Replaced tap valve now water not coming out

[guppy90]

Hi all,

Wondering if someone could give me some plumbing advice. Recently I had a leaking tap in the bathroom sink. I installed a replacement washer and o-ring, which stopped the leaking but has managed to kill my water pressure (water pressure from every other outlet is fine). It now barely comes out at a dribble. When I've taken the tap apart recently I've noticed the washers are very hard to get out as they've expanded significantly. I've replaced these washers again with new ones but same problem. Does anyone know what the solution to this is? From what I've read my washers may be "dislodged" and are not sitting properly. I've attached some photos for reference. Thanks!!

[JoeAzza]

Hi @guppy90 

When you removed the old tap washer was it  all in one piece, rubber and valve stem complete, if not you may have a piece of the valve seat stuck/lodged in the tap, if not, remove the new tap washer and refit the tap with out the valve washer and run the water to see if it still comes out. Maybe .@MitchellMc may be able to help.

[EricL]

Hello @guppy90

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. Thank you for joining us and sharing your question about your tap valve preventing water from coming out.

It's great that you've received fantastic advice from @JoeAzza. It's definitely worth looking into to see if anything got lodged in the seat of the tap. Would it be possible for you to post a photo of the original jumper valve that was attached to the bottom of the spindle? Older jumper valves use to come in 11mm sizes and the new generic ones are either 12mm or 13mm in size. If that's the case then the jumper valve is getting wedged in the body of the seat preventing water from coming in.

Eric

[guppy90]

Thanks for the reply, Joe. It was certainly shredded so that could definitely be a problem. I ran the water without the valve. Water continued to flow out of the tap at a reduced rate, and also out of the tap handle itself. 

[guppy90]

Thanks for the reply, Eric.

Unfortunately I've tossed the old valve out. This happened a couple of weeks ago and I've just been "living with it". I did take the older valve to my local Bunnings and was given a 13mm replacement. I thought they seemed to be a similar size but I can't remember for certain. I bought a 12mm pair today but they seemed to have to much wriggle room so I didn't try turning it on. Perhaps it's worth seeking out an older 11mm valve?

Also, I'm not really sure how I'd check if there was debris stuck within the tap. I suppose that'd be a more elaborate pull apart operation?

[EricL]

Hello @guppy90

On the premise that the taps in your house are all the same age, it would be worth checking the jumper on the cold spindle and compare it to what you have now. But I suggest doing this when there is no great need for water in your household as you will be having the basin open for quite some time. If you have a vernier you can accurately measure the head of the jumper valve and get exactly the same size for the hot spindle.

It's ok to have wriggle room, it at least lets you know that the 12mm valve is not getting stuck. The only other fault I can think of is that a channel has been dug out in the seat of the base and is shredding your new jumper valves. I recommend thoroughly looking and see if the seats are still flat and flush. 

Please keep us updated with your progress, we look forward to seeing your taps repaired.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric