How to fix this tap

[Crusoe]

Dripping mixer tap with leaking cartridge on one side of a boiling water tap. Fixed a broken boiler with a spares and repairs one from ebay so I have an extra tap I can have a look at to work out the bits I need as access to the main one is limited.

So far tried a large spanner turning either direction with no movement and pliers pulling don't work though possibly can add heat if it is a press fit, assume I need a cartridge puller of some sort. No access to what looks like a brass nut but some prong spanner can maybe get in? What tool am I missing?

Mixer lever removed looking down onto the cartridge.

[Crusoe]

Different angle

[M11rph]

The domed chrome part will unscrew, then you'll have access remove the cartridge.

It'll make sense once the domed collar is removed. Various clothes/ grips/vice/heat etc will get you there eventually.

If they won't come off easily I take the time to remove the tap and do it off the sink. Easy to get carried away and bend a metal sink, crack a ceramic one.

[biggiles]

M11rph said:

The domed chrome part will unscrew, then you'll have access remove the cartridge.

It'll make sense once the domed collar is removed. Various clothes/ grips/vice/heat etc will get you there eventually.

If they won't come off easily I take the time to remove the tap and do it off the sink. Easy to get carried away and bend a metal sink, crack a ceramic one.

I'd agree - the no. 2 hardest part of taps is getting the "easy to remove" chrome bits off. Mixture of rubber bands, grippy things, squirty oil will help.

(no.1 hardest (I find) is identifying the replacement parts, but "tap magician" have some very handy ID tools for that!).

[Crusoe]

Cheers, was a plastic cap that just spins but popped off with pliers. 27mm cartridge straightforward to swap after that.

[I-A]

Hi Crusoe,

Great job.

Where did you buy the replacement cartridge from?

I have the same job and what looks like an identical tap, however always struggled with procuring the correct cartridge.

Thank you

[M11rph]

Thanks for the update Crusoe, glad it all went well.

I did my dripping tap yesterday and learnt one tip. The cartridge was putting up a fight, simply would not unscrew. I removed the tap, had it in a vice with a 24" breaker bar and socket... still no joy.

Then I tried my impact driver as it was in the bag, bearing in mind it's only a 10.8v Makita and I was holding it (not in a vice)... it spun it off in a second! There's also not much torque reaction on whatever you're attacking, so I'd be quite comfortable using it with a tap in situ compared with using the bigger manual tools.

It needed a deep socket, but fortunately it was the same size as the one I use for my car wheel nuts. Next time I get a fitting that wants a fight and won't easily come undone I'm going straight for the little Impact gun.

[Crusoe]

I-A said:

Hi Crusoe,

Great job.

Where did you buy the replacement cartridge from?

I have the same job and what looks like an identical tap, however always struggled with procuring the correct cartridge.

Thank you

Screwfix had them in stock so just click and collected to get it done today, a few options but went for the closest to the original
https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-35mm-ceramic-t...

[Crusoe]

Crusoe said:

I-A said:

Hi Crusoe,

Great job.

Where did you buy the replacement cartridge from?

I have the same job and what looks like an identical tap, however always struggled with procuring the correct cartridge.

Thank you

Screwfix had them in stock so just click and collected to get it done today, a few options but went for the closest to the original
https://www.screwfix.com/p/flomasta-35mm-ceramic-t...

I did a lot of measuring on the Di Vapour site which gives you the full engineering drawings first though, might be helpful if you have a more obscure model.

https://www.divapor.com/spares/kitchens/tap-cartri...