Minxy
LIFE MEMBER
- Aug 22, 2007
- 32,623
- 66,460
- Funster No
- 149
- MH
- Carthago Compactline
- Exp
- Since 1996, had Elddis/Swift/Rapido/Rimor/Chausson MHs. Autocruise/Globecar PVCs/Compactline i-138
I decided to do a few jobs in the camper today … one being to change the existing low kitchen tapa taller one which I already had ... shouldn't be too difficult I thought ... oh yeah, of course ... NOT .... I'd forgotten to plan for sod's law!!! 
After ensuring that the control panel was turned off and I’d isolated the electrics I managed to get the 2 VERY large drawers out and had a shuftie underneath, I could see the base of the tap and the large plastic nut that held it tight against the worktop, ah … I have a tool for getting that off … somewhere! After much snuffling around in the workshop I managed to find my tap spanner ... but of course it didn't fit.
Darn it!
What to use instead … out came the grip pliers ... after a bit of messing around and trying to be a contortionist, there was no way to get them on the nut due to the sink being in the way ... blast! I know, thinks I, I’ll remove the sink ... 4 screws taken out of the top, then the screw in the plug hole and out it came, as it had an earth lead attached rather than mess about taking it off I managed to prop it up at the side, it was a bit restrictive to get at so off came the facia board on the front of the unit too … 8 fiddly screws (why 8 screws I have no idea, totally over the top!), I also removed the leads to the heater thermostat which is on the face of the panel, and put it safely to one side. At last I had good access to it all (well as good as I was gonna get) so having already disconnected the microswitch wires I set about the plastic nut with the grip pliers again and carefully managed to gently untighten it without damage. Whey-hey … won’t be long now thinks I … er … nope!
I hadn’t planned on the ruddy water pipes that were dangling from the tap not wanting to come out from where they were pushed in and secured to the rest of the piping … having release the jubilee clips and the clamps holding them against the wall boarding I had a good pull at the hot pipe … nothing … then I tried twisting it and pulling at the same time … nope … hubby had a go too … not a sausage … they would happily twist round but would NOT come out. Aaarrrrrghhhhhhh
Hubby did suggest not bothering and just keeping the old tap … yeah right, like I was gonna admit defeat!!!!! Needless to say he made a hasty exit. 
Light bulb moment … I know … hairdryer!!! Off I toddle to get it out of the bathroom but when I opened the cupboard door to retrieve it a container of handwash lotion in an acrylic squirty jar made a bid for freedom, fell on the floor and the ruddy top came off … handwash all over the place …… oh what joy!
After clearing it all up I was well and truly p*ssed off ready for the upcoming ‘battle’ to get the pipes off the camper tap!!!! 
Hairdryer in hand I faced my ‘opponents’ and then let them have it! My first ‘victim’ was the hot pipe … nice and slow to make it ‘suffer’ from a long bit of heating … yeah go on, stay on there now you little s*d if you dare … patience was a virtue as I knew the longer I left it, the more pliable the pipe would be … eventually I decided it had been tortured enough and gave it a pull and twist but the little prat didn’t want to come out so more torture was required … I got out a nice thin screwdriver and I swear it was quivering from fright!
I managed to slot the screwdriver down between the inside of the pipe and the connection piece from the tap tails and worked round to slacken it a little … obviously this was too much for it so it gave in and came out with a little pull … yippee … success at last! I threatened the cold pipe too and it gave up much quicker (obviously frightened!) so now the tap was ‘free’ ... double yippee! 
Next I had to remove the existing connectors from the bottom of the new tap … I managed to work out that I had to push/pull out a little plastic ‘pin’ that held them in place under the tap base … then repeated this on the old tap … nice and easy … thank goodness! I put the ones from the old tap, with the dangling pipes attached, into the new tap base and put the pin back in … I was on a winning streak!!!!
After a bit of a clean-up of the work surface I popped the new tap in place and slotted the nut on underneath remembering to put the wires for the microswitch through it too then proceeded to tighten it up, I made sure the rubber seal was placed correctly on the work surface and that the tap was in the correct position then tightened it but not fully. I placed the sink back in the opening to check the lever didn’t snag on anything in use and made some small adjustments to get it just right then removed the sink and fully tightened the tap up being careful not to twist it as I did so. Then came my second run in with the pipes … I was ready for the little s*ds this time but needn’t have worried as they were totally submissive and went back in without a fight so I finished them off by ‘strangling’ them as I tightened up the jubilee clips and put the clamps back on to hold them against the wall … that’ll teach them to be so naughty! Ahem … once I reconnected the microswitch wires I tested the tap and could hear the pump going on and off so it all worked – YES YES YES!!!!!!!
I fastened the facia panel back on and cleaned out the drain for the sink (nasty and black ... yuk!) before putting it back and screwed it all in place. A double check to make sure nothing was getting snagged (it wasn’t!) and a final check that the tap was still working … it was … so back in went the drawers with a nice squirt of lube, they run better now than they did before!
