stiff hot water valve

[peter anderson]

I want to change a washer on someone's hot water tap but the stopcock between the cistern and the hot water cylinder is too stiff to turn off by hand. If I put a screwdriver in the stopcock wheel to get more leverage I'm scared that I'll deform the copper pipes. Any tips on what I can do apart from putting a new stopcock on?

 

[breezer]

wd40

 

[taydo]

oooooooo risky business thats why we are insured me thinks.
drain it down and play with it safetly.

The valves have been known to completely fall apart

 

[AdamW]

Surely you mean a gatevalve rather than a stopcock Right, must take off my pedant hat.

I had one in my flat that wouldn't budge, no matter what, so I replaced it. Turns out that it was jammed almost completely shut with 20-odd years of cr*p blocking it, on the cold feed to the bathroom (from the tank).

As Taydo says, "drain it down and play with it safely". This is the surest way to make sure you don't pour gallons of water through a plaster ceiling, and will give you the opportunity to renew the seized valve.

Can any drips tell us how we can prevent gate valves jamming? Is it because people open them as far as they will turn, and would turning the wheel back a small amount stop this? Hardly seems worth having a valve that jams open!

 

[peter anderson]

taydo have you experienced a gatevalve falling apart just turning it by hand?

 

[ollski]

Yep just drain down the cold feed tank and put a new stopcock a few inches below the old one, removing the old head. To prevent seizing open it fully then back it off half a turn. If you want to make super sure then just give them a full turn and back every couple of months.

 

[AdamW]

Why put it a new one a few inches below the old one? Seeing as gatevalves all seem to be the same size, can't you just replace like with like? Leaving the old one there just without a head seems a bit daft to me.

 

[ollski]

yes now you mention it i don't know why I do that.