Kitchen mixer tap with unusual leak...

Hi all,

About a year ago, I bought a mixer tap for my kitchen sink. It's the type that has two flexible, braid-covered hoses (one for hot water and the other for cold). It looks exactly like this one:

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It seems to be leaking. A small amout of water is dribbling down one of the flexi-pipes, presumably from where it joins the main body of the tap.

Does this leak sound fixable, or should I write the tap off as junk? Id like to repair it if possible. Those things aren't cheap.

If you think I need to replace the tap, where is the best-value online source? I just want a budget job that will last as long as possible. There is also a Wickes store that I can visit every few weeks in the next town.

Many thanks,

Al

Reply to
AL_n
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Most taps of this variety have two copper stubs coming out of the base that are screwed in using O-rings to seal.

I would suggest a closer look to see precisely where the leak is coming from.

Reply to
Fredxxx

You will likely find the flexible connector needs the joint remaking. Probably needs removing and a bit of PTFE tape/other jointing media.

Should have been checked before fitting the taps. The taps and the flexible connector usually come as separete items.

Reply to
harryagain

This video may give you some idea about how it is plumbed in

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Reply to
alan_m

alan_m wrote in news:ciddbuF8lb6U1 @mid.individual.net:

Perfect - thanks. I'll have a go at this when I get a spare hour, soon Thanks to the other respondees too.

Al

Reply to
AL_n

Fredxxx wrote in news:m9qqkl$cns$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

OK - I have removed the long fixing nut and pulled the mixer tap upwards, above sink level. I found that one of the two braided hoses was not tightened up properly. So I tightened it up. Unfortunately, the leak continues! There is still a drip or two every 30 minutes coming from where the two braided hoses screw into the bottom of the tap.

What is the usual cause of this? Do the o-rings perish or otherwise fail? Are the o-rings easily obtainable? Is there any other way to seal it? Or do I need to but a whole new pair of flexi-hoses?

Many thanks

Al

Reply to
AL_n

Can you see where the leak comes from?

I have known hoses leak, but only catastrophically over a bathroom floor! I guess a small constant leak might canalise a water path into a fitting, such that when tightened still leaks?

I would have thought o-rings would be a standard size.

Personally I would get more o-rings, change the flexible pipes if suspect and use Fernox LS-X to make sure it's all well and truly sealed!

Reply to
Fredxxx

Fredxxx wrote in news:mabv4k$hqs$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me:

Thanks for the tips. It's very hard to seee where the leak is coming from exactly. I seem to recall I may have reused the old flexi-hoses from the previous tap when I installed this tap. I wondered if the continued dripping was due to water having collected inside the braiding and that it would stop after an hour or two, but it seems not. I guess it's almost impossible to tell whether there's a leak in the pipe itself, rather than the connector. The steel braiding stops one from inspecting the pipe underneath. Maybe it would make sens just to bite the bullet and by a new pair of flexi-hoses. Anyone advise where to get them cheaply? I guess eBay is one possibility...

TIA

Al

Reply to
AL_n

I have purchased plumbing stuff from Screwfix. Toolstation are an alternative. Both are online and you can order/collect or have posted.

Reply to
Fredxxx

Just a thought but if the coupling was weeping due to not being fully done up, it's possible that a crust of limescale may have formed on the O ring or the seating which now prevents a proper seal being formed when retightened up.

Perhaps it just needs a new O ring and its seating cleaning up to effect a cure?

Reply to
Johny B Good

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