Turning off stop cock

[vizzo]

Daughters house which is an hour away, so a bit of a trek if i have to keep going backwards and forwards to fix this. Hence doing research now. The problem is:

The stop cock will turn but will not completely turn off the water.

At its tightest the flow is restricted but not turned right off.
I've looked through the forum and couldnt find a solution, but i have done a bit of related reading.

The stop cock is in the corner of the kitchen, behind a cabinet and really difficult to get to, but I'm sure I've turned it as far off as it will go.

So i read that there is a possible adjustment. Is it possible that the gland nut needs adjusting? Is it that there may be too much packing/ptfe? Or too little? I don't fully understand how the mechanism works.

My thinking is:
The tighter the gland nut is, the more "closed" it will make the tap when at its tightest so:
1. Try tightening the gland nut. If that doesn't work:
2. Loosen the gland nut, remove ptfe, use a bit less ptfe and tighten again.

Any other thoughts?
I can turn off water at the meter, but the need for turning off at the stop cock is that the water meter readings are about 3x what they should be for a single person and so we need to shut off at the stopcock to isolate the problem before UU will do anything.
Any help appreciated.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

So i read that there is a possible adjustment. Is it possible that the gland nut needs adjusting? Is it that there may be too much packing/ptfe? Or too little? I don't fully understand how the mechanism works.

No, the two are almost entirely independent - gland seal, from ability to turn the water off. If you cannot turn it off, either the washer has failed, or you are unable to turn it tight enough. You need to remove the innards, and examine it, to see which, by turning the supply off, at your boundary stop tap, by the road side. .

Clean it, grease it, fit a new tap washer, or simply replace it with a new tap.

 

[Madrab]

Chances are the washer's gone and no longer sealing properly. If you can get to it then ideally I'd replace it for a 1/4 turn lever valve.

 

[vizzo]

Thanks guys - that makes sense