Noticed that the wall on the other side of my shower unit was wet, and got a plumber to come in to take a look at my shower (as I suspected a leak). He took a look at my shower unit and informed me that I needed to replace my whole shower unit.

Well, I've been going through some of the forums here, and noticed that quite a lot had been mentioned about leakages on the on-off knob.

As a consequence, I decided to take a look at my shower to see if that was the problem ... which it seemed to be. For some reason, water keeps dripping out of the left hand side of the cartridge (just about where the knob fits on to).

I have seen some mentioned about pulling out the shaft and replacing the O ring. Firstly, how do you pull out the shaft (I can't see any moving parts on my cartridge) and seconding, what size O ring should I use?

Mik, August 2008

I've had the same problem twice on my showers, and now the warranty period has reduced I thought expensive new cartridges were required. However you can and indeed I have replaced the O rings inside the cartridge using an O ring kit off ebay which comes with 4 O rings, silicon grease and full instructions with photos for less than a tenner. It worked an absolute treat. As long as the cartridge and the locking ring are intact you should never have to buy a new cartridge just keep using the kits to replace the seals! Just look on ebay under Aqualisa aquarian cartridge and you will find the kit.

M Mawson, May 2012

I'm on my third cartridge in 7 years and it's just started leaking at the valve end, just like the previous two. Aqualisa told me I needed to buy a new cartridge when the first one leaked. I was busy and needed the shower so didn't research any further, bought the cartridge and replaced the leaking one ( a 5 minute job ).

My question is, same as other folk on here, what is the spec for the o-rings and where I can purchase them ? What an awful shame that Aqualisa won't sell them and insist you buy a new unit, especially as the unit can be dismantled and parts replaced.

Anyway, for others who visit this forum, there is a fix for one type of leakage event ( I think there are few, some to do with seals, some to do with cracked components ). If water is leaking from where the plastic retaining collar for the valve spindle, bears against the cartridge housing this can be fixed with 5 minute epoxy ( clear stuff from a model shop, not 'araldite' ). ie remove the collar, apply glue to the threads on the cartridge and then carefully screw on the collar until finger tight. Let the glue set for at least 10 minutes, reassemble and in my case the leak was solved. I use this glue a lot and it doesn't grab well onto plastic so it should be possible to break the bond and remove the cap in future should I ever finds the right o-rings. Greasing the threads to impair the grab, might help with this too.

Don't bother trying to use PTFE tape on this joint because there's a flat on the cartridge thread ( the thread is effectively missing over a short section ) which means the PTFE will not be compressed sufficiently and water will still bypass. This flat serves the purpose of telling an inspector that an internal seal is leaking. When the manufacturer won't sell you the seals you have to wonder why a flat would be incorporated here ?

Good luck.

Nic, February 2012

I emailed Aqualisa asking about where you can purchase o rings to stop the leak from the on/off control knob and they left me a message saying that you have to replace the cartridge, saying its the seal and tension that has gone. Not sure if this is true or just a ploy to order new parts from them!

Surely you can replace the o rings or you cant? If so does this stop the leak?

Steve, January 2011

I am suffering the same leak problem, been told to change the cartridge as they are suppose to be a sealed unit; did take it apart and tried plumber mate stuff but no change when put in it back together. There are 2 types of cartridge a manual one about 60 quid and a thermostatic one at 140. Does anyone know how you tell which one you have got as they both look the same?

Andy, September 2008

I am having this issue to and have emailed aqualisa... I called and was told they were busy but would call back.

Anyhow, I unscrew the cap and pull the shaft out then end (the bit the knob pushes onto) comes away but I can see no "o rings" and the shaft won't come out of the cartridge.

So am I missing something here? Where are the "o" seals and how can I access them to change?

Thanks.

Inaam, September 2008

I had the same problem recently and replaced the cartridge . It still continued to drip from the left sided knob (on-off), then it stopped when i tightened the screw cap and started to overflow from the shower head..
The cartridge installation is simple enough though.

max, August 2008

The seal itself is not replaceable and from what I have been told- good reason. There is an screw on cap at the end of the main assembly (on the on/off end) and this is tensioned to ensure that leaks do not occur, especially if your are operating off of a pump or a mains water fed system. The fix is to replace the complete cartridge, I wasn't aware of this, but Aqualisa test each individual cartridge as part of their Q.A. I guess this is why they provide a 3 year parts and labour warranty with the part. Seems that British companies can still set the standard! I agree with Brian, they are very helpful. Best of luck!

Anzac, August 2008

Mik,

If you send an email to aqualisa.co.uk, ask them how you gain access to replace o'seal for this model, they will send you a reply free of charge. I found them to be very helpful in the past, remember to switch off hot & cold water supply before removing anything.

Good Luck

Brian L, August 2008