Manky Old Galvo Mains

[pitchroof]

Folks,
I need to blank off my (steel?)mains.I'm confused....One,with the size.It appears to be around 3/4",although looking at it it seems a tad bigger!
Two,what to stuff in the hole? BSP I'm assuming. Is a brass plug available off the shelf?...If its 3/4(BSP)
Please dont tell me it could be Whitworth ( hence the slightly bigger)
or Acme,or Buttress,or a piece of old Birmingham Rifle!
No wonder we lost the war...why couldn't we just do metric...![/b]

 

[TicklyT]

The nominal size of the pipe indicates the bore, so a 1/2" pipe is about 3/4" outside diameter, and a 3/4" pipe is about 1" diameter etc. etc.

The best bet is to find a joint that can be unscrewed, and screw in an appropriate size iron BSP taper plug or cap, with plenty of PTFE tape wrapped around the threads.

It may require more than a little application of two decent pipe wrenches (one to support the joint) to seperate a well made joint.

You may be able to find a compression stop end that will fit over a cut pipe end, but they rely on a good external finish on the pipe. This may be lacking, as iron or steel pipe was intended to be threaded, not used with compression fittings.

A 'dead leg' in pipework is generally considered bad news. it can trap air, leading to water hammer or stagnant water harbouring bacteria.

Incidentally, nearly all pipe fittings may now be metric, but they still have BSP threads in them.

 

[pitchroof]

Thanks for the response Tickly.
I've been browsing and found some clues and bits (1/2" bsp & 3/4" PLUGS!.... bingo.)
'Appreciate the 'Dead Leg' bit.My need is only temporary.I might need to use it yet.
Do you agree it can only be BSP?
Plugs are only pence,stuff it...I'll get one of each!Assuming I can find a Grownup to flog me some local!
Unscewing the pipe will be a bitch however,I'm in a corner...literally.

 

[spacethegas]

bspt

 

[pitchroof]

BSP...TAPIR?....(NOT THE CUTE PIG THING I TAKE IT!)
Plugs for that?.....Or bushes?...or bushes and Pushfit?..it only has to be for a few weeks,then I'll either be digging it out or running on to a new kitchen.

 

[MANDATE]

don't want to confuse you, but BSP threads are of whitworth form, so how it makes a fitting 'metric' will need some explaining I'm afraid.
Female threads will be parallel. male threads parallel or tapered.

 

[twgas]

so how it makes a fitting 'metric' will need some explaining I'm afraid.

IIRC some bright spark tried using a near-equivalent metric size to the BSP sizes we all know and love, 1/4 - 8mm, 3/8 - 10mm, 1/2 - 15mm, 3/4 - 20mm, 1" - 25mm (cant remember bigger sizes, (I'm only little))

 

[pitchroof]

Hmm, I'm getting the "You need a Gash Box full of old steam engine and Merlin parts mate" feeling....

 

[MANDATE]

You'll be alright! B & Q do plugs in iron. 1/2 in bspt.
'a gash box with steam engine parts' ? Never heard the term 'gash' for years, you must have a nautical background I would think.

 

[pitchroof]

Cheers Mandate,
I must confess I havn't even given them a proper try yet (guilty of assuming that my problem would be a little to 'specific' for them?) But I'm getting a sense of direction now (come to think of it,I may have seen some 'Old Iron' on their shelves in the past.)
Oh,and wrong rabble!...Think clouds baby,think clouds!
Theres a fair bit of 'cross dressin' between us though.Some of them even fly!...Now they're clever boys. "Like drivin' yer car into the garage at sixty miles an hour, in a rainstorm,in the dark!".

 

[MANDATE]

There was I was thinking Fleet Air Arm, it seems to fit the bill.

 

[pitchroof]

May God forgive me,I have Whitworth in my toolbox still!
I saw the end of the flying steamengine parts as a 'boy'.Now I've inherited a house full of Mr Brunels' finest Pipery.
'What's really scary is the electrics I'm pulling out by the handfull.You can see why Part P came about!... The Sparks turned the steel fuss box off with a broomhandle!