Solved: how to open very very old water tap

Dragos · Nov 27, 2018

Solved by snowhead: "Just pull on the chrome head I believe, you may not need to remove the centre".

Hi guys,

Would you please share your knowledge on how to open the following water tap. It is an very old tap, one I never saw in my life. Most of the internet DIY are for newer versions which I know how to handle, but this one is out the timeline:

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

Imgur: The magic of the Internet

The problem is the dripping tap and I have no idea how to open it.

Ric2013 · Nov 27, 2018

Very very old?

Are those the right pictures? Looks reasonably modern to me. I'm going to guess at mid 90's. Are those chrome-plated plastic tapheads that just pull off?

Dragos · Nov 27, 2018

those are metal chrome-plated tap heads and there is a blue plastic one that fits right into that hole.
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

i tried opening it with big screw, with tweezers maybe to grab the screw head, but no results.

Dragos · Nov 27, 2018

and the tap is connected ta a water heater
Imgur: The magic of the Internet

snowhead · Nov 27, 2018

Observations.
That's not old, I doubt it's even half my age.
The wall tiles look British, 150mm x 150mm (6"x6" old money), but the tap looks continental.
Maybe an early import or brought over by the Continental householder.
Or this is not in the U.K, maybe Colonies?

Looking down the top with the centre cap missing there are 4 nylon claws that appear to hold the top on.
I'd say a sharp pull on the top and it'll release.
The claws may have been locked in by the centre cap.

Dragos · Nov 27, 2018

snowhead, it is in Germany and from the looks of the apartment is no sooner than 90's as Ric2013 puts it. I still think it is a very old installation as I never saw one with no regular screw in those tap heads.

so I have to pull those nylon claws in order to release the tap head?