buying new taps...ceramic or traditional washers?

[steveo3002]

i need to replace a kitchen tap , i see some are ceramic internals vs the traditional washers

whats best ? i just want hassle free that isnt going to drip after 6 months or be impossible to repair when it does start to drip?

 

[voipio]

Ceramic cartridges are easy enough to replace, provided the correct replacement is available. They come in left and right "handed" versions for hot and cold. There are some single lever mixer taps where the ceramic cartridges are problematic, so it's worth asking the dealer about reliability. We've had a single lever mixer tap that has worked perfectly for years without any issues. Ceramics tend to be noisy in use, unless the water pressure is really low. Traditional washered taps tend to be quieter in use, unless there is "slack" in the mechanism and they start vibrating. It's a different noise to the ceramics, though!

 

[steveo3002]

would most likely be a tool station /screwfix purchase ...are they universal repairs or unique to each brand etc

 

[minimutly]

Ceramic cartridges are easy enough to replace, provided the correct replacement is available. They come in left and right "handed" versions for hot and cold. There are some single lever mixer taps where the ceramic cartridges are problematic, so it's worth asking the dealer about reliability. We've had a single lever mixer tap that has worked perfectly for years without any issues. Ceramics tend to be noisy in use, unless the water pressure is really low. Traditional washered taps tend to be quieter in use, unless there is "slack" in the mechanism and they start vibrating. It's a different noise to the ceramics, though!

Be sure to buy ceramic taps from someone who keeps spares. Been and Qued use chinese, they don't keep any in stock, and as @voipio says the single lever mixers are problematic - I've traced this to the hot water being too hot, should have a mixer after the tank really. Probably then the ceramic would be ok.

 

[steveo3002]

wont be a single mixer

 

[mike os]

Don’t buy cheap ceramic taps unless you like replacing them

Major brands should have spares available for several years

 

[bourbon]

don't buy them from the likes of Screwfix and Toolstation, They are box shifters who won't know what is a good tap or not. Find your small local plumbers merchant and ask them instead. They are more likely to know better, Then, and this is the important bit, BUY it from them. They will then be in business when you need to ask them something else.

 

[james butler]

go for washer
worst ever invention ceramic taps they simply dont work or last for vey long
had both cheap and expensive and both had the same before changing back to washer type

 

[steveo3002]

don't buy them from the likes of Screwfix and Toolstation, They are box shifters who won't know what is a good tap or not. Find your small local plumbers merchant and ask them instead. They are more likely to know better, Then, and this is the important bit, BUY it from them. They will then be in business when you need to ask them something else.

i get what youre saying...my usual findings are i get the screwfix ones from them in a differnet box and twice the price

i dont have a problem paying more for better stuff ...got a feeling its all from china unless youre spending £400

 

[julianf]

Our kitchen tap was second hand.

I replaced the ceramic cartridge on one side when installed them about 7 years back.

The other side just started dripping, and this time all I could find was a twin pack, so I did both sides.

It's probably less than a 10 min job to do both sides. I don't expect to do it again for a long time.

These are just cheap cartridges. I think it's about a fiver for a pair or somthing.


That's our kitchen tap. It's just a cheap one, but my partner liked it.

Our bath taps have a (current) £1300 price tag. I've not had to do them yet.


*Don't be silly, of course I didn't pay £1300 on a set of taps! I got them off Freecycle...

 

[jenki]

Ceramic for me everytime, I have hard water here and the Ideal Standard bathroom taps have had 1 replacement cartridge in about 30 years. They were top of the range in their day so I have no experience of current offerings.

 

[Kayos]

High pressure - ceramic

Low pressure - traditional

 

[cheb]

What pressure is high pressure? Is it just shorthand for mains pressure, low pressure being that supplied by a header tank in loft?

 

[dobbslc]

We had two set of cheapish ceramic taps when we did our kitchen and utility room and both are / were rubbish. The kitchen one started dripping after 12 months and both wouldn't stay put on the sink, they kept moving about. I looked for replacement inserts but couldn't find any that matched. Probably a one run batch from China never to be repeated and no spares!
Replaced the kitchen one with a new set from one of the Victoria / Victorian plumbing places and it's far better quality!

 

[Brad93]

Just spent another £20 on ceramic cartridges. Been about 2.5 years since I last changed them.

Hard water area.

 

[Kayos]

What pressure is high pressure? Is it just shorthand for mains pressure, low pressure being that supplied by a header tank in loft?

Pretty much, although I'd say boosted tanks are high pressure (technically high flow as the static pressure is irrelevant)

 

[Maker]

Even a cheap ceramic one will last years. I replaced some cartridges a month or so ago, they were cheap taps fitted nearly 20 years ago, only just started leaking and generic cartridges cost less than a tenner a pair and took minutes to fit (Okay one of them had seized and needed impact gunning out, but the rest were easy). I'm sure expensive taps don't last any longer, but you'll pay six times as much for a cartridge, assuming they're still available and you can find the right one.

 

[keithski122]

Biggest problem I've found with taps is that the handles pickle underneath the chrome or they start to flake.Last ones were bristan so not the cheapest and they are starting to go.Not sure which brand to go for next.

 

[james butler]

Even a cheap ceramic one will last years. I replaced some cartridges a month or so ago, they were cheap taps fitted nearly 20 years ago, only just started leaking and generic cartridges cost less than a tenner a pair and took minutes to fit (Okay one of them had seized and needed impact gunning out, but the rest were easy). I'm sure expensive taps don't last any longer, but you'll pay six times as much for a cartridge, assuming they're still available and you can find the right one.

cheap taps 20 years ago are expensive taps now
the cheap taps now are by far more inferior and more commonplace
ive seen £500 taps leak right out of the box and have to be replaced under warranty numerous times!