Bristan 1901 Bib Taps Chrome Plated (Taps Only, Upstands Not Included and Are shown in Image For Illustration Purposes Only)

Hi all, I'm a plumber of 34 years experience.A common problem I have found in the past is individual taps swivelling round when they are turned off.This happens because they are the traditional tap washer variety and when the tap washers get old, one has to crank the tap heads firmly to stop the tap dripping.This is a problem that only affects individual taps as opposed to mixer taps, and period brassware tends to be affected more as there are more installations of individual taps with victorian/edwardian/deco taps as that was the norm back then.The answer is to find a tap that doesn't require cranking shut to stop the dripping-enter these Bristan ceramic disc taps.I have been fitting Bristan taps for at least the last 25 years if not, more.They have an excellent after-sales service division (one of the reasons I fit them) apart from their brassware being quality.I mention the after-sales service because it's important with taps as even the excellent ceramic discs can fail, unlikely, but they can, and you need to know the manufacturer will help out under warranty, even out of warranty, they'll still supply spares.I've lost count the number of times I've been asked to repair a tap and without knowing its provenance, I can't even get the spares. This applies even moreso to shower valves.Even if you lose the paperwork, the make and model is printed in the hot/cold disc on the top!

Bought these taps as we liked the design and have had the brand, Bristan, before. They look good, were easy to fit and worked well... for the first year.After only a year's use both the hot and cold taps drip, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly, depending on how the mood takes them. From what I can find out, ceramic valves are susceptable to failing because of contamination from particles of limescale etc. so now, after only a year in service, we have the prospect of either a complete strip down, clean and rebuild of the valves, or a simpler but more costly replacement.

The media could not be loaded.  This review is for this single product which had a manufacturing defect. This is not for any other product and at the time of writing a brand new Bristan 1901 Mixer is due to be delivered by Amazon. That should at least say something about the range. However as a cautionary tale this tap had come from the Amazon Warehouse and was sold from there in new condition when it was obviously defective. Perhaps the original purchaser had not informed them of the defect when they returned it. Where I made a mistake was not checking for leaks before fitting. If I had I would have saved some time. The tap is made of chromed brass. Bristan point out that you should only clean this tap with washing up liquid and a soft cloth. From experience Bristan 1901 taps can be cleaned with a sponge but Bristan advise not to use a non scratch scouring pad. The tap body comes with M12 holes for tap tails. Those supplied are copper but can be cut to length. Flexible M12 tails can be used but have to be purchased separately. Tails should be tightened by hand as not to overtighten. The tails do not leak when fitted this way. Due to the nature of porcelain sink manufacture the seals supplied may require additional plumbers mait to be applied depending on how even the porcelain surface is. In any event this would help fix the tap into place on the basin and prevent movement over time. The tap body is wide ensuring a good fit. The rubber seal fits snuggly into the underside groove of the body and a thin layer of plumbers mait on the outer area of the tap body ensures a good seal. There are alternatives available to plumbers mait but no sealing putty is supplied with the tap and has to be purchased separately. The instructions for the tap are written in english and can be followed easily. The instructions recommend using silicone sealant and a white sanitary sealant is what I had selected for this job. I used plumbers mait on both sides of the underseal contrary to the instructions and I am glad I did as I subsequently had to remove the tap completely due to the leak coming from a hole as fine as a human hair at the back of the tap body. This tap comes with a very sturdy pop up waste and connecting rods of good quality and using plumbers mait fits snuggly to the basin and behind the pedestal. This fitted to new McAlpine pedestal waste trap 32mm straightforwardly without leaks. The connecting rods are easy to fit to the tap and waste but a short or stubby crosshead screw driver is useful for this. The connecting rod ball fitting does not leak when correctly tensioned. On the whole it was disappointing to find the defect after fitting but this was resolved by speaking to Amazon Customer Service directly. The issue in this case belonged with the Amazon Warehouse who had they checked the product carefully on return would have seen the hole on the back of the product. I did not look carefully enough either. Lesson learned.

Plumber installed these taps and it was only then that it was discovered that the brand new ceramic washerless tap leaked every ten or so seconds (see photo). Normally of course you simply send back the defective part but in this case this would involve more expense ( plumber's bill for replacing tap with original and then another plumber's bill for replacing with one sent by Amazon) - a total of probably £50 to £60 including callout. So we are stuck with a defective tap which I hope does not get worse. Avoid this brand!