Gushing water taps...

vicdicdoc said:

. . . are the tap head loose ? . . does water appear to come out of the taps at regular flow or excessive [with the heads held in] ?
My only [cheap] suggestion is to 'superglue' the heads on . . the expensive solution is new taps & your looking [depending on make / model] of around £30 to £60 each.
Can you give more info on the tap make/model ?

Click to expand...

Firstly, thanks for the bump Dave.

vicdicdoc - Since initial post I have now replace the tap head black "O" ring seals but still water initially comes out of the tap, then as pressure builds it forces the tap head off!

Yes the tap heads are loose.

At low flow the heads stay on but as you increase flow they can be seen to rise up and come off. They operate fine with a hand holding them down - flow is not restricted.

No obvious tap maker identifyer - suggest Hymer original 1992 fitment.

Supergluing heads on sounds extreme and I quite like the idea of the head being a visible weak link when something goes wrong in the future as opposed to some unseen joint! However I read from other threads that tap replacement is a faff and labour intensive, maybe not so on Hymer models?

Really appreciate input,
apprentice

I had exactly the same experience three winters ago, Apprentice, and my conclusion was that there had been frost damage to both taps during the winter lay-up. I think it doesn't take much to damage the ridges that hold everything in place.

I had drained down and left them open but that didn't prevent the damage.

I had both taps replaced - expensive - but since then have been through two winters with heavy frosts without a repeat. I would have done DIY changes but the pipework was very difficult to get at and I feared doing more damage. If you can do it yourself you'll save £100.

Why hasn't it repeated during the last two winters? Because I take two extra precuations ... 1. is to get my mouth around the tap outlets and blow the residual water out of the tap back down the pipe. You can hear it going. 2. I lag the taps very heavily with old scarves, blankets, clothes etc.

Hope this is helpful.

Harry