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How to replace cartridge in Mondella Rococo shower mixer?

Hi, just having a little trouble & unsure about the final steps to remove the cartridge.

I've removed the handle fairly easily. Next is where I'm stuck. Nothing online shows an exploded view of assembly or how to separate. Other mixers have instructions saying to undo the chrome (cover) ring to expose the brass nut.

Unfortunately the chrome ring isn't going anywhere. I've tried a rubber strap wrench but no go.

I see a new one comes preassembled & this (cartridge) would have been fitted from factory as it's original with new house.

In all the time I've lost I've found out more about Mondella & it's supplier to Bunnings, KSG, than actually what I need.

There are 4 square holes on inside of head which could be a keyway for a special tool. But who knows.

I'd appreciate some directions please.

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Akanksha

Hello @bak4more,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fantastic to have you join us and we look forward to seeing and assisting you with your home improvement and garden projects.

Thanks for your question. It's an unusually busy time on the site and many of our experts and members are away on their year-end break. Our resident Bunnings D.I.Y. expert @MitchellMc is helping members during this busy period and I'm sure will be happy to assist you as soon as he can.

Let me also tag our ever-helpful members @Jewelleryrescue, @JDE and @Noyade in case they have any thoughts.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime.

Akanksha

Jewelleryrescue

Hi @bak4more

I am having trouble on finding information about this brands tape mixer.

But if your right those gaps are for a tool for unscrewing,

I couldnt find that tool either.

A So I would try long nose plyiers pointing into two of those slots and turning anti clock wide and see if it moves.

B I would use a small screw driver aimed at the edge of one of those notches at an angle and hammer screw driver short sharp taps to move/ drift the round nut to become undone.

I am not an expert on internal plumbing I usually learn hands on if i need to fix something around my place.

bak4more

Hello @Jewelleryrescue thanks for your effort & time to reply. I also appreciate the acknowledgement "I am having trouble on finding information about this brands ..."

A & B did cross my mind to a degree based on my mechanical trade background. There is a faint line in the corner all the way around suggesting the outside & inside may separate. I also ran a pin head through the square holes to see if there was a groove or lip for the inner part to hold in (but no, nothing).

At the end of the day clear instructions from the supplier would be best.

I'm not keen on forcing at the risk of defacing unless I'm sure how it goes together.

Jewelleryrescue

Hi @bak4more

Its good you have some tool skills back ground thats half the battle.

That brand seams to not want to share its how tos.

Any how is it possible to get a couple angled views of the cartridge.

Another option is to disconect or turn of sink water and remove the whole tap from under the sink and take it to bunnings plumbing section and they hopefully can show you how and put the right spare in your hands at the same time.

MitchellMc

Hi @bak4more,

Your Rococo mixer appears to be a different setup than what I would be familiar with. We have Mondella Rococo Shower Mixer, which I suspect might be your model. Perhaps the square body can be unscrewed to allow access to your locking ring? That four-pronged, what appears to be a locking ring, does seem like there's a specific tool for it.

I don't think we are going to be able to come up with a solution since this appears to be a non-standard fixing until Mondella re-opens after the break. Give me 30 minutes and I'll run out to a store to have a look at a unit so I can work out how to remove the cartridge.

Mitchell

MitchellMc

Hi again @bak4more,

I'm sorry, but my mission appears to have failed us. On inspection of the Mondella Rococo and, in fact, the entire range of Mondella mixers, they all employ a flat-sided retaining nut (which is the standard) that is easily accessed by simply unscrewing a cover flange. I'll include an image below of the Rococo shower mixer.

So, I guess the next step is to confirm this is actually a Rococo. Please note that the Rococo also has a large square backing flange that your tap doesn't appear to include either. I presume you've established the brand Mondella as it is written on the handle?

Is there a seam around 10-20mm from the top of the chrome body which could be a section of it which is unscrewed to give you access to the sides of the retaining nut?

Mitchell

redracer01

Hi @bak4more

Would it be possible for you to take a picture of the shower mixer from an angle instead of from the top? I'm just curious about the profile of the locking ring. Is it flat or does it have any feature on it that will allow a tool to anchor onto it? There also appears to be a gap between the ring, is there a threaded groove inside the body of the mixer? If there is, the odds are that the locking ring will require a special tool to remove it.

