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Stopcock that can be installed without breaking pipe or cutting flow

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  • 05-12-2013 8:21pm
    #1
    Orson100
    Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭


    Hi,

    I have an issue with the hot water faucet in my kitchen and wanted to take off the fitting, see if I could fix it, or failing that, fit a replacement.

    However, slight problem: Unlike everybody else and their mother it seems, I do not have a stopcock for the hot water in the cupboard under the sink, just for cold. I have traced back to the immersion tank and I cannot find any stopcock between its outlet and the sink (or at any other point in the house for that matter).

    I am aware that I can shut off the cold water supply, empty the attic tank etc eventually leading to the hot water supply going dead.

    A couple of issues with this:

    1. It's a pain in the *ass having to do this and will take a lot of time.
    2. No doubt I will have airlocks all over the shop when I start re-filling the system and these can be very difficult to clear sometimes.
    3. Critically, if the hot water supply is completely empty how do I assess whether my efforts at fixing / replacing the faucet fitting are successful without priming the whole system again.

    I really need just to be able to shut it off before the faucet.

    I have it in my head that there may be some kind of clamp stop cock on the market that you can literally clamp over a pipe with a running supply, it pierces through and creates some sort of supply restriction mechanism controlled by a lever.

    Perhaps I am dreaming but if I'm not, I would appreciate if anybody could give me a steer on the technical name for this contraption and where I could get one.

    Any other suggestions to deal with my problem would also be most welcome.

    Cheers
    Orson.
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Dtp1979
    Registered Users Posts: 12,736 ✭✭✭✭Dtp1979


    Orson100 wrote: »
    Hi,

    I have an issue with the hot water faucet in my kitchen and wanted to take off the fitting, see if I could fix it, or failing that, fit a replacement.

    However, slight problem: Unlike everybody else and their mother it seems, I do not have a stopcock for the hot water in the cupboard under the sink, just for cold. I have traced back to the immersion tank and I cannot find any stopcock between its outlet and the sink (or at any other point in the house for that matter).

    I am aware that I can shut off the cold water supply, empty the attic tank etc eventually leading to the hot water supply going dead.

    A couple of issues with this:

    1. It's a pain in the *ass having to do this and will take a lot of time.
    2. No doubt I will have airlocks all over the shop when I start re-filling the system and these can be very difficult to clear sometimes.
    3. Critically, if the hot water supply is completely empty how do I assess whether my efforts at fixing / replacing the faucet fitting are successful without priming the whole system again.

    I really need just to be able to shut it off before the faucet.

    I have it in my head that there may be some kind of clamp stop cock on the market that you can literally clamp over a pipe with a running supply, it pierces through and creates some sort of supply restriction mechanism controlled by a lever.

    Perhaps I am dreaming but if I'm not, I would appreciate if anybody could give me a steer on the technical name for this contraption and where I could get one.

    Any other suggestions to deal with my problem would also be most welcome.

    Cheers
    Orson.

    Take a pic of your hot press where the cylinder is and include all the pipe work you can see


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    #3
    NewBeefFarmer
    Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭NewBeefFarmer


    how old is this plumbing?

    you maybe mistaking for what looks like a connection joing between two pipes, but is in fact a valve, it will be a silver like joiner with a flat head screw top, turn it and the flow will be turned off.

    failing that,

    all i can say is that there is deffo a stop valve either on the out flow from the tank, and if not, its deffo on the inflow to the tank. . .. if u turn off the inflow this will do it . . your inflow pipe will be at the bottem of the tank. . look for a valve there . . it will be on the pipe coming down form the ceiling/tank


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    #4
    Orson100
    Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭Orson100


    Hi DTP, thanks for looking. I have attached 2 x photos.

    I naturally assumed that the only tap visible at the bottom of the cylinder was the one to shut off but I shut this off and the hot water was still running after about 15 minutes so don't see how this could be it with the short run between it and the faucer (no mansion here). There are no other taps attached to any of the pipes coming out of the cylinder as far as I can see.

    I should say at this point that we also have oil-fired central and water heating but my understanding was that all hot water is routed though the hot water cylinder regardless of the heating medium, whether the oil burner or immersion heater, is this correct?

    Cheers


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    #5
    gctest50
    Registered Users Posts: 9,605 ✭✭✭gctest50


    Have your new valve ready to go and


    http://www.wickes.co.uk/pipe-freezing-kit/invt/424921/


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    #6
    Orson100
    Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭Orson100


    NewBeefFarmer wrote: »
    how old is this plumbing?

    you maybe mistaking for what looks like a connection joing between two pipes, but is in fact a valve, it will be a silver like joiner with a flat head screw top, turn it and the flow will be turned off.

    failing that,

    all i can say is that there is deffo a stop valve either on the out flow from the tank, and if not, its deffo on the inflow to the tank. . .. if u turn off the inflow this will do it . . your inflow pipe will be at the bottem of the tank. . look for a valve there . . it will be on the pipe coming down form the ceiling/tank

    Thanks for looking NBF, and ref my previous post which may be of some use to you. The house is only 10 years old and no, there's no stop under the sink definitely not.

    On the cylinder I had a look at this a month ago and turned off every tap I could find anywhere near it but what you say has to make sense and I'm going to look again.


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    #7
    Dtp1979
    Registered Users Posts: 12,736 ✭✭✭✭Dtp1979


    Orson100 wrote: »
    Hi DTP, thanks for looking. I have attached 2 x photos.

    I naturally assumed that the only tap visible at the bottom of the cylinder was the one to shut off but I shut this off and the hot water was still running after about 15 minutes so don't see how this could be it with the short run between it and the faucer (no mansion here). There are no other taps attached to any of the pipes coming out of the cylinder as far as I can see.

    I should say at this point that we also have oil-fired central and water heating but my understanding was that all hot water is routed though the hot water cylinder regardless of the heating medium, whether the oil burner or immersion heater, is this correct?

    Cheers

    In the first pic, the pipe closest the cylinder. Follow that pipe up and even through your attic back to the tank. There should be a valve on it


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    #8
    Orson100
    Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭Orson100


    gctest50 wrote: »
    Have your new valve ready to go and


    http://www.wickes.co.uk/pipe-freezing-kit/invt/424921/

    Hi thanks for looking but for a lay person like myself putting any form of time limit on the work I may need to carry out on the faucet would be a case of: "Be afraid, be very afraid".

    Thanks again.


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    #9
    donedl1
    Registered Users Posts: 48 ✭donedl1


    The valves that isolate the supply to the cylinder are further up.

    Apologies Dtp1979 just saw that you had already posted the same advice.


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    #10
    Orson100
    Registered Users Posts: 50 ✭✭Orson100


    My bad, I must have been under the weather when I checked this out a month ago. I have found the cylinder's cold water inlet valve and shut it off and my hot water's off at the sink. I think I was concentrating on shutting off hot water out last time and did not pay enough attention to the pipes that were cold forgetting the basic principle: no water in, no water out.

    Thanks to all for forcing me to re-evaluate the situation.

    Regards
    Orson.


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    #11
    NewBeefFarmer
    Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭NewBeefFarmer


    Orson100 wrote: »
    My bad, I must have been under the weather when I checked this out a month ago. I have found the cylinder's cold water inlet valve and shut it off and my hot water's off at the sink. I think I was concentrating on shutting off hot water out last time and did not pay enough attention to the pipes that were cold forgetting the basic principle: no water in, no water out.

    Thanks to all for forcing me to re-evaluate the situation.

    Regards
    Orson.


    dam it feels good to help fellow diy people. . ;)

    where theres a will theres a way as they say

    fair play to ya


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