Dynamic Line Bathroom Sink Tap Removal

[Stewart J]

OK guys your collective wisdom is required. My bathroom sink tap has failed and looks like it will need renewing once back in the U.K. Has anyone removed this tap and if so what was the strip down method? I have given it a good dose of looking at and nothing obvious jumps out, suspect it’s going to need panels or perhaps the entire sink/combined top removed. Bit of a bugger as we are only 4 days into a 3 month perambulation around Spain.
I have a work around which may interest others in a similar plight. We don’t use our shower and after a wet incident when shower valve was accidentally knocked on I blanked it off this when the van was a couple of months old. Fortunately the blank is watertight so we are opening the sink tap and using the shower valve to run the water pump giving us hot and cold water through sink tap.
Photo showing the bathroom sink and surrounds.

 

[rb62]

Possibly something like this underneath.....right PITA

Threaded bar screws into tap then locked up with the nut

 

[Stewart J]

Yes Richard it actually has a large nut securing it, but is the method of gaining access to it that I require

 

[Stewart J]

Lenny HB, any thoughts?

 

[Lenny HB]

Dead easy had mine out a few times.
Disconnect the water pipes, one big nut holds the tap in.
Take out the cap on the tap lever unscrew the bolt to take the leaver off, unscrew small torx athe bottom of the column. Then you can slide it apart.

On mine a wire had corroded off the microswitch. It's a soft plastics whether the wires go in. I cut the plastic back and soldered new wires on then covered with epoxy.
When you put it back together be very careful how you route the wires or the wire will pull off or break, with the tap action.
First time mine lasted a week, 2nd time a month, been OK for a year now.

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[Lenny HB]

Yes Richard it actually has a large nut securing it, but is the method of gaining access to it that I require

It's not much more than finger tight, losen it turning the tap, to tighten it I used water pump pliers, you need to take the shelf out in the cupboard.

 

[Lenny HB]

We don’t use our shower and after a wet incident when shower valve was accidentally knocked on I blanked it off this when the van was a couple of months old.

Couldn't cope with that we use the shower every day we are in the van.
Why not just turn the water pump swtich off when traveling.

 

[Stewart J]

Ah but what did you dismantle and in what order to access the underside of the tap Lenny is it just as simple as removing the shelf?

 

[Gellyneck]

Stewart J
See, told you you should have got a Chausson!
Just use the other sink!

 

[Lenny HB]

Taking out the shelf gives enought room to get in there. Just disconnect the water pipes & switch wires, undo the nut and out it comes.

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[tonyidle]

On the other hand if it's just the microswitch or wires to it remove the top of the tap (screw under blue/red thingy) and fix it from there.

 

[Stewart J]

Unfortunately water has gotten in the top of the tap and corroded away the hex socket for the Allen key so cannot undo bolt.

 

[Minxy]

Unfortunately water has gotten in the top of the tap and corroded away the hex socket for the Allen key so cannot undo bolt.

Could you glue something into the hex socket and then once it's set use that to extract the bolt? You'd need a replacement bolt but it wouldn't necessarily have to be a hex one.

 

[Lenny HB]

On the other hand if it's just the microswitch or wires to it remove the top of the tap (screw under blue/red thingy) and fix it from there.

Can't do that on a Reich Vector tap which is what it is I have the same taps.

 

[Lenny HB]

Unfortunately water has gotten in the top of the tap and corroded away the hex socket for the Allen key so cannot undo bolt.

It only screws into nylon (I think) so should come out. Mine had a little bit of rust on it, I coated it with silicon grease when I put it back together. I should have replaced it with a s/s bolt. I think I'll do that also on the kitchen one as well.

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[Stewart J]

Could you glue something into the hex socket and then once it's set use that to extract the bolt? You'd need a replacement bolt but it wouldn't necessarily have to be a hex one.

If only it were that simple Mel.

 

[Stewart J]

It only screws into nylon (I think) so should come out. Mine had a little bit of rust on it, I coated it with silicon grease when I put it back together.

