seized stop cock

[brockwell]

hello there,

I have a stopcock that will not budge, access is poor. the bar on the spindle is just spinning and no amount of molies and wrench`s are going to move it now as pretty mashed
The valve itself seems pretty old ( its a 50 - 60`s council block in bermonsdsey london )
one side is 15mm copper, the other side seems to be steel.3\4 i guess but i am not sure . the flow is poor and needs to be increased.
taking the body out of the valve seems a good option, does anyone have any thoughts about what size it i likely to be ...or any other ideas...obviously when i try and whip the innards out there will be a lot of water...there is no room to freeze it..
any help greatly appriciated

guy

 

[Agile]

Call a plumber!

And before you ask we dont cover South London and only do boiler repairs when its a seized stopcock.

It can also be quite an involved job so start saving up about £250 just in case!

Tony

 

[brockwell]

Thanks for the advice Tony not what i wanted to hear but sometimes you got to do these things.
Cheers

 

[ChrisR]

Try to undo the gland nut on the shaft, then heat it up. Sometimes plus-gas penetrating fluid will help. Then back to the mole grips.
You might be lucky with replacing the innards. If you buy British fittings with bsp ends, a couple of different makes.

"No Room" is relative. Recently froze a stopcock where there was no room. I wrapped it with soggy dishcloth and put two electric freezing clamps over it and had a cup of tea.

Unfortunately, they'd put sugar in it. But pouring the stuff over the bit I wanted to get out, thawed it enough to turn.

Not sure if it would have worked without sugar.

Council blocks usually have big, meaty stop valves somewhere, serving a few flats. I expect if you ask enough, you'll find it. Start with the council!