Mixer ball valve repair

Ball valves appeared on the market relatively recently and were immediately able to win a huge number of fans. Today, almost half of the mixer market is occupied by this type of taps. Unfortunately, there is nothing eternal, and even the most reliable and solid equipment breaks down. Many people are interested in: is it possible to repair the ball valve of the mixer yourself? This is a completely solvable question, since the device cannot be called too complicated. What exactly you have to do, you will learn from this article.

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Device

The main components that make up the structure are as follows:

• Adjusting lever. It is also known as the “joystick,” or “butterfly.”
• Sealing washer.
• Lock nut. It is designed to adjust the tightness of the mechanism.

The whole structure is enclosed in a metal housing. The quality of the device depends on two factors:

• Precision fitting parts.
• Reliability of manufacturing materials.

But the main detail of the design is a ball made of metal, hollow from the inside. In total, 3 holes have been made in it. Two for the intake of cold and hot water, one for the release of a mixture of hot and cold water.

As you can see, the design is not particularly complicated. And if you have at least basic technical knowledge, you can do this job without difficulty. However, it is impossible to call durable parts, therefore, in order to avoid breakage, it is not necessary to apply excessive efforts.

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The most common breakdowns

To repair a ball mixer with your own hands, you need to know about the most common structural failures and the signs of a malfunction:

• The faucet lets water through while in the closed position.
• With normal water pressure, the faucet delivers the finest trickle.
• The process of controlling the temperature and intensity of the water supply is difficult. In other words, the crane does not obey the usual commands, but, as they say, “lives its own life”.

Important! If the water pressure in the tap has decreased, check the condition of the aerator. An aerator is a mesh twisted in a nose of a design. Sometimes it’s enough to clean it, and the faucet starts working normally, you don’t have to disassemble the mixer.

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Why are there malfunctions?

Before you repair a ball mixer, it makes sense to familiarize yourself with the main causes of breakdowns:

• The most common cause of breakdowns is clogging of the space between the rubber saddles and the ball. If pollution cannot be eliminated in time, then it can lead to deformation of the rubber saddle and its failure.
• Sometimes, due to the excessive hardness of the water, the shutter becomes clogged. Cleaning it will not take much time, but still have to tinker with disassembling the crane.
• Leakage can also cause the cap to loosen at the lever. The stem does not go all the way; water begins to leak. Do-it-yourself ball valve repair in this case comes down to tightening the hex screw located at the bottom of the cap
• If water leaks from under the tap body, then most likely the reason is the wear of the o-rings. They cannot be repaired, you just need to purchase new ones and replace them.
• Ball crack. There are 2 options here: purchase a new mixer or replace the ball.
• If the case is cracked, then the mixer cannot be repaired, the faucet must be replaced.It is possible to seal a crack for a short time, but this is not for long.

Important! If the water is hard or you live in an old house with a rusted water supply, the problem of repairing the faucet will haunt you constantly. You can solve the problem if you set filters on the input. However, it is not necessary that they be “sophisticated” and expensive. The budget rough filter is quite enough.

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How to fix a ball mixer?

So, the mixer is out of order. You have carried out, as far as possible, express diagnostics of the device and decided that repair cannot be avoided:

• First turn off the inlet tap and drain the water.
• Remove the plug from the joystick (it serves as a decor). Now you see the clamping screw.
• Loosen the clamping screw and remove the lever. Sometimes it happens that during prolonged use of the device, the lever almost tightly “sticks” to the rod. In this case, you will have to make some effort, but, as they say, without fanaticism, so as not to disable the structure completely.
• Unscrew the seal ring with a screwdriver. Insert the tip of the screwdriver into the groove and, turning it counterclockwise, unscrew the ring.

Important! Make sure that the faucet does not rotate with the ring, as you risk damaging the hoses.

• Pull out the chrome dome with pliers. Be very careful not to damage the ring under the dome.
• Now you see a cone-shaped plastic die. It needs to be cleaned of dirt.
• Under the die is a metal ball. Carefully inspect it. If he cracked, it means - you need to change it.

Important! Please note that when installing the ball in its original position, the groove coincides with the protrusion located in the housing.

• Inspect the springs under the gasket holding the ball. Over time, the springs wear out and become less elastic. Therefore, if the opportunity presents itself, it makes sense to replace them.

Important! When disassembling and cleaning the ball mixer, lubricate the parts with silicone grease. It not only provides additional reliable sealing of the structure, but also extends its working life.

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Stock footage

To seal threaded connections, use FUM tape or specially designed thread for this. Actually, the repair can be considered completed. It remains to open the inlet valve and evaluate the quality of work. Use special filters, and the question of how to fix a ball valve will not bother you for a long time.