Be Excellent To Each Other

The mixer tap on our kitchen sink has worked loose which makes it inconvenient to use, let alone the problem that it's now the pipes that are helping hold it in place!

I ordered up a tool that claimed it would fix it and I gained access underneath but no adjustments visible!



NB: Preview is upside down for reasons best known to BEEX.

And this is the unit from the top:




There's a little grub screw on the base near the work surface that stripped itself when I tried to undo it (it was possibly already stripped).

So I'm stuck really. All I can see about these Demixa taps online are plumbers complaining what a pain they are to service. Apparently they are supplied by B&Q so that's probably an indication of the quality we're dealing with here.

Any ideas? Or just rip the bugger out and put something non shit in its place?

It might have an internal thread.
If you get Mrs Chinny to twist the tap while you look under, does the whole lot twist around? If so, you might be able to grab the lot underneath with a big pair of pliers and tighten it by hand.

Looking at a dismantled version in B&Q might help.

It does twist the entire thing if you turn it.

However those two big bolt things appear to relate to some kind of clamping mechanism at the top (underneath). I think there must be an adjustment in the tap housing itself that tightens the clamp but since I can't get into it at the moment I'm stuck (tried the rubber band trick on the stripped screw and it failed).

Looks like I'll have to go to B&Q for a screw extractor anyway so could look at their taps as per suggestion.

The grub screw should just be holding the trim in place. The two sticking-down bits underneath should have screwdriver slot or hex head on them, those should be clamping it - tightening may help, if not loosen them right off and disassemble to see how the clamp should work, then bung it back together appropriately. Screwdriver and torch job. Yeah, fiddly aren't they.

I need to extract that grub screw then and replace it. I imagine B&Q sell an extractor and should also do screws.

Wullie ID's the tap on Twitter. Looks like the entire head releases and is interchangeable.



Couldn't see any slots on the bolt things underneath. Will take another look now.

[10 mins later after having yanked out the dishwasher again]

Can confirm, no slot heads in the bolts. Using my running torch I can see right up into the base and I can see heads on them however. Possibly for tightening.