Single lever bathroom faucets: device design and repair

To date, the sale of a large number of plumbing. Special attention is drawn to the faucets for bathrooms and kitchens due to the elegant design and original design performances.

The history of water faucets and mixers is as rich as the history of bicycles. Even in ancient Greece, the inventor Geron made a device that externally difficult to call a mixer, but in its function it differs little from all subsequent models and models of cranes. As with bikes, taps and mixers continued to be invented. In the history of the Roman Empire there are references to mixer taps. It says that the cranes of the engineers of Rome in some way repeated the principles of the cranes of the ancient Greek,but they already laid the principles for the design of household appliances, they were distinguished by convenience and artistic taste.

But in the Middle Ages, cranes and hygiene were forgotten. Due to the lack of sanitary conditions, many diseases and epidemics have appeared, and their actions have led to millions of victims in Europe. Save humanity had to water, cleanliness, sanitation and personal hygiene. Then there was a need for the manufacture of cranes. True, these devices were available exclusively to rich people.

At the end of the 18th century, a mechanic from England, Joseph Brahma, invented a device that got closer to the mixers. It consisted of three cranes: hot, cold and mixed. They functioned until the beginning of the twentieth century, when the Englishman William Thomson developed the ideas of Brahm to a two-valve mixer. Most recently, these important plumbing appliances were driven by cranes. They have not disappeared, and often appear in the style of a luxurious retro, in a bronze cast version or in a gilded form.

Modern bathrooms as centers of personal hygiene are transformed into luxurious comfortable rooms, decorated with taste, decorated with expensive design, equipped with the most modern sanitary appliances and equipment.The craving for luxury and the vanity of well-to-do people leads to the appearance of bathroom appliances, which differ in cost and artistic value. Design with a good design is possible for people of different financial levels, including even budget. All this applies to one of the most important elements of the bathroom - a mixer for water supply. Designers, designers, engineers and production workers created more than one dozen of high artistic level samples, which at the same time ensure reliable performance of their basic functions.

To reduce the time for motor skills when carrying out household operations related to water, the developers of sanitary equipment came to a very popular single-lever mixer, having a cartridge (liner) as the main part, carrying the main workload on mixing and water supply. The main technical characteristic of the liner of any type is a reliable smooth transfer of water supply and temperature. These devices are able to work without jamming and dribbling for many years.

Sanitary equipment of kitchens and baths with the growth of its comfort is increasingly approaching the products of artistic orientation. A variety of forms of installation and methods of water supply have a dozen options. Here you can find an eyeliner built into the walls, a floor stand mounted into the sides of the bath, a whole system of water supply of the necessary condition.

These samples are attractive simple repair, ease of installation, efficiency and functionality, ease of control of the water temperature at the outlet of the faucet mixer. This is important, because when setting the temperature in conventional taps, the flow of hot water, and cold, too, is increased.

The convenience of managing mixed water supply is needed by many users of bathtubs and showers. This is especially true of people with any ailments and the elderly. Controlling the temperature and water supply with the movements of one hand increases safety in the process of showering or bathing in the bath. The advantage is also the ability to hide the main components under the modern forms of mixers, on which the operation of the mixer tap depends.

Quality of water influences trouble-free and long-term operation of mixers, especially it concerns disk cartridges, both ceramic, and plastic. You may need some measures to purify water from impurities.

The ability to repair is severely limited, it comes down to replacing only a small number of parts or the entire cartridge as a whole. Rubber pads often fail. It is not always easy to set the desired water temperature, but this applies more to low-cost models that have a small angle of rotation of the lever.

Single lever tap with disc cartridge is not too complicated.

The scheme is shown in the figure. So, what does it consist of:

• lever transfer force for plate movement;
• screw for fixing the main lever;
• nut for clamping the liner in the installation location;
• spherical nut;
• cartridge. The position of its plates directs the flow of water for mixing and supplies water of the desired condition to the exit;
• mixer body with liner seat;
• spout (gander). Its location can be either a continuation of the mixer tap, or a separate part.

