Reich Tap Repair

[Deleted member 9849]

I've had a leaking kitchen tap for a while and finally got round to changing the cartridge today.

This is an easy job to replace the cartridge in a Reich type single lever tap like this


Having seen where a motorhomer took his van with a leaking tap into a dealer and was charged £90 for a new tap plus £50 for fitting this is much cheaper at around £20 for a replacement cartridge and an easy job that can be done from the top of the tap.
Before commencing work either switch off the 12v at the control panel or remove the fuse for the water pump.

First remove the blue and red plastic inserts from the top of the tap with a thin bladed screwdriver to reveal a philips screw underneath.

Remove the screw and lift off the top of the tap housing to reveal the cartridge below

Unscrew the chrome surround which will reveal the large diameter brass locking collar

With a wrench loosen off and unscrew the brass locking collar

Pull out the cartridge from the tap,there is a large brass washer on it which only fits one way,note which way it goes and bear in mind that the 2 cables for the micro switch go through the centre of the entire assembly

The cartridge removed


Refitting is a reversal of the above procedure,care must be taken not to trap the 2 wires when tightening up as they run down the side of the cartridge and can get in the way.There are also 2 locating holes on the bottom of the cartridge which must be lined up when pushed into position before reassembly.Also make sure the brass washer that fits on top of the cartridge is the correct way,it is not symmetrical and must be the right way.

It's a fairly simple job but a bit fiddly,I used a genuine Reich replacement cartridge which was around 20 quid,there are some cheaper on e bay which will probably be fine but I went for the Reich for peace of mind.

 

[Chris356]

My reich mixer tap was leaking from the red insert which had gone oval shaped due to the water supply pipe pulling tight on the insert, I fitted new inserts and made sure the water supply pipe was slack but it still leaked the insert hole on the base of the tap had become oval so I had to fit a new mixer tap. I have still got the old tap would one of these cartridges have cured it

 

[Fazerloz]

I had to fit a new on as well due to the inlets leaking. A previous owner had already gobbed it up with epoxy where it was broken. Our sink slides in and out and drags the supply pipes on the inlets. I need to fix the pipes to the sliding unit to take the strain off the tap inlet fittings. £63 for the tap. CARAVAN REICH TWIST SINGLE LEVER MIXER TAP IN CHROME LEFT-HAND 90 DEGREE 33mm | eBay? looks like they have gone up a quid, bloomin ******.

 

[big tom]

Care must be taken not to trap the 2 wires when tightening up as they run down the side of the cartridge and can get in the way.
To true they do I have just changed the micro switch I was convinced I was reassembling it wrong, but there is nowhere else for the wires to go, like you I should have photographed the disassembly.
The switch packed up while away but a distant mod came into play I had fitted a push button in the wardrobe wired parallel to the kitchen tap wire (wired parallel to any tap would do) then if a micro switch goes a press of the button will start the pump you must of course have the offending tap open.

 

[maingate]

My Reich tap developed a crack in the body last year and was bodged up with amalgam tape as we were on a trip. I rang a Burstner Dealer close by (we were in Lincs).The cost was £140 and they would have to order it in. Needless to say I did not bother. When we got home I looked online at the range of Komet taps and got one for £55. It is every bit as good as a Reich tap.

Komet also have a good range of 12 volt water pumps suitable for motorhomes. It is worth remembering as sometimes the original model of pump is no longer manufactured (as in the case of our van).