Tiny Tuesday - Plumbing DIY!

The mixer shower in our bathroom is almost 24 years old and has given stalwart service. However recently it's needed an enormous force to turn the tap off; MrsC has been having to call me to help her to stop the flow!

It's too old to justify calling a pro plumber to do anything other than replace it. So I thought I'd see if I could fix it. Most of the screw-threads are totally jammed solid but I did manage to get the front off with a "Mole" wrench. I freed up the mechanism with wire wool and silicone grease but then found that the thermostatic capsule was also misbehaving - only allowing cold showers which aren't very inviting. (There is supposed to be a screw to adjust the effect but owing to everything being jammed that's totally inaccessible.)

I looked online for some replacement parts - alas, the manufacturer is now out of business and no spares are available. So I think we'll have to admit that the whole unit needs replacing (in fact the whole bathroom needs tarting up after 24 years). But in the meantime I've managed to get it working (sort of) by botching up a "copy" of the capsule with a bolt and nut, using washers as shims to adjust the effective length. It's no longer thermostatic but we can now get the water to a decent temperature so it'll keep us clean until a new one can be fitted.

(Actually I also had to saw the head off the bolt which I used, to make it fit. But having put it together and got it working I wasn't going to dismantle it again just for the blip(!), so this is a similar bolt.)

The bits in the photo are only about 3cm long so I think they should qualify for Tiny Tuesday. Many thanks to JDO for hosting again this week.