The cartridge has movable plates associated with the rod, and fixed, located at the bottom of the node. The plates have special-shaped openings that open or close the inlets for cold or hot water, and an opening for supplying mixed water with the required temperature to the spout. The plates are lapped tight almost to the molecular state. When the lever moves in a vertical plane, the cartridge liner shifts the movable disc in such a way that the water supply to the spout opens. When the lever is rotated to the right or left, hot or cold water is opened.

Due to the tight contact of the moving and fixed discs, the requirements for the state of water are increased. The entry of even small particles of foreign fragments disrupts the stable operation of the disks and leads to premature failure of the cartridge, and hence the mixer. Therefore, the issue of water filtration should be resolved in advance.

By the type of the main node, which forms the modes of mixing and water flow,The following types of bath appliances are distinguished:

• single lever ball mixer;
• cermet disc with one handle;
• disk plastic.

The main element of the lever ball mixer is a hollow ballwhich has two openings for the passage of water flows and one for the desired water to spout. The mixing of water occurs inside the hollow ball, which is adjacent to the seats made of special rubber with the addition of fluorine, and both streams of water are fed from the openings of these saddles. The position of the ball is determined by turning or vertical movement of the lever, the holes are combined and the water entering the ball is mixed to the required temperature and fed to the mixer output in the volume specified by the vertical position of the lever.

Circuit diagrams and principle of operation are the same for metal-ceramic and plastic plates. The control plates is a rod, which puts on the lever. The wall-mounted mixer, as well as all other options, have a universal cartridge as the main element for a comfortable exit of water at the required temperature. It is impossible to repair the cartridge or make any adjustment, everything ends only with a replacement.

The designs of mixers with cartridges have much in common. But the development of production, improvement of technology, the use of more and more reliable materials leads to the emergence of more advanced products. For example, the developers of the firm Kludi created a micro cartridge, with which it is already possible to create miniature models of mixers. On this basis, thermostatic devices with reduced dimensions and universal layout were developed.

The development of the Italian company Newform led to the emergence of mixers with cartridges that can withstand water hammer with a pressure of 35 atmospheres. The well-known company Supergrif and some others are trying to bring to the super-smooth surface of the disks, using the technology of ultrasonic polishing. Other specialists from Ideal Standart invented a special liner that works with water at extremely low pressure. This device has another microcamera with buffer function.The strength of the wafer surface of Grohe Holding's cartridges is significantly increased with Carbodur carbon crystal spraying.

The one-lever (one-armed) mixer with a spherical cartridge has been in use for almost 40 years. The simplicity and reliability of such cranes do not create major problems in their work. They most often appear because of the low quality of water in the urban network, when particles of dirt gradually settle on the rubber seats of the mixer socket, on which a hollow ball becomes.

The first signs of poor mixer performance appeared: noise, creaks, the lever turns tight, then it can be easily disassembled.

To repair such a crane with your own hands, you need to have at hand a minimum set of tools, namely:

• screwdrivers of different shapes;
• adjustable wrench;
• pipe wrench;
• pliers;
• Allen key for fixing screw;
• clean rags;
• liquid WD-40.

To remove a spherical cartridge, it is worth performing the following actions:

• remove the cork (blue and red);
• unscrew the clamping screw with the allen key;
• remove the main lever from the rod;
• unscrew the cap manually to avoid crushing it;
• unscrew the clamping nut, remove the washer under it;
• for the stock take the ball.

Under the ball there are two saddles with springs for a snug fit of the elastic bands to the ball. After disassembly, carefully remove all deposits, clean and wipe. It is necessary to check the condition of the springs, if necessary, they must be replaced.

You can go for handling the ball. If it is stainless steel, then it must be cleaned to shine. If the balls are made of cheap metal or plastic, it is better to replace them with new ones. Plastic balls under the influence of poor quality water can flake off, losing their geometry and smooth surface, and in liners made of cheap metal, the body of a hollow ball wears down to wall thickness, at which it already deforms from the usual actions of water supply through a mixer tap. You must assemble the entire assembly in the reverse order.