Impossible to get at unfortunately Lenny so probably a new tap once home in November, wondering if your under sink cupboard is different from mine, removing shelf does not allow access to underside of tap.
Taking a leaf from your book mate, presently on the aire at Cascatel another planned for tomorrow night most campsites up here are not on ACSI till 1st of Sept Haro last two nights a buttock clenching 64.80 euro,

 

[CazPaul]

Got to question the quality of taps that are going wrong on 1 and 2 year motorhomes, bloody hell it's poor, whatever happened to build quality.

 

[Lenny HB]

Got to question the quality of taps that are going wrong on 1 and 2 year motorhomes, bloody hell it's poor, whatever happened to build quality.

They are all trying to compete with Dometic.

 

[Lenny HB]

Things I do for Funsters - getting out of bed at nearly midnight to take photos. These are with the shelf in, removing it just makes it easy when lying on your back grovelling in a confined space.

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[Lenny HB]

Taking a leaf from your book mate, presently on the aire at Cascatel another planned for tomorrow night most campsites up here are not on ACSI till 1st of Sept Haro last two nights a buttock clenching 64.80 euro,

I really don't understand why people want to stay on prison camps.
I thought where I am at the moment was expensive €8 a night another €2 if you want 16 amp EHU.

 

[peterc10]

We have the same tap and it stopped working this spring when we were in Portugal. Guessed it was the microswitch. The problem was that mine was right in the corner so could not get anything on the small torx at the bottom of the column to release it. Found a mobile fitter (British) thanks to BreweryDave and he spent an hour and a half sweating in the Portuguese sun to get it out and sorted. It needed a new microswitch and he had the right one in his van luckily.

 

[Minxy]

Impossible to get at unfortunately Lenny so probably a new tap once home in November, wondering if your under sink cupboard is different from mine, removing shelf does not allow access to underside of tap.

Can you get at it from the space to the right of the basin, behind the tissue box, or whatever it is?

 

[CazPaul]

They are all trying to compete with Dometic.

ironically I have a Dometic 1500 watt inverter and a Dometic fridge freezer on our March 2005 van, the fridge works perfectly even in very hot conditions, freezer gets down to temp even on 12volt, the inverter was a Concorde option and still works perfectly.

 

[Lenny HB]

The problem was that mine was right in the corner so could not get anything on the small torx at the bottom of the column to release it.

Same as mine I find it easier to just take the tap out but Stewart is having trouble getting the tap out.

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[Lenny HB]

ironically I have a Dometic 1500 watt inverter and a Dometic fridge freezer on our March 2005 van, the fridge works perfectly even in very hot conditions, freezer gets down to temp even on 12volt, the inverter was a Concorde option and still works perfectly.

Must have got Friday afternoon ones not normal for Dometic stuff to work.

 

[Stewart J]

Thanks Lenny your cabinet is as I thought different to mine, everything is boxed in so it will involve some strip down. Another 588dl owner is going to make enquiries for me. Also I mentioned using my shower valve to trigger the pump into delivering water to hand basin tap, I have a combined shower/ bathroom (wet room) so shower valve is at hand basin height 12 inches to left very convenient,

 

[Stewart J]

Can you get at it from the space to the right of the basin, behind the tissue box, or whatever it is?

Nope Mel it s all boxed in there is a double bulkhead incorporating rh side of cupboard down which all the pipe work goes.

 

[Stewart J]

I really don't understand why people want to stay on prison camps.
I thought where I am at the moment was expensive €8 a night another €2 if you want 16 amp EHU.

Mind they do have drawbacks, 25 deg C at midnight so we had all the windows open, at 12.30am a Spanish Berlingo camper rocks up and parks nearby, you know the model with 20 or more sliding doors. They then set up the inside for sleeping which involved lots of banging and loud conversation and seemed to take forever. At 1am she is walking up and down behind vans holding a very loud telephone conversation which seemed to last 20 minutes or so, you gotta love the Spanish. It would be unlikely to happen on a campsite

 

[Stewart J]

Tonight’s destination anyone know it?

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