How to fix the faucet to the bathroom wall
The design that allows fixing the mixer in the bathroom to the wall, despite the invariance of the available models, remains the most common. This is due to their simplicity, the availability of repair, the ability to connect to water supply systems without the involvement of employees of communal or specialized commercial services.
The introduction of mixers with an integrated thermostat into use, although it requires a slightly different approach during installation, does not violate the basic principles of plumbing processes. The installation of the mixer does not provide for the presence of a specialized tool and special knowledge, but you should still familiarize yourself with the basic theoretical calculations. This will allow you to follow the basic rules and get a decent result.
Design and dimensions of mixers
All mixers, regardless of their design, are devices whose purpose is to supply water at the required temperature. An important indicator of the good performance of the mixer is the constancy of the water temperature when switching its supply to the nipple or to the shower net.
There are three types of mixers according to the type of regulation of the pressure of hot and cold water:
Installation of a sensor-type mixer, as well as its repair, is the prerogative of specialized organizations that have specific tools and hardware in their arsenal.
The connecting dimensions of the mixing devices are standardized. Regardless of the type of mixer, material and nominal diameter of pipelines, the eccentrics are connected with a pipe thread G1 / 2 ”. The center-to-center distance of all types of plumbing fixtures is 150 mm. Accordingly, the distance between the centers of the supply pipes should be the same.
Leveling of misalignment and errors of the center-to-center distance of the connecting holes is carried out using eccentrics, which are included in the mixer package. Another purpose of eccentrics is to mount and align the device body in a horizontal plane.
If the supply pipelines are made of pipes of a different diameter, it is necessary to use transition fittings - couplings, tees, angles - in order to bring the connecting diameter to the required size. It is advisable to use fittings made of non-ferrous alloys: brass or bronze.
Tools, materials and accessories for installation
Install the mixer, like a conventional water tap, possibly with a minimum set of tools, which should include:
- 2 gas keys No. 1;
- set of imbus keys - hexagons - 8, 10 and 12 mm;
- set of open-end wrenches;
- pliers;
- building level, at least 250 mm long.
To protect the decorative surfaces of the mixer parts from damage by the grooved jaws of the gas key, you need to have a strip of durable leather 15-20 mm wide and 80-100 mm long. It is advisable to seal threaded joints using fluoroplastic sealing material - FUM. It is available in the form of a tape or thread and effectively seals the joints. There are 2 types of PTFE seals: for gas and liquid media. Water sealant is colored white or blue-gray, in contrast to gas, which has a yellow tint.
The installation of the mixer involves not only sealing the threaded connections. It is also required to seal the joints of the planes of the eccentrics and the contact surfaces with which the valve adjoins the fitting. The use of gaskets allows reliable sealing of the connection. The material for the gaskets is:
- rubber;
- silicone compositions;
- paronite brand PON;
- fluorinated polymers - fluoroplastics.
The presence in the tool arsenal of punching cuts of various diameters allows you to cut gaskets from sheet materials yourself. Otherwise, factory-made sealing elements will have to be used.
Mixer installation procedure
It is strongly not recommended to tighten the eccentrics with a gas wrench. This can lead to a violation of the geometry of the contact plane, which in the future will not allow to reliably seal the abutment with the planes of the mixer body.
Burrs that form when the soft metal of the eccentric is exposed to the jaws of a gas wrench will compromise the integrity of the gasket. The orientation of the center line of the installed eccentrics is checked by the building level.
- The mixer body is attracted to the screwed-in eccentrics with union nuts. A sealing gasket is preliminarily installed between the contact surfaces. The nuts should be easily tightened by hand, this indicates a correctly verified center-to-center distance.
- The final tightening, despite the presence of edges on the nuts, is best done with a gas wrench, having previously laid a leather strip under its lips. Tightening with an open-end wrench can damage the protective-decorative coating of the nuts.
Final operations
How to install a mixer in a bathroom if the center-to-center distance of the supply pipes does not match the dimensions of the appliance body? This question is especially acute in the case of hidden pipelines. The solution to this problem is simple: you need to install eccentrics with a large offset.
The quality of the supplied water has a significant influence on the durability of the ceramic locking elements. Therefore, mixer manufacturers recommend integrating filters into pipelines.
As you can see, it is not very difficult. All that is required for this is accuracy, attentiveness and careful preparation.
