Discussion
dj111s said:Longer lasting, and cheaper
1. What are the relative benefits of braised domestic piping vs compression fit?
dj111s said:There should be a stop cock in the road/pavement somewhere. Be carfull though it my well be shared between a couple of houses
2. My mains tap is stripped, how can I isolate the flow to put in a new stop valve?
dj111s said:More correctly..'soldered'.
More DIY antics in the DJ mansion......
1. What are the relative benefits of braised domestic piping vs compression fit?
Soldered fittings are indeed far cheaper, but they are also much neater and, of course, once done they are done. Compression fittings can loosen over time particularly if not adequately supported. This is why gas pipes should not have compression fittings where inaccessible.
dj111s said:Hmmm... as mentioned above there should be a stopcock outside which turns off the water to your indoor stopcock. Assuming you live in a normal residence this (outdoor) stopcock is actually the water board's property and it's their responsibility to ensure it works. If you can't find it ring them and get someone out to locate it for you.
2. My mains tap is stripped, how can I isolate the flow to put in a new stop valve?
If not:
1. Freeze the pipework, or
2. Do it live. (Wear swimming trunks)
Unless the property is really old and never had any any up-dates, there should be a stop cock somewhere in the mains pipe. It is worth trying to trace back from the taps as far as possible etc.
If you do have to resort to the outside: have a look to the side of the path just within the boundary wall/fence. Should be a six inch earthenware lid, often broke and replaced with a small slab of paving.
If not, look just outside of boundary wall/fence on pavement for a sort of keyhole shaped metal lid (new ones are square and usually plastic). These sometimes have old style type handles and if out of reach will need a pronged device that can be bought from good builders/plumbers merchants.
If the cock does not have a "T" handle then usually a socket will do the job. Just remember to use tape of some kind to tape any extension bars together so as not to loose them down the side of the chamber.
One good thing about compression fittings: They can be useful when the stop-cock does not shut the water off completely. Solder will not run when water is present so solder fittings are useless under these conditions.
Hope this helps.
If you do have to resort to the outside: have a look to the side of the path just within the boundary wall/fence. Should be a six inch earthenware lid, often broke and replaced with a small slab of paving.
If not, look just outside of boundary wall/fence on pavement for a sort of keyhole shaped metal lid (new ones are square and usually plastic). These sometimes have old style type handles and if out of reach will need a pronged device that can be bought from good builders/plumbers merchants.
If the cock does not have a "T" handle then usually a socket will do the job. Just remember to use tape of some kind to tape any extension bars together so as not to loose them down the side of the chamber.
One good thing about compression fittings: They can be useful when the stop-cock does not shut the water off completely. Solder will not run when water is present so solder fittings are useless under these conditions.
Hope this helps.
And doing it live may not be as bad as it sounds, if it's only the moving parts that are knackered. If you get a stopcock which is the same as the one you are replacing - not hard, they're not the kind of thing that comes in 100000000000 fractionally different and incompatible varieties - you don't need to replace the entire stopcock; you can unscrew the top part with the moving parts in it and replace it with the top part of the new stopcock. If you get all the bits ready before the final removal of the old top part you can reduce the duration of the fountain to a few seconds.
Pigeon said:
And doing it live may not be as bad as it sounds, if it's only the moving parts that are knackered. If you get a stopcock which is the same as the one you are replacing - not hard, they're not the kind of thing that comes in 100000000000 fractionally different and incompatible varieties - you don't need to replace the entire stopcock; you can unscrew the top part with the moving parts in it and replace it with the top part of the new stopcock. If you get all the bits ready before the final removal of the old top part you can reduce the duration of the fountain to a few seconds.
If your doing it this way on mains pressure can I come round to watch, I need a bloody good laugh.
Mrs Fish said:
James here:
DO NOT DO IT LIVE YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET A NEW TAP ON EASILY.
Find the external tap and stop the mains. If there isn't one freeze it.
Relax mate! I was only joking! Thanks for the concern but I found my mains stop adjacent to my water meter in my driveway.
I'll be back for more advice tomorrow!
if you have a piece of scaffolding close to hand, hit it with a hammer on the end to get a tight fit over the external stopcock and use that to turn the water off. even better if you drill a hole at the opposite side and slide a bar through.
why buy one when you can make it at home for free?
why buy one when you can make it at home for free?
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