Needless to say this is very much the shortened version of events … missing out the tantrums and swearing, bashed knuckles etc … but I think you can fill that in for yourselves! It took a lot longer than it should have … doesn’t it always … but I now have a nice tall tap so can get my flipping kettle under it when I want a cuppa without having to move everything off the work surface! Oh, and hubby actually came to have a look when I’d finished and said to me “You’re too clever!” … praise indeed!
After ensuring that the control panel was turned off and I’d isolated the electrics I managed to get the 2 VERY large drawers out and had a shuftie underneath, I could see the base of the tap and the large plastic nut that held it tight against the worktop, ah … I have a tool for getting that off … somewhere! After much snuffling around in the workshop I managed to find my tap spanner ... but of course it didn't fit.
Darn it! What to use instead … out came the grip pliers ... after a bit of messing around and trying to be a contortionist, there was no way to get them on the nut due to the sink being in the way ... blast! I know, thinks I, I’ll remove the sink ... 4 screws taken out of the top, then the screw in the plug hole and out it came, as it had an earth lead attached rather than mess about taking it off I managed to prop it up at the side, it was a bit restrictive to get at so off came the facia board on the front of the unit too … 8 fiddly screws (why 8 screws I have no idea, totally over the top!), I also removed the leads to the heater thermostat which is on the face of the panel, and put it safely to one side. At last I had good access to it all (well as good as I was gonna get) so having already disconnected the microswitch wires I set about the plastic nut with the grip pliers again and carefully managed to gently untighten it without damage. Whey-hey … won’t be long now thinks I … er … nope!
I hadn’t planned on the ruddy water pipes that were dangling from the tap not wanting to come out from where they were pushed in and secured to the rest of the piping … having release the jubilee clips and the clamps holding them against the wall boarding I had a good pull at the hot pipe … nothing … then I tried twisting it and pulling at the same time … nope … hubby had a go too … not a sausage … they would happily twist round but would NOT come out. Aaarrrrrghhhhhhh
Hubby did suggest not bothering and just keeping the old tap … yeah right, like I was gonna admit defeat!!!!! Needless to say he made a hasty exit. Light bulb moment … I know … hairdryer!!! Off I toddle to get it out of the bathroom but when I opened the cupboard door to retrieve it a container of handwash lotion in an acrylic squirty jar made a bid for freedom, fell on the floor and the ruddy top came off … handwash all over the place …… oh what joy!
After clearing it all up I was well and truly p*ssed off ready for the upcoming ‘battle’ to get the pipes off the camper tap!!!! Hairdryer in hand I faced my ‘opponents’ and then let them have it! My first ‘victim’ was the hot pipe … nice and slow to make it ‘suffer’ from a long bit of heating … yeah go on, stay on there now you little s*d if you dare … patience was a virtue as I knew the longer I left it, the more pliable the pipe would be … eventually I decided it had been tortured enough and gave it a pull and twist but the little prat didn’t want to come out so more torture was required … I got out a nice thin screwdriver and I swear it was quivering from fright!
I managed to slot the screwdriver down between the inside of the pipe and the connection piece from the tap tails and worked round to slacken it a little … obviously this was too much for it so it gave in and came out with a little pull … yippee … success at last! I threatened the cold pipe too and it gave up much quicker (obviously frightened!) so now the tap was ‘free’ ... double yippee! Next I had to remove the existing connectors from the bottom of the new tap … I managed to work out that I had to push/pull out a little plastic ‘pin’ that held them in place under the tap base … then repeated this on the old tap … nice and easy … thank goodness! I put the ones from the old tap, with the dangling pipes attached, into the new tap base and put the pin back in … I was on a winning streak!!!!
After a bit of a clean-up of the work surface I popped the new tap in place and slotted the nut on underneath remembering to put the wires for the microswitch through it too then proceeded to tighten it up, I made sure the rubber seal was placed correctly on the work surface and that the tap was in the correct position then tightened it but not fully. I placed the sink back in the opening to check the lever didn’t snag on anything in use and made some small adjustments to get it just right then removed the sink and fully tightened the tap up being careful not to twist it as I did so. Then came my second run in with the pipes … I was ready for the little s*ds this time but needn’t have worried as they were totally submissive and went back in without a fight so I finished them off by ‘strangling’ them as I tightened up the jubilee clips and put the clamps back on to hold them against the wall … that’ll teach them to be so naughty! Ahem … once I reconnected the microswitch wires I tested the tap and could hear the pump going on and off so it all worked – YES YES YES!!!!!!!
I fastened the facia panel back on and cleaned out the drain for the sink (nasty and black ... yuk!) before putting it back and screwed it all in place. A double check to make sure nothing was getting snagged (it wasn’t!) and a final check that the tap was still working … it was … so back in went the drawers with a nice squirt of lube, they run better now than they did before!
Needless to say this is very much the shortened version of events … missing out the tantrums and swearing, bashed knuckles etc … but I think you can fill that in for yourselves! It took a lot longer than it should have … doesn’t it always … but I now have a nice tall tap so can get my flipping kettle under it when I want a cuppa without having to move everything off the work surface! Oh, and hubby actually came to have a look when I’d finished and said to me “You’re too clever!” … praise indeed!
