by Fixter »
Sun Aug 30, 2009 2:06 pm
Result! I have fixed the problem on my Aqualisa Thermostatic shower. It now turns the water on/off! How to fix: The tools you'll need are a 2 flat-head screwdrivers. One medium, one small. 2 cross-head screwdrivers, one medium and one smaller. Get a tin to temporarily store the removed parts!
1) Isolate both the hot and cold water supplies to your shower.
2) Lift off the Aqualisa decal on the middle of the tap assembly with the fine flathead screwdriver revealing a crosshead screw.
3) Using the smaller crosshead, remove the centre screw and gently prise off the on/off round head tap.
4) Next unscrew the revealed 4 cross-head screws.
5) Remove the centre black plastic top and white under washer.
6) Remove the hot/cold lever disc.
7) Now ease out the central black pillar which is linked to a polythene rising on/off screw pillar.
8) Next, gently lift out the orange tooth ring from the 4 white polythene clasp grips.
9) by removing the orange toothed ring, it reveals 4 larger crosshead screws which secures the thermostatic unit to the shower control housing. remove those screws, and ease out the thermostatic unit.
10) On the base of this thermostatic mechanism is a hollow through tube. Gently prise off the white course filter disc.
You're now ready to reseat the on/off rising pillar.
11) Check the integrity of the 3 rubber sealing rings for any damage. Replace if needed.
12) This bit needs concentration. :-) On the central polythene rising pillar are 2 longitudinal locating lugs. Re-attach the black plastic screw down moulding onto the rising pillar. Looking down the joined units ensure the black plastic moulding side lug is just to the right of the polythene rising pillar lugs. Next, return the now single unit into the shaft of the thermostatic unit, taking care in aligning the 2 polythene longitudinal lugs with the locating grooves inside the thermostatic unit. This is *critical*.
Once inserted, and whilst holding the on/off rising pillar in place, turn over the thermostatic unit and looking into the column, ensure the other end of the rising pillar, which can now be seen, covers the water inlet groove in the metal shaft. Holding the rising pillar firmly in place turn it as you would turning the shower on/off, viewing the pillar and inlet groove. In it's open position, the inlet groove is visible. In it's closed position the pillar twists further into in the tube covering the inlet groove. If the rising pillar doesn't move up and down the tube when twisted, the lugs are not located correctly. Repeat the rising pillar insertion procedure until you can see the pillar moving up and down the tube when twisted and the inlet groove being covered and revealed as the pillar is twisted.
13) Next re-insert the polythene filter disc into the end of the tube.
14) Reverse the disassembly procedure.
Hope this save you other DIY'ers a shed load of readies and many hours. The whole procedure, once I had discovered the criticality of the lug locations and pillar movement covering the inlet groove, took all of 15 minutes. I was impressed by the quality of the Aqualisa shower control unit. ( *tip* If your unit reveals any calcification, drop the whole thermostatic unit into some very hot water diluted vinegar solution and leave overnight. This will clean the unit of calcium carbonate.encrustation and improve it's mixer performance. )
Best of luck!
