Ceramic Disc Taps
- Author Bob Plum
- Published May 27, 2007
- Word count 470
Taps drip. It's inevitable, like death and taxes. They
seal using a rubber ring screwed down over the end of a
metal pipe. Sooner or later the rubber is going to go hard,
split or just wear away and it will no longer seal. Then
water seeps through, and the tap starts dripping. Left
alone the problem gets worse as the water wears away the
valve seat. Then you'll have to either re-grind the valve
seat(Do you own a valve seat re-grinder? Who would?) or
replace the tap. Tedious in either case. But, it need not
happen. Many taps now use ceramic discs.
How They Work
Instead of blocking the pipe by squeezing a piece of
rubber onto the end of it, there are two slotted ceramic
discs held down over the water supply pipe. The bottom disc
doesn't move, while the upper disc is rotated over it by the
tap mechanism. When the slots align the the tap is on, and
when the slots don't align, the tap is off.
Why Are They Better?
There are advantages to this approach. The main one is that
the discs are very hard and withstand the erosion of water
very well. Hence they last much longer before needing
replacement. Also, because the water flow is between the
two discs, it's the discs that wear not the tap body itself.
Because of the arrangement of the discs, it only requires a
quarter turn to go from fully off to fully on and the
operation of the tap is very light. This has the advantage
that they are easy to turn on with the back of the wrist
if you have dirty hands or for people with restricted
movement.
Where they are Used
The ease of operation and the long life mean that most good
quality sink mixer taps have been made using ceramic discs
for a while, but basin taps with ceramic discs are
surprisingly less common. The more use a tap gets, the more
attractive the use of ceramic disc technology becomes. This
is doubly true in hard water areas, which can be murder on
traditional taps.
Disadvantages
There are a few disadvantages. The discs do eventually wear
out, but manufacturers seem to have standardised, so it is
reasonably easy to get replacements. Basin taps are
sometimes handed and sometimes not, and it can be annoying
to have to work out which way to turn the tap in order to
get water. They are also more expensive and not suitable
for very low water pressure. The only other disadvantage
is that if you are used to the old style taps, which need
a number of turns to turn fully on, you may inadvertently
turn the tap on more than you intended, you can get a
unexpected full-on jet of water. Embarrassing!
Bob Plum is the owner of BuyPlumbing co uk Ltd. If you
live in Britain then the link http://www.buyplumbing.co.uk
gives you access to a wide range of competitively priced
bathroom goods and plumbing fittings.
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