Dripping tap

[call me VK]

Hi Guys I got a dripping tap in my kitchen. After browsing the internet and figuring how to change the washer i decided to give it a go.

The dripping tap can be seen here

removed the handle and exposed the spindle and the nut set up. A close up picture is here ( apologies for the crap pics )

Anyway, I tried to loosen the hexagonal but using a spanner but it just wouldnt budge. Am i doing anything wrong ? Is this tap different ? Please advice this newbie.

VK

[David Lang]

Looks pretty standard to me. They can be a bugger to shift. Try spraying WD40 around it & leave it for half an hour. Get a big spanner or a socket on the hexagon & hold the tap firmly. It will undo!

Dave

[Set Square]

The second picture's not very sharp - but it looks like a normal tap. The whole of the brass bit should unscrew from the chrome bit. They can be a bit tight after a few years - so you'll need to apply lots of torque with a decently long spanner - preferably with someone hanging on to the tap spout to stop the whole tap from rotating.

[Rob Morley]

Heat will probably shift it, but if it doesn't you could end up with a worse leak than before. Make sure you use a ring or socket spanner, or if you only have an open-ender make sure it's a good snug fit. Be careful that you don't twist the tap off the sink.

[Bob]

We have a Carron Pheonix monobloc tap in our kitchen, it's dripping from the spout and I can't for the life of me figure out where the washers are, or even what type of washers they are likely to be. I's a quarter turn type as shown here

anyone help?

Thanks

Mrs Bob

[Grunff]

Quarter turn taps don't have washers, they have a ceramic disk cartridge. You can replace the whole cartridge. A replacement should be available from the manufacturer, or possibly your plumbers merchant.

[Sponix]

I *think* I saw a range of replacement cartridges in wickes the other day.

sponix

[Roger Mills (aka Set Square)]

In the picture of the tap, you can see a red cover in the middle of the hot lever. If you prise this off, there is a screw underneath which holds the lever on. Similarly, there will be a blue cover at the other end. Once the levers are removed, you can unscrew the ceramic cartridge units from the tap body - having first turned the hot and cold feeds off, of course. When replacing the cartidges, note that they are handed. [In other words, when looking endways at the lever, one turns clockwise and the other counter-clockwise]. If replacing only one, it needs to be the *correct* one.

[Holly, in France]

These things can be easy peasy or a hassle. If you know, as the OP does, the make and model of the tap it should be easy enough I would imagine to source a replacement. If you have an ageing tap with no details it's a bit more difficult. I have found the easiest method is to wait until there is no one in the house for a bit, to drain down the system and take out the old one and then to do the rounds of the plumbers merchants and DIY shops until you find the right one then go straight home and fit it. I did one a few weeks ago and must have looked at about a dozen before I found the right one. I don't know why they make them with so many tiny differences in every conceivable place!! Why can't there just be a few standard bits that all the manufacturers use?!

-- Holly, in France Gite to let in Dordogne, now with pool.