Single-lever device with a swiveling "gander" is in great demand. Rotary "gander" very often changes its position from the bath to the sink. Over time, the union nut loosens and may leak. It is enough to tighten the nut a bit, although you may need to change the gasket, which sometimes loses its elasticity due to the consumption of lubricant.

Ceramic cartridge plates undoubtedly last much longer, but nothing lasts forever, and they appear chipped, abrasion of adjacent surfaces and even destruction, which can lead to unstable work and even to complete failure. Cartridges are not repaired, so you need to know how they are replaced.

The liner malfunctions are manifested by the following actions:

• streams of hot and cold water do not mix, only one temperature flows out of the “gander”;
• water is not supplied at any position of the lever;
• outlet water temperature fluctuates independently;
• very weak water supply;
• the tap is open, water is flowing, but it is no longer possible to close it;
• from under the lever water constantly flows;
• The lever turns only with the application of effort.

The functions and condition of the mixer are largely influenced by insoluble particles of rust, lime, sand and other impurities in the water. Installation of various cleaning filters prolongs the reliable operation of the liner, and hence the mixer as a whole.

Inserts can not only wear out, but sometimes break for such reasons as:

• the production used materials that do not meet the standards;
• careless actions with the lever (shocks, strong pressure in the end positions);
• frequent water hammer in the system;
• poor water quality;
• substandard filters or lack thereof.

As you can see, it is not necessary to count on the eternal operation of the devices for mixing and supplying water, and especially the liner, so over time you will have to replace the cartridge with a new one. You can perform any work successfully, if the master has a good tool and knows how to use it.

When replacing the cartridge will need a small set of tools. Purchased new liner may not fit the seats and sizes, so the best option would be to present a shot of the liner in the store and buy it back in stock.

Experts recommend sticking to a few tips when buying and operating a single-lever bathroom faucet.

• At purchase it is worth choosing brass heavy mixers. They are more durable and will last for quite a long time. But silumin mixers are characterized by a short service life.
• To protect the mixer from damage that can be repaired, you must install water filters.
• After replacing the liner and checking the work, it is sometimes found that anyway, the problem with the leakage remains unresolved. In such cases, you must carefully disassemble the mixer. It is necessary to remove the insert and carefully check all its surfaces. There may be extraneous particles of a latent nature, which during the first tests were not revealed, and then appeared between the disks or on the ball. Inaccurate fit of the insert into the working socket and its insufficient clamping by a nut are also possible. This clamping nut and you can spoil the liner, if you make great efforts, pressing it.

• In the process of working with the mixer, you must try to control the lever of the crane, avoiding shock effects. All movements should be smooth. You should try not to push the lever hard in its final positions.
• When connecting the mixer to the water supply network, it is necessary to follow the compliance of the “hot” and “cold” pointers on the plastic tube with supplied pipelines. Of course, it is better to change the position of the cork than the connection of the tubes.
• All plumbing fixtures are designed for a certain service life, which depends on the conditions of their use.It can be extended by improving the quality of tap water using filters, as well as through regular prophylaxis, which consists in timely disassembling, cleaning and replacing seals. From the state of the seals often depends on all the trouble-free operation of plumbing fixtures. It is necessary to apply standard factory elements, the materials of which correspond to the requirements of Russian State Standards and EU standards.

Domestic mixer taps are slightly inferior in terms of parameters to foreign brands, but there are still some advantages. They are much cheaper than foreign mixers, it is much easier for them to find spare parts. It is very important that the Russian mixers are adapted to the water that our network serves; they are not clogged with impurities that are unsuitable for expensive brands.

Of course, expensive mixer taps are made of better materials., but sometimes for their rich and pompous appearance there may appear a fake. Therefore, they say that it is more expensive - it does not mean safer. The purchase of new cranes must be taken very seriously and responsibly. It is worth listening to the advice and feedback of those who already have experience in their repair and replacement.

To learn how to repair a single-lever mixer with your own hands, see the video below.