Spindle Leaking on Stop Cock

[WhatNext]

Hi

I was wondering if someone could help me ?

There was a small drip coming from spindle on the water stop cock below the sink in my house. I understand that this is a common problem.

I backed off the gland nut and wrapped some PTFE tape around the spindle tightly, pushed this down the spindle with a screwdriver and then tightened up the gland nut. I repeated this 3 times. I did not remove the original gland packing material.

The leak initially stopped, but what I was wondering was that as I opened and closed the stop tap, it became easier to do, which suggested that the PTFE tape was wearing as the spindle rotated around. After a few times the drip re-started.

I found that I could tighten up the gland nut each time it became easier to open and close the tap, which I assume each time compressed the PTFE tape.

Is the PTFE tape only an emergency repair or am I missing something ?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Burnerman]

You aren't missing anything at all.....from time to time, pack in as much ptfe as you can......some Vaseline can help!
Ptfe compresses down to almost nothing, hence the need to tighten the gland nut from time to time.
John

 

[Madrab]

Or, if you have access to the outside isolator, replace it for a 1/4 turn lever, much less hassle in the long run.

 

[WhatNext]

Many thanks

 

[FiremanT]

Or, if you have access to the outside isolator, replace it for a 1/4 turn lever, much less hassle in the long run.

Does a 1/4 turn lever comply?

 

[Madrab]

Do you mean WRAS approved or Building regs? Now that you mention it, I'll do some checking, I know they are WRAS approved but not sure whether building regs specify.

 

[FiremanT]

Yea, I meant regs as far as a permissable type of valve acting as the main isolation. I am a GSE not a plumber, so would not stake my life on it, but I thought the main valve had to be a "proper" stopcock. But I could well be wrong or out of date.
I normally suggest fitting the 1/4 turn (Full Bore) AFTER the tight stopcock, assuming there is no drip

 

[Madrab]

After checking, I can't find any reference to the requirement being a specific screw down tap to be used as a mains stop valve.

WRAS' spec is that there is a requirement for a conveniently located stop valve to be fitted, they define a stop valve as - a valve, other than a servicing valve, used for shutting off the flow of water in a pipe.

I guess the only downside would be that you can't adjust flow as easily and it may be easier to knock to the off position, benefits could be easier to isolate for older/disabled access.