by BoyElectric »
Thu Aug 14, 2008 2:15 am
I may be able to help . . .
If you know the manufacturer of the taps, phone them and they'll probably send you some for free or at worst the price of the postage. They do cost pence to make, so it's unlikely they'd charge you, but if they do, I wouldn't pay more than about 50p per cap - still far cheaper than buying new taps!
If you don't know the manufacturer then it's not a huge problem. Many taps are mass produced in China and sold by "manufacturers" here as their own. Many of the parts are almost identical and therefore interchangeable and tap constructions haven't changed much over the years, so parts from newer taps will often fit older ones too.
If you can find a set of taps in a shop with the same caps, find out the name of the manufacturer (usually on the display or box), get their number off the internet, phone them up and ask for some replacements. You'll need to tell them which model of tap you (don't) have (and where you didn't buy it!) and they should send you some. A bit cheeky I know, but it's not really fair to expect you to buy new taps either. If you're feeling REALLY cheeky, ask them to send you a couple of spares . . . in case the kids pinch them again.
I needed a new set of crossheads for a Victorian kitchen mixer tap which was only 10 months old. A shop ordered the tap from a catalogue for me but when I went back to report the fault they no longer had the catalogue and were unable to tell me who made it. They offered me some "standard" replacement heads, but as I no longer had the receipt I would have had to pay £40 for 2 crossheads that didn't really match for a tap which was 10 months old and only cost £60.
I looked around numerous shops to see if I could find my tap and get the manufacturers name but no luck. However, I did find several which were VERY similar so I thought it was most likely the heads from those taps would fit mine. I made a note of the manufacturers name(s) then did exactly as I suggested above and 2 days later I had a new set of crossheads - free of charge and no postage either! I wasn't sure if my hot and cold caps would fit (they did) so I said mine were a bit worn and they sent some as well - In fact, they sent me about 5 pairs!
By pure coincidence, these caps are for Victorian style taps. They're white plastic, marked "Hot" and "Cold" and they screw in to the head. If there's some way you could post a picture of your one remaining cap and they look similar, I'd be happy to send you a couple of pairs for free if you PM me your address. I'll still have enough spares to outlive the tap.
I wouldn't suggest nicking them off the taps in the shop as the shop wont be very happy and I'm pretty sure they glue them on now. Been there, tried that :lol:
And I think htg must know my mother. I recall she once purloined a replacement cooker knob from a display model in an electrical shop :wink:
