Sorting leaky old aqualisa 200 shower

[mp208]

Looking for some advice on how best to proceed with this leaky concealed sh ower.... see pic @

after I had broken into wall to access bac k of valve

i) background o Shower is a v old aqualisa 200 ... with the valve concealed in a breeze b lock wall.... Gravity fed, with all 22mm piping (see picture) o Wall is about 4 inches total width (with plaster etc). o Shower was great until it started leaking... down the inside of the wall. o I have determined that the leak comes from both internally to the cartrid ge itself... but also between the cartridge and the valve body as the threa ded inserts in valve body have snapped preventing the 4 screws holding the cartridge in cannot be sufficiently tightened. o As can be seen the visible parts of the shower is now also looking tired. ...

ii) The plan is to refit the entire bathroom, budget/health allowing someti me mid next year. In the meantime I'm trying to think of the best way to ge t a working shower.

iii) I could try Repair / refurbish existing o A new shower body + cartridge would be £150+ from aqualisa... and I'm n ot entirely sure that the current supplies match my originals re centres an d 22mm piping o Visible parts would still look shabby

iv) I think I would prefer Replace o Given the aggro with leaking within the wall I'd prefer an exposed valve in future o Is there an easy way to bring the 22mm inlets out into the sower area as

15mm so that a basic manual shower / bar shower can be attached externally o there is little room to work on the 22mm pipes without taking the entire wall apart, though once the old valve body is removed they might push toget her a little to be more like the std 150cm

Any Advice? thanks Mark

[John Rumm]

You could convert it to use an external "bar" mixer - although you will need to look carefully for one that will work well on low pressure.

That would just require you to make up a couple of adaptor tails that convert from the 22mm pipe to a pair of BSP fittings.

You can either go for leaving male 3/4" BSP sticking out of the wall, and screwing the bar mixer directly onto them (you will need to get the spacing bang on), or fit a pair of 1/2" BSP female sockets flush with the wall and use the cranked adaptors that come with the shower.

One example of using the male fittings:

Or for the female version, see how I did the connection to the shower head when retrofitting a valve in my shower:

[mp208]

thanks John.... what type of elbow would be best given that there is little space and it will be embedded in the wall? I initially thought something soldered, but given the 22mm pipes are likely wet I'm not sure I could guarantee a good joint with my skills. then again the push fits or compression ones are usually bulky? thanks again Mark

[John Rumm]

End feed, capillary (i.e. soldered) will give you the turn in the smallest amount of space.

Pushfit is likely to be too large for the application. Compression may just fit. You probably will be able to get the pipes dry, since one seems to run in from above and so should drain. The other from below you could always stick a flexible tube up to suck out some water.

Soldering pipes is very easy. If you have doubts, the buy a bag of end feed elbows and a length of pipe, and practice a bit.

Its just a case of cleaning up the pipe til its clean and shiny. Apply some flux and assemble the joint. Apply heat from a blowlamp for a few seconds, and touch the solder to the place where the fitting meets the pipe. If it does not flow, then heat a bit more. Once its hot enough, the solder will flow, and you will see it sucked into the gap. Apply a bit more solder, and then just let it cool.