main water stop cock

[janelesley]

Hi i am new to this forum so am sorry if this has aready been asked.
I have a leak inside my house,well several one being on the stop cock which is placed just by the front door.It really needs to be replaced as it drips but our problem is we cannot turn off the tap in the road,i know this belongs to the waterboard,in our case southern water,it is so full of rubbish we cannot see the tap,can we try and clean it or should we call the water company to come and clean it,if we do this will they just clean it out or will they replace it with a water meter???

 

[jctilingservices]

Hi i am new to this forum so am sorry if this has aready been asked.
I have a leak inside my house,well several one being on the stop cock which is placed just by the front door.It really needs to be replaced as it drips but our problem is we cannot turn off the tap in the road,i know this belongs to the waterboard,in our case southern water,it is so full of rubbish we cannot see the tap,can we try and clean it or should we call the water company to come and clean it,if we do this will they just clean it out or will they replace it with a water meter???

i am not a plumber BUT my outside mains was covered with concrete, i broke it all away to gain access to the tap, and no one said anything to me and it took hours as i didnt want to damage the tap


Jimmy

 

[janelesley]

Thanks for that,my husband said he will clean it and turn it off,i'm just worried it won't turn after all these years,or worse turn and split!!!

 

[studips]

i'd go for a clean out of the external stoppy, but have you tried nipping up the hex nut at the base of the stem of your internal stopcock?

that might be enough to squeeze off your leak.

 

[janelesley]

Hi,thanks for your reply,yes we did get the stop cock indoors fixed by our home serve cover but he said it was on it's way out and thought the more we have to touch it the more it is likely to leak and he feared they would not be able to mend it.It was this man that also looked in the road and saw it was bunged up with rubbish.He said the waterboard are likely to put us on a meter,this i really don't want as it will cost us so much more.

 

[jctilingservices]

Hi,thanks for your reply,yes we did get the stop cock indoors fixed by our home serve cover but he said it was on it's way out and thought the more we have to touch it the more it is likely to leak and he feared they would not be able to mend it.It was this man that also looked in the road and saw it was bunged up with rubbish.He said the waterboard are likely to put us on a meter,this i really don't want as it will cost us so much more.

just go outside, lift the lid and clean as much rubbish away as you possibly can to allow access to the tap, you may need a mains key though, just turn your water off and change the stopcock, Do you have a seperate outside stopcock to your neighbours ? if not it means you will be turning their water off as well


Jimmy

 

[janelesley]

Yes we have our own stopcock,hubby is all for doing that and that is probably all it needs,i have a habit of thinking of the worst and panick we will have a flood of water running down the road that we can't stop,sure that won't happen.
Would be such a relief to mend the interior stop tap as we have another leak inside the house where we need to remove a bit of a lead pipe and put in copper piping,lead to copper tends not to connect well!!!

 

[xr4x4]

if the outside stop cock gets damaged and starts leaking, its the water boards problem... if its outside your property that is.

 

[Burnerman]

Now janelesley panic ye not, just do as Mr. Tilingservices suggests - lift the lid and remove all of the gunge that is in the tunnel down to the stopcock in the street. (We call that the Toby, by the way). I use an industrial vacuum cleaner to clear the soil and other rubbish away, but whatever, expose the tap that can be turned to isolate your house. B&Q sell Toby keys for this - the tap can be turned either way and its only a quarter of a turn thats needed.
Once this starts to move and you can turn your own water off, you can attack your own internal stopcock. To say that its on its last legs is nonsense - they can be refurbished with a new washer and gland packing.
John

 

[janelesley]

Hi,yes it is just outside our gate,would they not put in a meter rather than mending it??? think it best if we don't do it tomorrow can't see the waterboard coming out on New Years Eve can you !!
Do they still mend it if we have broken it??

 

[doitall]

Don't know about toby.

I had my arm at full stretch down the hole cleaning it out, and I had a handful that started to move about

After ripping most of the skin from my arm in the panic that set in it turned out I had a handful of Toad.

 

[janelesley]

Thanks Burnerman,We have a Toby key so that is good.When the plumber came thats what he did packed the gland but think it has gone again as we have had to turn it off a few times because of the leak between the Lead pipe and copper pipe (yet another problem!!)

 

[janelesley]

Yuk doitall,well all i can say is it won't be my arm going down but if the only problem we have is a toad then i shall be very happy.Thanks

 

[Burnerman]

Hello jane
I can't comment on the policies of a water company in Kent, and as for putting a meter in rather than just fixing the stopcock I just don't know. Kent is a little south of here, apparently, and there is plenty of water in Northumberland.
Anyway, so long as the thing doesn't burst (and no one in their right mind is going to heave on the thing until it does), lets leave it there until access to it is nice and clear.
So - your own home stopcock has a dribble? Well, if you can tighten the small hexagon nut below the turn handle, that will compress the gland packing and usually reduces the leak. Either way, if the leak is from there a flood won't happen so collect the drips in a bowl.
If you can photograph your house stopcock, we'll point you in the right direction.
John

 

[Burnerman]

So - a toad eh?
Apparently if you give it a kiss, it will turn into a prince. Or, was that a frog?
Enjoy
John