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New tap basin spindle made water pressure low

Hi,

I bought this basin spindle from Bunnings to replace my old ones:
https://www.bunnings.com.au/fix-a-tap-chrome-easy-turn-shallow-seat-basin-spindle_p0731525

However once I changed it, the water pressure from the tap was really low. I'm not sure why. I would love to know if anyone can explain what could be the cause?
I ended up using the old spindle with a new washer/valve and the water pressure was back to normal again. Strange.

Any reason for this?

Thanks,
Sandra

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EricL

Hello @zookoo

It's possible that the spindle is too big and not suited to the internal space of the basin body causing the jumper valve not to lift fast enough causing the water pressure to slow down. Your experiment with switching spindles proves that something is getting in the way of the new spindle and is accidentally causing water pressure to go down. I propose putting the old spindle and new spindle side-by-side to see if there is any internal size difference. My only other thoughts are to change the jumper valve to something smaller or with a low profile.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

zookoo

Thanks Eric,

The hot water spindle and cold water spindle are both different size but they both give good water pressure.
The Bunning's spindle is different in size too, but that one somehow changes the water pressure. So its hard to know exactly which size works best.
That's why I'm confused.

MitchellMc

Ideally, you'd want to replace the current spindle with one of the same length @zookoo. Was the Shaw & Mason Chrome Shallow Seat Basin Spindle the closest in size to your existing spindle? Would you be able to show us a picture of the old and new spindles side-by-side? That might help our members identify any compatibility issues.

Let me know if you need a hand uploding images.

Mitchell

zookoo

Hi Mitchell,

Ah I should have taken the photos. I have placed the old spindles back in the basin, but next time if I need to change them I will try and take photos next time. Funny enough the cold water spindle looked slightly shorter than then hot water spindle. I'm not too sure how they both worked ok.
The fix-a-tap-chrome-easy-turn-shallow-seat-basin-spindle didn't seem too far off in size. I can't remember if it was slightly bigger or smaller than the both of them.

JacobZ

Hi @zookoo,

If you'd like to give it another try, I'd suggest taking the old spindles back in store and physically matching them up with a replacement.

Like @MitchellMc mentioned, you want to get the spindles that are the closest in size to the old ones.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist with.

Jacob

zookoo

Sure thing. I will do that next time. Thanks for all your help guys!

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