Tap dripping, ceramic washers, how much can you polish them?

[Nick67GT]

All these guarantees and warranties ain't worth a light hey.

I fitted a few those double power sockets with the built in USB outlets (from Wickes) about 2 years ago. They had a 25 years warranty .

When a couple of them failed, I went back to my local store but without a receipt, they wouldn’t replace them. so I pointed out the 25 year warranty and they still insisted on a receipt as proof of purchase within the warranty period.

It wasn’t until I pointed out that the product had only been on the market for a fraction of the time, that the jobs worth on the customer services desk saw how ridiculous their refusal was and gave me some replacements.....

I notice the new ones only have a 15 year warranty.

 

[Ali]

That’s the website I used.

Same, another recommendation here.

 

[Kayos]

FWIW I installed a Pegler 1/4 turn mixer tap over 30 years ago. It doesn't drip and when the swivel joint started leaking I phoned Pegler and they send me new O rings FOC.

They'll get repeat business from me.

Made in Yorkshire

Enough said

 

[earthman]

I fitted a few those double power sockets with the built in USB outlets (from Wickes) about 2 years ago. They had a 25 years warranty .

When a couple of them failed, I went back to my local store but without a receipt, they wouldn’t replace them. so I pointed out the 25 year warranty and they still insisted on a receipt as proof of purchase within the warranty period.

It wasn’t until I pointed out that the product had only been on the market for a fraction of the time, that the jobs worth on the customer services desk saw how ridiculous their refusal was and gave me some replacements.....

I notice the new ones only have a 15 year warranty.

Those types of mains sockets do look like a good idea but two things concern me,.....I'm guessing that the USB outlets are actually working/providing a 5V feed constantly? Apart from the extra electricity being used 24/7 even if you haven't got anything plugged into them, is there any more chance of them burning out/starting a fire than say any other mobile phone adapter??

 

[cheb]

Made in Yorkshire

Enough said

Right enough, but that's outweighed by their good points.

 

[Kayos]

Right enough, but that's outweighed by their good points.

That's what I meant, proper Yorkshire quality. I use Peglar when I need decent gear

 

[Wallace]

Those types of mains sockets do look like a good idea but two things concern me,.....I'm guessing that the USB outlets are actually working/providing a 5V feed constantly? Apart from the extra electricity being used 24/7 even if you haven't got anything plugged into them, is there any more chance of them burning out/starting a fire than say any other mobile phone adapter??

On a supposed training and information day I asked the Designer at a well known electrical company I worked for about the warranty on the latest 2A USB 13A double socket, I was told a year but that was backed up with a statement from the MD that it depended upon the customer and could be up to 5 years!
I asked as I was intrigued how long the transformer and rectification circuit would last being on 24/7 and how much current draw there was from an ecological side. The Designer told me the microprocessor control switches off the socket so it draws no power until you insert a USB plug. I asked him how much current the microprocessor control circuit drew and what the MTBF* was for the USB circuit as a whole and he said there was no current draw in the off state and what did MTBF mean? My group was then told we were tight for time and ushered to the next display of incompetence.

Out if interest I tested a couple of scrap USB circuits for current draw in the off state and it was in the milliamperes, I forget how much but certainly not nothing and a waste of electricity when there are hundreds of thousands of them being sold.

* Mean Time Between Failure.

 

[earthman]

On a supposed training and information day I asked the Designer at a well known electrical company I worked for about the warranty on the latest 2A USB 13A double socket, I was told a year but that was backed up with a statement from the MD that it depended upon the customer and could be up to 5 years!
I asked as I was intrigued how long the transformer and rectification circuit would last being on 24/7 and how much current draw there was from an ecological side. The Designer told me the microprocessor control switches off the socket so it draws no power until you insert a USB plug. I asked him how much current the microprocessor control circuit drew and what the MTBF* was for the USB circuit as a whole and he said there was no current draw in the off state and what did MTBF mean? My group was then told we were tight for time and ushered to the next display of incompetence.

Out if interest I tested a couple of scrap USB circuits for current draw in the off state and it was in the milliamperes, I forget how much but certainly not nothing and a waste of electricity when there are hundreds of thousands of them being sold.

* Mean Time Between Failure.

