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Discuss Kitchen mixer tap disaster - advice please in the Plumbing Forum | Plumbing Advice area at PlumbersForums.net

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I have lived at this house for over 10 years and it has been interesting keeping things working.
The latest issue is a weeping kitchen mixer tap. Probably been gently weeping since I moved in but always blamed the slight damp on somthing else. Took it apart and look what I found. Standard tap fitting presented to a tap that clearly appears to have an olive fitting. Both fittings for hot and cold the same albeit wrapped in some serious PTFE tape.
Currently no Kitchen tap and pipe ends sealed with simple isolation valves. Is there any way I can get these fittings to mate sensibly or should I just make up a couple of 's's with my pipe bender to fit to new isolation valves and fit properly to taps with olive fitting.
One other quick question, the brass olives are a little loose on the 15mm pipe for my liking. Is there any problem with just packing them with a couple of wraps of PTFE on the pipe and olive positioned on top?

Thanks
IMG_0515.JPG
 
1. Those tap shanks are designed to take either an olive or a normal tap connector and fibre washer. That is why there is a slight flat on the end on the shank.
2. There doesn't appear to be any vestige of a fibre washer in the picture.
3. If brass olives are a little loose it is possible the pipe has been compressed by overtightening. Couple of possible fixes:
3a. Replace the end of the pipe with a new piece soldered into a coupling.
3b. Use a swage or pipe expander to resize the tube.
3c. Use copper olives. They are more "compressible" than brass ones.
 
If your skill is lacking (not an insult), you could cut that off and use braided hoses.
 
1. Those tap shanks are designed to take either an olive or a normal tap connector and fibre washer. That is why there is a slight flat on the end on the shank.
2. There doesn't appear to be any vestige of a fibre washer in the picture.
3. If brass olives are a little loose it is possible the pipe has been compressed by overtightening. Couple of possible fixes:
3a. Replace the end of the pipe with a new piece soldered into a coupling.
3b. Use a swage or pipe expander to resize the tube.
3c. Use copper olives. They are more "compressible" than brass ones.
Thank you for your reply. I replaced those tap fixings with pipe and olives. Wrapped the olive in PTFE to be sure of a good seal. The tap fittings had no sign on a fibre washer and appeared too narrow to interface effectively with the flat part of the tap ends. Everything fitted back with the addition of isolation valves.
The olives were fine in the end; just a little loose for my liking on 15mm copper.
Unfortunately there is a strange very small leak from the hot tap, coming from above the connectors, getting past the thread of the plastic nut that holds the tap to the sink. I am at a complete loss as to where this water is coming from. It is a solid tap and the reason I removed it in the first place was to see if there was any way water could be getting past that plastic securing nut - please see photo https://i.postimg.cc/RV6XC0Gb/IMG-0536.jpg
Just had another look and a drop forming on the cold tap side now too; this is really odd - please see photo....https://i.postimg.cc/cHCfDDb5/IMG-0537.jpg
Can't see it too well in the photo but equivalent of a couple of drips on the black plastic securing washer.

Any ideas
 
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Have you taken the handles off to have a look at the state of the cartridges (packing)?
 
Have you taken the handles off to have a look at the state of the cartridges (packing)?
Yes and even changed one of the peglers that looked fine but a little worn. There is no sign of water on the top side of the tap, so leaks must be on the lower face of tap that sits on the sink or on the unions with the tap threads
 
Did you replace the fibre washers ?
 
Thank you for the contributions to my thread.
After several days of no leaking water I think I have found the bizarre cause of these little leaks under the sink - please see https://i.postimg.cc/7YgHGZMx/IMG-0585.jpg
The centre mixer cannot be removed as far as I can tell and has a little weep after tap used; tap turned off but retained water held above leak point in mixer by gravity. The foamy/rubbery gasket between tap and sink is absorbent, so must have been sucking this water in and somehow feeding it past the tap threads.
I had a bit of clear Stixall left so just used it to seal around the base of the tap. Leak free now:)
 
No grub screw on the deck behind the central swivel that you could remove to allow you to pull out the swivel and replace the O ring seals?
 
No grub screw on the deck behind the central swivel that you could remove to allow you to pull out the swivel and replace the O ring seals?
Would have been good to take a look at the 'o' ring but this tap does not seem to facilitate dismantling in that area. No grub screw as a lot of similar taps and no other fixing apparent.
The water was coming from that swivel junction in small amounts, limited by the small amount left/held in the tap itself after use. This water was being absorbed by the washer between sink and taps and then somehow, capillary action or similar, dripping off the underside. Sealing the base of the tap, whilst a bodge has resolved the issue.
 
Looks like 1/2 inch from the wall thickness hence why the 15mm olive might be a bit loose
 
Looks like 1/2 inch from the wall thickness hence why the 15mm olive might be a bit loose
Yes, you are right; a 1970 build so imperial.
The olives were a tiny bit loose but no issue once tightened up with a wrap of PTFE tape on top of the olives. Probably would have been OK without the PTFE but not confident enough to risk.
 
Isn't 1/2" tube generally slightly larger OD than 15mm?
I've always thought it was smaller, I have a scrap bit which I'm pretty sure is 1/2 and you can see the looseness of a 15mm olive on it.
I'll go out to the van and get a bit of 15 for comparison in a bit
 

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3/4" is definitely smaller than 22mm (21.7?). But I seem to remember the issue with 1/2" is getting an end feed fitting over the pipe and I ordered some 1/2" to 15mm transition couplings from BES because sanding the end of a bit of tube to fit (Graham merchant staff's suggestion because they don't stock them) is hard work when it is inevitably in an awkward location :)

Considering your olive is on the end of a pipe cut with a tube cutter, it doesn't look that loose.
 
It doesn't look that loose but it certainly doesn't look tight.
Stevenson says
0.596" / 15.14 mm so it looks like you are correct. đź‘Ť
 
Isn't 1/2" tube generally slightly larger OD than 15mm?
Yes, I think you are generally right. Found this..................
'Here's the facts about 1/2" and 15mm tube:

1/2" tube was to BS 659 and a maximum o/d was specified as 0.596" or 15.14mm, no minimum was listed but a wall thickness range was quoted - I don't have that stuff to hand.

15mm tube is to BS 2871 and has an o/d of 14.965 (minimum) to 15.045 (maximum). Normal tube for plumbing purposes is Table X (half hard temper) with a wall thickness of 0.7mm. Table Y for underground use has a wall thickness of 1mm and Table Z soft tube is 0.5mm.

Metric fittings for solder have an i/d of 15.065 to 15.145mm.

So... if you have a fitting which is at the larger end of the permitted range it will fit perfectly.'

A possibility that standards may have dropped with copper thickness back in the day but unlikely. Seems that 15mm pipe uses a lot less copper as only 0.7mm thickness.
 

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