate force the nust just won't shift - I'm reluctant to force any more as the hose outlet valve is starting to shift anti-clockwise as I try to turn the box spanner.......... Am I barking entirely up the wrong tree in trying to remove the nut I wonder?! Many thanks for any helpful pointers........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Hi, I've never changed one, but if the nut is tightened against the cartridge WHAT is holding the cartridge in place. Is the cartridge threaded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEL Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 It does not look quite like mine but when I got it to the state of yours as shown there was also a tiny cross headed screw between the blue cartridge and white locking ring which needs removing. You can then turn the white locking ring an eighth turn and it pops out together with the cartridge. Can I see something similar on the nut flange just before 12o/c in your photo ?... or can you push the nut in before you try to turn it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Zafira There’s general advice on changing a tap cartridge here https://www.practicalmotorhome.com/advice/how-to-replace-a-tap-and-cartridge and the photos include removing the locking-nut that holds the cartridge in place.The nut shown is brass and less ‘buried’ in the tap’s body than the white plastic nut in your photos, but to replace your tap’s cartridge, you’ll first need to undo the plastic locking nut. The plastic nut should undo ‘normally’ (ie by undoing it anti-clockwise). Use your box-spanner to put a moderate amount of anti-clockwise force on the nut and then ‘shock’ the spanner to break the grip between the nut and the tap’s metal body. It’s better being a two-person job - one person to use the box-spanner to apply force to the nut, and the second person to hold the tap to stop it rotating and to strike the spanner sharply with (say) a little hammer to apply the shock. (You might want to ask Wildax whether they can tell you which make/model of tap is fitted to your motorhome, just in case you might need a new one.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zafira Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 Morning Many thanks for replies - there's no extra (small or otherwise) retaining screw on the tap body HOWEVER what did work was the slight "tap" (or rather inwards push!) to the box spanner when it was in situ over the plastic/nylon nut so many thanks to Derek for the very helpful hint! The replacement cartridge I sourced is notched at its face where it meets the retaining nut whereas the original is smooth. I've contacted Wildax who are making efforts to identify the tap make......... I'll see if there's anything obviously amiss with the original cartridge, put it all back together and fill water tank/prime the system again & see if it still leaks - couldn't leave any water in system given it was flowing out of the mixer tap and causing the pump to run continually if pump was on....... A big thank you for the prompt replies and getting me a bit further along the road to resolving the issue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zafira Posted June 1, 2021 Author Share Posted June 1, 2021 Forgot to add:- the (silicone) seal on the bottom of the tap cartridge was still sitting/affixed in the tap body when I removed the cartridge so I'm thinking that an ineffective seal was the root cause of the leak........... Wildax won't give me the name of the tap manufacturer (commercial confidentiality......) but I've sent photos of the original cartridge in the hope they can direct me to a like-for-like replacement. Many thanks once again for getting on the right track! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Zafira - 2021-06-01 1:27 PM ...Wildax won't give me the name of the tap manufacturer (commercial confidentiality......) That may mean that they don’t know, or they are too busy to check, or the tap is so bargain-basement cheap it would be embarassing to say. ;-) The difficulty in accurately identifying the water outlets chosen by caravan/motorhome builders is that the design of the outlet is rarely unique. This link shows images resulting from a GOOGLE-search on "caravan shower mixer tap” https://tinyurl.com/34zw8v6d and a few of the shower mixer-tap images show a body design similar to the tap in your photos. It’s probably fair to say that if a tap is made of plastic it will be the cheaper variety, and if it’s made of metal (brass) it will be more upmarket and dearer - but that doesn’t help identify your tap and most taps carry no maker’s name to help. (Some years ago I replaced our home’s domestic kitchen sink and chose to fit a quite expensive Franke mixer tap. A few months ago, the tap began to leak, so I obtained a replacement ceramic cartridge for it, but found that I couldn’t get the tap apart to fit the new cartridge while the tap remained in situ. At this point I decided that, rather than fiddle about with the leaking tap, I’d buy an identical new Franke tap, but after I had done this and closely inspected the new tap it became apparent that the design had subtly changed. Eventually I managed to amalgamate parts of old and new taps and the result worked OK. I then thought “Now I’ve got the old tap off I’ll fit the new cartridge and have a spare tap", but discovered that I still couldn’t remove the old cartridge and that the design of the new cartridge was significantly different and would not have fitted the old tap anyway. Sometimes one just can’t win.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninian Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 Hi, Go to your local ScrewFix and check if the one you have removed is the same as what they sell. ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Screwfix markets “Flomasta” mixer-tap plastic cartridges in 40mm or 35mm diameter sizes, with the latter the more commonplace where caravan/motorhome taps are concerned. (1st image attached below) There’s also a 25mm diameter version. This type of mixer-tap cartridge will have three holes in its base - one hole for the hot water feed to the tap, one for the cold water feed and the third that leads to the the tap’s outlet. Each hole will be surrounded by a seal. and there will be some means (eg locating ‘pegs’) that ensure that, when the cartridge is inserted into the tap’s body, the cartridge is correctly positioned. (The 2nd image below shows the underside of a typical cartridge,) Received wisdom within the motorhome /caravan community seems to be that, provided the correct cartridge diameter is chosen, there is a good chance that - even if the tap’s make is unknown - a ‘generic’ cartridge like the Flomasta product should work OK. However, if the make of tap is known, or a cartridge can be identified that exactly matches the original, it would be best to fit a matching replacement cartridge. (For example, if the tap is a Reich product, it would be a good idea to fit a genuine Reich-branded cartridge.) There are plenty of online images of mixer-tap cartridges and plenty of online information/advice about cartridge changing that, in principle, should be straightforward. https://tinyurl.com/dry87upc The trouble really begins when the complete tap needs to be replaced and half the motorhome has to be dismantled to do this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zafira Posted June 2, 2021 Author Share Posted June 2, 2021 Thanks for the chuckle ("cheapest type of tap available" etc) & the words of wisdom, Derek. I found the seal on the original cartridge still stuck inside/at the end of the tap body. I've put a smidgen of silicone grease over the seal for the new cartridge (its a 35mm size and has the correct number of holes) and replaced the cartridge, put everything back together, filled van with water and primed system and am very chuffed to report no leaks from the shower mixer handle, the water is flowing out of the shower head. Wildax say they'll get back to me with a source for the "like for like" cartridge Thanks once again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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