Looking at the photo you posted it appears that it is the only thing holding the ceramic cartridge in place. Once that ring has been removed you should be able to get access to the cartridge.

Red

bak4more

Good afternoon @MitchellMc

Thanks for going the extra mile. I can confirm there is a large square backing flange which measures 110x110x10. (My son removed it when he had a crack at it after doing work experience as a plumber last year.)

You got me questioning if indeed it's a Rococo when I was pretty sure it was. So I went back & had a look at the builder's Handover Manual. No joy, there's no listing for tapware that I can see (which is strange) & they used their own reference for other bathroom fixtures. However, all the tapware & bathroom accessories match the square profile range of Mondella. I note, Rococo is exclusively designed for Bunnings & supplied by Kinetic Sourcing Group Pty Ltd (KSG). And Bunnings is by far the closest building supplier to my location.

Can I please trouble you to check the backing flange is the same size? I'm wondering if the design has changed a little in 10 years or this shower mixer is a KSG variant or chinese clone. *Mondella isn't written on the handle. Do you know if it was from the start of the product range?

I might need to try the parent company of the building company. They don't operate in Qld any longer from what I can tell.

MitchellMc

As far as I can recall, the name Mondella has always been printed on the handle of their taps @bak4more. The styling of the Rococo is similar to many other brands that have adapted their own version of this square profile tap.

If the scale of their fairly basic drawing is correct, the backing plate is around 117mm.

We're still keen to see a side-on view of the tap body to see if there are any seams that would indicate you can remove a cover to access the nut.

Mitchell

bak4more

Hello @redracer01 & @MitchellMc

Thanks for chipping in. I'm not sure a pic from the side with make much difference to what I/we know. Although please see attached.

Essentially, I'm just trying to replace the leaking cartridge. My issue was not being able to remove the chrome cover ring (flange) thus far.

Having removed the square backing plate on the wall there doesn't even seem to be enough room to undo the square "copper sleeve". The tiles have been cut snug & square & won't give clearance to rotate through corners.

Hence, I wanted to be sure about disassembly so I don't damage just for a cartridge replacement.

Unfortunately there are no signs of thread from the outside. All that's visible is the chrome cover.

Not knowing about a broad range of mixers I was concerned whether the cover flange is integrated with the retaining nut in this case (2 in 1).

Looking at the Rococo spec sheet the backing plate size isn't shown. 117mm was a spec on the sheet for the depth from the handle to outside of brass T piece ("body" in exploded view of a very similar product).

I humbly take your point. I wasn't so aware of all the shower mixers that are almost identical to the Rococo. I see online there are other generic & name brands with the same size backing plate, the same size handle & body. Huh & duh!

Well, I assume the square cutouts are there to make it easier to apply leverage for the chrome cover flange. Then the brass nut with flat sides should be underneath. I have read that other DIY people have had a job of a time getting the chrome dress (cover) ring off.

Thanks for everyone's support in getting me a step closer to avoid instant regret!

MitchellMc

Hi @bak4more,

Thanks for the images. We needed them to see if there was a cover over the nut. I might have missed it, but I didn't click that you'd mentioned there was a domed cover. I presumed the issue was that you couldn't remove the retaining nut. On the Rococo, admittedly straight out of the box, I was able to unscrew that dome cover easily. I suspect yours is gummed up and hard to unscrew; that's if it is the same design as the Rococo.

Try applying some cloth tape around the retaining nut to protect it and gently clamping vise-grips onto it, and turning anti-clockwise. Be careful not to scratch the cover.

Mitchell

bak4more

Thanks @MitchellMc for your help & prompting.

I roughed out a special tool & it was a 2 in 1. The retaining nut & cover wasn't on all that tight because it doesn't need to be. That's considering cartridge isn't metal & all that's really needed is the o'ring compression & seating.

Hopefully this helps anyone else with this design. It's hard to know if enough grip would be gained without marking surface. That's when trying to undo via chrome cover part on the outside. Plus, with special tool you get a good feel for just enough torque without overtightening.

Now I just need to match up... Phew!

MitchellMc

Wonderful work @bak4more. I'm so pleased to know you resolved the issue.

Well done!

Mitchell

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