Airing Cupboard Stop Cock Confusion

[keicar]

Hope someone can help. On changing the kitchen tap ceramic cartridges I obviously needed to turn off the hot water. Something I've done in the past, but in my rush I went to the wrong red stopcock, realising my mistake I think I returned it to the position it was, but not I'm not 100% sure.

There are three stop cocks in my airing cupboard, 2 red, one of which does stop the hot water and goes to the bottom of the hot water tank from the loft tank, a normal tap type stopcock which is the cold water feed into both the tanks in the loft, but the 3rd one is confusing me.

Its a red tap, only seems to turn about an 8th of a turn (without forcing it) and disappears into the bathroom (22mm pipe) the other end is one of three pipes coming from the bottom of the large tank in the loft, one of which goes to the afore mentioned correct stopcock, and the other, via another red stopcock in the loft seems to disappear to the downstairs toilet.

My first thought was that they feed the cisterns in the bathroom and downstairs toilet, but it would appear not.

Its a late 90's house.

Any help to over come my easily confused state gratefully received !

K

 

[Hugh Jaleak]

Sounds like a cold feed to something, probably seized as it wont shift. As long as you've water where you need it I wouldn't worry anymore. It'll only become a problem when you want to shut the supply off to somewhere and end up draining the cold storage tank to do it....

Technically the 'normal type' stop tap you describe is a stop tap, the red handle types I suspect are Gate Valves, used for low pressure pipework. Very prone to seizing as you've found out!

 

[TonyW2]

My guess is that the 22mm into bathroom is the bath tap cold supply with the valve stuck and that the other valve in the loft that you mention controls a cold supply to the taps and WC cisterns or possibly is a central heating circuit supply. What becomes shut off when they are turned off?
The stuck valve needs fixing in any case.

 

[keicar]

Thanks chaps for the replies, knowing they were low pressure I managed to free the jammed one which was the stop cock was for the cold supply to the bathroom the other was for downstairs cistern.

Thanks again.