My wife would say that you sound like me, asking too many awkward questions.

 

[Wallace]

My wife would say that you sound like me, asking too many awkward questions.

Another chap gave me a response to leading and trailing edge dimmer switches that was laughable, the MD told me he didn’t understand the answer when he asked the question previously so why should I?

 

[cheb]

The milliwatts wasted by these things, even when multiplied by the millions that there are, are nothing compared to the amount that wasted by people leaving lights on.

I jokingly suggested when I renovated the house that we didn't need light switches, my wife could just turn them all on or off at the fusebox. I'm still not convinced I'm wrong

 

[RonA]

Forget Screw Fix , B&Q etc they only do the cheap 8 spline sink cartridges & the bigger cheap bath tap sized units ……... they only do some of the range of taps they sell . My kitchen taps are 18 splines IIRC.

Try :- www.tapmagician.co.uk

Go on their website , interrogate it or ring them , the people on the end of the phone are fantastic . No one anywhere I tried had the type of cartridges , they were all after selling me new taps . There were some ID letters & numbers on the units but no one could help . So I spent several hours going over internets plumbing sites till I came across Tap magician
IIRC Ceramic taps can be 1/8 , 1/4 or 1/2 turns to get full flow .

On ringing www.tapmagician.co.uk , the lass on the phone walked me through things whilst I was on the computer, in matter of seconds we'd found my unusual taps . I chose to buy complete new cartridges & the repair kits ( About £15 for every thing ) for my unique £ 250 plus kitchen extra long neck mono block tap set & a set of repair kits for the removed cartridges , so I have them handy for future times . We have soft Welsh water , strangely it was the hot water cartridge that got killed ... possibly due to hard mineral scale in the hot water system breaking free when we had a new boiler a few months earlier .

The repaired & greased tap cartridges were put in a heavy duty heat seal vac pack bag a with the label for them then vac packed & sealed up & then sealed in yet another bag and stored in the plumbing drawer of the mancupboard .

Just had to replace a cartridge on the mixer tap in the kitchen. Not sure about forget Screwfix, bought my replacement there, cost just of a fiver. The same cartridge on the tapmagician website comes in at £14.99 nearly 3 times the price. They probably have all the gear but seems to be your paying heavily for the privilege.
As Groucho Marx put it it’s not the principle it’s the money
RonA

 

[mike os]

Replace, not worth the wasted time trying to repair

 

[brightspark]

the only difference I saw on the tap that came from howdens and the insert I got from screwfix was the splined spindle was 1/16th of an inch longer and the tap knob stood slightly off not even noticeable and wasn't going to argue asit was fixed quick and cheap

 

[DAPPH]

Just had to replace a cartridge on the mixer tap in the kitchen. Not sure about forget Screwfix, bought my replacement there, cost just of a fiver. The same cartridge on the tapmagician website comes in at £14.99 nearly 3 times the price. They probably have all the gear but seems to be your paying heavily for the privilege.
As Groucho Marx put it it’s not the principle it’s the money
RonA

You've obviously got the cheaper common taps Ron , I got a set of Screwfix inserts ….no good at all , I couldn't get stuff for mine in any of the local plumbers supplies places . But that £15 you mentioned might just give you a better cartridge too if it is OEM rather than a Chinese replacement /copy . Talking to the gal at Tap magician , I got the impression that if you can give the micrometer measured dimensions as required to their enquiry plan they will turn up a cartridge & supply it complete with the right ceramic valves to fit if they don't hold stock .

 

[bourbon]

not a tap but a shower unit. I'm lucky that we have a very good plumbers merchant by us. It was cheaper to by a complete unit rather that the individual cartridges.

 

[DAPPH]

not a tap but a shower unit. I'm lucky that we have a very good plumbers merchant by us. It was cheaper to by a complete unit rather that the individual cartridges.

I shudder to think what my flush to the wall thermostatic compensated shower control valve would cost to replace these days , when I installed it 15 yrs ago I put some cut off stops in the pipe work a few inches before the pipes , mounting box & unit go through the airing cupboard wall into the shower area to make replacement /servicing easier .

 

[Wedg1e]

That's what I meant, proper Yorkshire quality. I use Peglar when I need decent gear

I think Cheb was pulling your plonker mate