Stopcock does not work

[Dammit]

Hi all, first post so please forgive me if I say something stupid!

My girlfriend and I have just moved into our first place- a first floor flat in a 1930's block in Forest Hill, South East London.

We had a plumber round to look at the boiler as it was leaking, whilst he was there we asked him what he thought was wrong with a hot water tap in the bathroom- he said it was knackered and that the easiest thing to do would be to replace it.

I bought a couple of new taps on my lunchbreak the next day and went to fit them when I got home.

There is no stop valve just before the tap, so I went to turn the stopcock off.

However after I turned it off the water kept on running at the same rate as before.

I checked with the flat upstairs and they confirmed that their stopcock was in the exact same location that mine was- so I am pretty sure that it is the right thing to be turning off.

Is there an easy way of fixing this?

I have no idea where an external stopcock might be found in the block, and just to add to the fun the chap who fitted the boiler fixed the gasmeter in front of the stopcock, so access is tight!

Thanks, Neil

 

[KevC1]

Good luck!

You really need to find the external stop tap to be able to replace your stop tap. You could try freezing it if you can access it. If access is awkward you could get a push fit stop tap wich might make life easier.

 

[John506]

You say it was built in the 1930's, does your stoptap look like it was from the 1930s? Is it all crudded up?

How confident are you with a couple of adjustables and a can of WD40?

Undo the packing gland, spraying WD40 if needed. Get one adjustable on the main body of the tap, and one on the actual handle for leverage and give it some muscle.

Alternatively are you sure the handle isnt just spinning and it has snapped from the spindle.

Old stoptaps can be a barstool!

 

[Wangerman]

Exactly as John says but you could try rocking it backwards and forwards slowly first to see if that frees it off before giving it the full beans

 

[studips]

are you on a water meter? if so, have a look there for a stopcock, there might even be a plastic handle for it.

 

[Dammit]

This is the fellow:

It is currently "closed" as much as possible, not that you could tell that from the water gushing out of the kitchen tap when you turn it on!

Adjustables I have, GT85 I have (rather than WD40), reckon I can fix this?

 

[John506]

Crudded up as I suspected.

Just follow my post being gentle at the same time, and you will find the stop tap will close off alot more than you think.

Beware though, you can very easily cause a leak on the nuts either side with stop taps this old. I've shut off hundreds like this, and I still regulary cause a leak, sometimes inevitable.

 

[Dammit]

Ok, great- I will have a go, one question (told you I'd ask some stupid ones!), what is a packing gland?

 

[Wangerman]

Ok, great- I will have a go, one question (told you I'd ask some stupid ones!), what is a packing gland?

It's the nut on the top where the spindle comes out

Good luck

 

[Whitespirit66]

Before you rush in with your wrench, what hot and cold systems have you got? Is it a combi, or have you got storage tanks/cylinder/ Do all taps in kitchen/bathroom keep running?

How many turns does the stoptap turn?

Before you tackle that stoptap, you will need to turn the water off somewhere. You may need to consult others, in case their supplies are affected.

 

[Dammit]

What hot and cold systems have you got?
- We have a SIME combi boiler
Do all taps in kitchen/bathroom keep running?
- Yes (although the cold tap in the bathroom and the cisterns are fed by a tank on the roof, but I can turn that off)

How many turns does the stoptap turn?
- Not sure, I'll find out

Before you tackle that stoptap, you will need to turn the water off somewhere. You may need to consult others, in case their supplies are affected.
- I've no idea where an external stoptap would be, we are not on a water metre so sadly it won't be there. Is there no way of tackling this with my water "live" as it were?

 

[John506]

Even if you do find your external stoptap, if you somehow bust that, you can be fined I think maybe 1 or £3000, can't remember.

 

[Wangerman]

What hot and cold systems have you got?
- We have a SIME combi boiler
Do all taps in kitchen/bathroom keep running?
- Yes (although the cold tap in the bathroom and the cisterns are fed by a tank on the roof, but I can turn that off)

How many turns does the stoptap turn?
- Not sure, I'll find out

Before you tackle that stoptap, you will need to turn the water off somewhere. You may need to consult others, in case their supplies are affected.
- I've no idea where an external stoptap would be, we are not on a water metre so sadly it won't be there. Is there no way of tackling this with my water "live" as it were?

Only if you have flippers and a snorkel.

Even if you did successfully manage to perform the task live the problem if the seized stop tap won't go away and you could need it in an emergency next time

 

[Dammit]

Ok, so- find external stopcock, and then replace this stopcock?

With regards to the number of turns- below picture is of the tap backed off two and a half turns, at which point I wimped out turning it any more:

 

[Whitespirit66]

That stop tap looks like its been there quite a while. It could be the spindle partially seized that's stopping it closing fully.

On the other hand, it could be that the washer inside went out to lunch a while ago.