Self disassembly of the mixer: how to do it

When there is a cold and hot water supply in a house or apartment, there, of course, there are also faucets that eventually fail. Hence, disassembling a kitchen or bathroom faucet is one of the urgent needs of housekeeping.

Of course, for fixing such a device, you can contact a plumber, but:

• first, it will have to wait;
• and, secondly, you have to pay for it.

So if you have an hour of free time, then such work can be done independently. The main problem is that the valves on such devices may be different, and we will tell you about it and how to repair it, as well as show the video in this article.

Different mixers

How to determine the type of valves according to the appearance of the crane

• In the event that you have a model with two valves or levers, it means that disassembling the mixer tap will show that there is a crane box as a stop valve.But it can be of a different type - either with a ceramic pair, or with a worm gear.

If levers are used for control, then there is pottery in any case, it will also take place if there is a lamb there, but its cycle is half-turn. If the valves are closed-open for 5-10 revolutions, then the valve is working with a worm gear.

• If you have a single-handle model installed that can be used both for the sink and for the bathroom with a shower (with wall fixation), it means that there is a cartridge or a ball lock installed as a stop valve. The principle of operation of these two mechanisms is about the same, only it makes no sense to repair them - it is much easier to replace them with new ones.

The cartridge is generally made in a non-separable form, and you will not find spare parts for a ball valve (rubber cams and springs) - even the entire repair kit for such a mixer can be found not in any store, because of their small use (quite a high price).

Repairs

Attention! Before you start disassembling the kitchen faucet with your own hands, you need to check whether you have forgotten to turn off the water. It is necessary to shut off not only the tap in front of the water meter (cold common), but also hot water, if you use a boiler or a boiler. This does not apply to flow heaters.

In order to disassemble the single-lever mechanisms, the instruction recommends first removing the joystick handle - there is a red and blue decorative cap under the lever - pry it with a knife or screwdriver and you will see a screw under it that you need to turn three turns counterclockwise. After that, unscrew the lock nut, also counterclockwise, and then you have full access to the valves.

You take out the shut-off valves and if this is a cartridge, then you will have to replace it with a new one, but they are different in diameter, so, in the instance that you see in the top photo, the diameter is 35 mm (this can be seen from the marking - D35). If the marking is erased, it is best to take the old copy and go with it to the store - the seller will select the size you need.

The ball shutter is somewhat more difficult to pull out, although the disassembly process itself proceeds in a similar way, but if the cartridge is a complete device, then the ball with the holes rests on rubber cams backed by springs — both wear out.

But the main inconvenience here is not in disassembly and not even in assembly - the problem is that it is rather difficult to buy such repair kits, it can be done only in company stores selling sanitary ware.

For valve taps, in order to disassemble the mixer in the bathroom or in the kitchen, first of all you need to remove the valve itself, which can be in the form of a lamb, a triangle or a lever.

In the first two cases, the fixing bolt is located at the end in the center, under the decorative cap, which is removed with a knife or flat screwdriver, hooked over the edge, but the lever is fixed under the handle on the cap - there is the same cap and under it a bolt.

After that, we need to unscrew the locknut - sometimes it still has a decorative nut in the form of a chrome-plated dome - and one and the other clamp is unscrewed counterclockwise, just be careful not to damage the lining.

Now pull the crankshaft over the rod, and if it is not pulled out, it means that there is an additional fixation with a lock washer - remove it, just be careful that it does not spring and get lost.

If you have a worm gear axle box, then you just need to replace the rubber valve on the piston (on the inner end of the stem), which is pressed against the seat with a bolt and washer. Such a valve can be purchased at the store (usually they are sold in sheets, like stamping), or cut it yourself out of thick thick rubber.

In the case of a ceramic crane, the problem is also most often in rubber - the sealing ring eventually flattens and the valve begins to leak. Under this seal, you can simply substitute a homemade washer made of copper wire, but you can go the other way.

You will need to disassemble the crankcase, squeezing the ceramic pair out of the body together with the sealing ring. You stick two or three layers of electrical tape on the upper (movable) ceramic plate and thereby increase the total length of the piston - the leakage will disappear.

Note. It is not necessary to disassemble the crane-box itself - you can always buy it in the store. But these nodes may have different sizes, so take the old copy with you to the store and show the seller.

Conclusion

Be it a disassembly of a lever mixer (joystick) or a two-valve model with faucets, you can always do it yourself. The most important thing is to follow the directions and tips that you learned about in this article.