Removal of a grub screw from a mixer tap assemble.

I need to replace the hot water cartridge of my mixer tap (Blanco Max)) and am finding it impossible to remove the grub screw which secures the cover in place despite it being fully loosened (it should be having turned it over 30 times) with a 2.5 hex key as advised by Blanco's Tech Dept..The screw is opposite the handle, i.e. at the bottom or rear depending on whether the tap in closed or open so access is very restricted.

I have tried tapping using a block of wood without success and would prefer not to have to remove the tap if at all possible.

Any and all advise would be appreciated.

Jim

Is it really necessary to entirely remove the grub screw to get the lever off? Shouldn't just loosening the screw be enough? Is the lever perhaps bonded to the surface beneath by the usual gunk that dries on under tap covers? In which case continued light tapping may be the solution. Or maybe there's an extra hidden grub screw?

Make sure the grubscrew is actually turning and not just the allen key turning in the socket. The handle itself will probably also unscrew and there is often another grubscrew underneath. Also they are usually on splines and can be tight to slide off.

Dave

A long shot but This Old Tony has a YouTube video which may help.

To test Dave's suggestion, can you tighten the screw back down again. If not then either the key is the wrong size, or the thread in the cover is stripped. 30 turns should have brought the screw all the way out. 2.5mm key suggests M5 x0.8 thread. 30 turns should have shifted the screw 24mm!

Possibly an M2.5 screw which needs a 1.3 key, although I would have thought you would have struggled to get a 2.5mm wrench in that size hole.

If the grub screw is undone, then the cover should slide off the splines, but as others have said they get tight with the gunk.

The parts diagram (do a Google search) only shows one screw holding the cover in place so is fairly standard. I can only suggest that you may have stripped the screw head - perhaps it was initially fitted using the wrong key. They can be very tight anyway as the grubscrew bears on the splines and the tip gets a bit mangled. If copious tapping with a light hammer / block of wood fails to loosen it I'm afraid its likely that the tap will need to come off for more vigorous inspection - sorry.

Best of luck - Mike

Many thanks for the kind replies. Despite trying all the tips the tap had to come off after which I was asked 'is it not time we got another tap'?' Sods law at work.

Jim