As a jobbing plumber these ceramic discs do my head in. There are literally hundreds of different ones and the only thing that is standardised is the thread that you actually wind into the tap. I carry about eight of the most common ones. If none of them fit then I fit new taps because I can't be arsed to spend hours going round the merchants or searching online for what should be a fifteen minute job if it was a washered tap.
Not a plumber but mine started to leak. What an absolute faff finding a replacement. Non at screw fix, tool station, plumbers merchant. Ended up gettting one online but I can see how its a chew on for a plumber.
I have one of these taps and it is dripping and the ceramic discs may be fairly easy to clean and or replace but the cartridges have to be an exact match out of hundreds of different types and no company names, make or model, or serial numbers to any of the parts. Check videos on how to dissemble or clean ceramic cartridges.
The other thing to point out is the sealing washer (red or blue) can pass causing a dripping tap and perceived as worn ceramic discs. Even the replacement cartridges need to have the correct dimension of the sealing washer as they can pass and still cause a dripping tap. How about some standardisation to all you over engineered tap designers that probaly never have to work on your own products..
These ceremic disc quarter turn taps are not really appropriate for areas with hard water as limescale builds up in them very easily, thus causing drips they are much more expensive to replace than conventional tap valves which are not so susuptible to limescale issues.
For anyone with a mechanical aptitude, they can be taken apart (as shown in this video), cleaned, a tiny dab of lithium grease smeared on the opposing ceramic surfaces, and then re-assembled. It takes a few minutes to do and the drip is gone.
Hate to ask, but how to 'Flush the lines" before installing replacement CDC tap valve? How long do these last as mine is leaking. I am suspecting that not flushing may be a culprit. (?) I switched from regular compression washers as I was always replacing them. The CDC type has lasted 3 times longer at less than 18 mths.
This video somehow helped me repair my tap's half way phase. Thanks for making this. It really helped a lot. I repaired without spending a dime for which plumber was asking approx 10USD for a new piece.
Great explanation on how this works, I've wondered how they work for a long time, thanks, what makes the difference between 0.3 bar & 0.5 bar minimum pressure?
