BBC basin tap?

[T i m]

Hi All,

I've just been trying to help Mum with a stiff bathroom tap. It says 'BBC Made in England' engraved in the body just under the skirt and has a fluted chrome metal top that looks like it might press on somehow (there was no screw under the little red plastic thing but there does look like the end of a clip of some sort).

I've sprayed some lube up there and worked it up and down which has loosened it enough for her to use for now but I'd like to strip and service it properly if possible?

If you open the tap fully you can see a couple of notches where I assume you could unscrew the mech from the base but even if I did so I'm not sure it would give me access to the bit I need.

Any ideas please team?

Cheers, T i m

[Stephen Mawson]

Sorry to state the obvious, but I suppose there isn't a small grub screw in the side of the knob? "BBC" is the Barking Brassware Company.

Stephen

[T i m]

Oooh, not so obvious as I didn't look /for/ such a thing but at the same time, in spite of a reasonably good look didn't spot anything.

Ah, thanks. Do you know of them, are they still making / supplying taps etc do you know (Google didn't seem to find much on them for me).

Cheers, T i m

[T i m]

Yup and I showed mum such on a downstairs tap. ;-)

That was what I was hoping.

Well I'd be happy to strip it down to get some lube in there (and / or a new O ring etc).

Cheers, T i m

[Stephen Mawson]

Tim,

I read somewhere that they had been taken over by Grohe.

Stephen

[T i m]

Yeah, I did actually Google to them when I was looking for a link round Mums earlier but they didn't seem to stock the taps Mums got.

I'll get her to see if there is some form of grub screw and go from there.

Thanks again.

T i m

[John]

As an observation = why do people often let taps get into this state before doing some servicing. I took care of mine before the house was a year old.

25 years later all as smooth to operate and easy to dismantle. (thanks to a bit of grease and Copperslip)

[T i m]

Good point. I guess it's the same as with most things, they either don't know these things are 'maintainable', don't notice something is wrong (till it's too late) or don't care as when whatever it is finally gives up they simply buy another one. Or not got_round_tuit (in time). Builders houses, mechanics cars etc etc.

In this case of Mum and Dad it's partly because they were considering a new bathroom but Dad was taken ill (and is 80+ now) and couldn't deal with all the upheaval. Mum only mentioned it to me a couple of days ago and I've done my best to try to sort it for her asap. With some lube in there she can at least open and close the tap better now but I'd still like to investigate further and sort both taps out properly (the cold is as loose as the hot was seized .. I've now discovered).

Yup, and similar here as I fitted most of it in myself so have the added advantage of knowing how it all should work / feel.

Cheers, T i m

[The Medway Handyman]

Shush! Don't go spreading ideas like that!

[John]

I am a big believer in preventative maintenance. Having seen the way builder leave stuff around getting grit into them it is a wonder anything works on a new house. Garage doors were left lying around and the mechanisms were well coated with sand.

[The Medway Handyman]

I know, I know! Keep it quiet :-)

[Tabby]

Last time I did a stiff tap it was due to limescale. Strip that off and it ran like new.

NT

[T i m]

Yup, once I can get into it that's what I hope to do. Ironically the cold tap with the loose spindle doesn't leak /around/ the spindle.

Strip, clean, check, lube, rebuild, re-lube, re-assemble, enjoy. ;-)

Cheers, T i m