External stop cock buried in silt

[MrSoggy]

The internal stop cock is leaking under the kitchen sink. My office in the cellar is now getting soaked, not to mention the kitchen carpet/units.

United Utilities won't come out and turn off the external stop cock so I can make a repair. I can't even see the external stock cock down the inspection hole as it's full of silt. I've had a poke around but ........
I could do with some kind of really long-handled ladel thingy to draw the silt out of the hole to expose the tap.

They now say that they can send a guy to inspect the key/silt situation. But it may take 3 months.

That's really nice chaps. Thanks for that.

Any ideas please regarding excavating buried stop cocks so I can make some headway? My plumber says that freezing can be dodgy on old plastic incoming pipes. If it doesn't hold I could be in for a big flood.

 

[Agile]

Have you/he tried a stopcock key in your silted hole? Thats a long thing!

You may be able to wash out some of the lighter stuff out with a hose and dig out the remaining sand with a bent spoon tied on a stick.

I agree freezing a lead or old plastic pipe is courting disaster.

All this demonstrates the stupidity of most householders who dont bother to check and repair their stopcocks until they start leaking or have seized up.

They should be exercised every month or two!

Tony

 

[ChrisR]

In some areas of London Thames Water tips concrete down the holes and says there isn't a shut off valve. Nice.

The more helpful guys have a variety of thin ladle thingies to scoop out the grot, all "home made". You can make feeble ones with copper pipe.

Sometimes with a mains hose blasting down the hole you can get things moving enough to force a strong stop cock key onto the tap. I've had an aquavac out there with bits of copper pipe before now, sucking out stones one at a time.

Freezing's an option as long as you can stop the flow enough - can't freeze water moving faster than a dribble.

 

[MrSoggy]

Have you/he tried a stopcock key in your silted hole? Thats a long thing!

Yeah. Tried that. Can't feel the tap. Just a lot of compacted sand.


All this demonstrates the stupidity of most householders who dont bother to check and repair their stopcocks until they start leaking or have seized up.

They should be exercised every month or two!

It's been an eye opener for me. I'll make regular inspection checks in future

 

[MrSoggy]

In some areas of London Thames Water tips concrete down the holes and says there isn't a shut off valve. Nice.

The more helpful guys have a variety of thin ladle thingies to scoop out the grot, all "home made". You can make feeble ones with copper pipe.

Sometimes with a mains hose blasting down the hole you can get things moving enough to force a strong stop cock key onto the tap. I've had an aquavac out there with bits of copper pipe before now, sucking out stones one at a time.

Freezing's an option as long as you can stop the flow enough - can't freeze water moving faster than a dribble.

I'm going to get my Blue Peter/Ray Mears hat on an cobble some kind of tool together. Trouble is, working on this attracts kids who then fill it in for you again for a laugh. Little sods.

 

[oilman]

Go and see their parents. If they don't get the point, fill their access pits with dog poo.

 

[ChrisR]

fill their access pits with dog poo

Might need to take a mate to hold him down - they wriggle while you're shovelling it in.

 

[JohnD]

I poked the garden hose down mine, it washed out a lot of the loose mud, then used a garden trowel for the stones.

 

[ChrisR]

Where's the INternal Stop cock leaking from? If it's the spindle/glandseal/stuffing box you can often stop them by cleaning, warming, undoing nut, making ptfe tape into string & winding round, and doing up again. Or similar.