stop cock

[steve69]

Do you always turn your water stop cock off at home before going away? Or has there been a time when you wish you had?

 

[Kannon Fodda]

As the plumbing, like most things in my house, is worn out (the motorhome enables me to shut the door on house and put off until another day that I need to fix it), stop cock always turned off if I'm away for more than a day or so.

That is until the stopcock seized .....

 

[Brains]

Yes

From bitter experience I always turn off the water when going away overnight.

I had the original stopcock, which was a 'tap' type and at ground level replaced with a simple 'lever' type and put an waist height, making it very easy to turn off/on.

The best £5 investment in home improvements you an make.
It may save you tens of thousands and being moved out of your home for 3 to 6 months

 

[steve69]

That is until the stopcock seized .....

Was it in the open or closed position when it seized?

 

[Ernesto]

Never done it. I figure constantly turning the valve on and off would risk more wear and tear, and I have insurance in the unlikely event of a problem.

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[WESTY66]

Never ever turned it off!

Am I an idiot??

 

[Barryh]

I don’t usually bother for one night, but any longer then turn it off every time, as well as flushing the toilet to empty the cistern. Years ago we had our home boiler pack up whilst on a long winter trip. The pipes froze and burst, I dread to think what the damage would have been with the water on.

 

[Kannon Fodda]

Was it in the open or closed position when it seized?

Open.

Eventually followed a couple of sensible YouTube type videos which suggested slackening the nut through which the tap spindle passes. No need for WD40 or similar. You might start to get a bit of a weep but may be enough to release the crud that can build up in hard water allowing the tap to be gently turned. Once free then rotate a lot more until it opens and closes easily. Then retighten the spindle nut. Note I always try to open the stopcock fully then close back by a quarter turn so there can be rotation both ways if it were to bind again.

 

[The Wino]

Never done it. I figure constantly turning the valve on and off would risk more wear and tear, and I have insurance in the unlikely event of a problem.

I suspect the valve could wear if turned off and on a lot but it could equally seize if not used. At least if you turn it off sometimes you know it's going to work if you need it too. We don't generally turn ours off but it does sound like a good idea unless you have a gravity fed heating expansion tank and an unknown small leak in the heating system somewhere.

 

[SpeedyDux]

I always turn off the stopcock. Repeated use will stop it seizing up.

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[steve69]

I always turn off the stopcock. Repeated use will stop it seizing up.

In my experience repeated use can also start it leaking. they don't appear to be made in the same way as say bathroom taps

 

[Minxy]

We turn ours off when going away for more than a couple of days. When we moved the front door position the original stop cock had to be buried under the threshold so now we have a simple inline one like the above but without the handle as it's in the wall behind a blanking plate, a quarter turn with a screwdriver is all that's needed.

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Never ever turned it off!

Am I an idiot??

 

[Minxy]

Never ever turned it off

Okay.

Am I an idiot??

Is that in relation to the above or a general question?

 

[WESTY66]

We turn ours off when going away for more than a couple of days. When we moved the front door position the original stop cock had to be buried under the threshold so now we have a simple inline one like the above but without the handle as it's in the wall behind a blanking plate, a quarter turn with a screwdriver is all that's needed.

View attachment 748314

Our stopcock is on 28mm pipe so it’s a bit bigger than that

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[Ernesto]

I don’t usually bother for one night, but any longer then turn it off every time, as well as flushing the toilet to empty the cistern. Years ago we had our home boiler pack up whilst on a long winter trip. The pipes froze and burst, I dread to think what the damage would have been with the water on.

I think if I were heading off for a long winter trip I’d prefer to leave the system on a frost protection programme…draining the system down would seem extreme and leaving water in pipework without any heating risks a problem when you turn the water back on

 

[Minxy]

Our stopcock is on 28mm pipe so it’s a bit bigger than that

Eat more Wheetabix!

 

[Minxy]

I think if I were hading off for a long winter trip I’d prefer to leave the system on a frost protection programme…draining the system down would seem extreme and leaving water in pipework without any heating risks a problem when you turn the water back on

Even though we turn the water off we still have our heating on over winter as it's a requirement of our insurance, we certainly wouldn't drain it all down.

 

[Googlebot]

Never done it. I figure constantly turning the valve on and off would risk more wear and tear, and I have insurance in the unlikely event of a problem.

Taps never turned off stop being taps. The seals don’t get stretched or cleaned and they just seize open.

The worst thing you can do to a stop cock is not use it for years.

Mine is off if more than a few days away.

 

[Howard B]

I turn ours off at the water softener which is adjacent to thestop cock in the utility room.
The only tap that works then is the utility room coldtap which the neighbour uses to water our indoor plants.

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[gus-lopez]

My mother instilled in me that everything gets turned off including the electric. I have managed to stop myself turning all the electric just leaving the fridge & freezer on. the drinking water gets turned off at the valve before the water meter in the street & I turn the irrigation water off also.I always find it on when I return as neighbour does the watering & doesn't turn it off again.

as it's in the wall behind a blanking plate, a quarter turn with a screwdriver is all that's needed.

You need to use those regularly as they seize up. many I have used when you go to turn them off they start to leak

 

[Ernesto]

Taps never turned off stop being taps. The seals don’t get stretched or cleaned and they just seize open.

The worst thing you can do to a stop cock is not use it for years.

Mine is off if more than a few days away.

I agree about never ever turning them off The mains supply is turned off here for boiler and service every year as they change water softener cartridges as well. It’s the turning off for every trip I dont do.
Everyone has their own preference I’m sure.

 

[Janine]

Yes

From bitter experience I always turn off the water when going away overnight.

I had the original stopcock, which was a 'tap' type and at ground level replaced with a simple 'lever' type and put an waist height, making it very easy to turn off/on.

The best £5 investment in home improvements you an make.
It may save you tens of thousands and being moved out of your home for 3 to 6 months

View attachment 748302

I like that idea!

 

[TheBig1]

In the ancient stop cocks with washers, the washer rots if just left open for years without occasional compressing. The newer ball or gate valve type have no washer so not such an issue. A positive about havi g a water meter is there is an easy to operate valve thete too if the stopcock is hard to get to or seized etc. ALWAYS know how to shut off the water in your home before an emergency.

I have attended many water damaged homes where the owner had no idea how or where to turn it off. Cost them a lot more in the long run even though mostly insured.

 

[Brains]

Never done it. I figure constantly turning the valve on and off would risk more wear and tear, and I have insurance in the unlikely event of a problem.

Whilst the insurance may cover the cost, it does not cover the inconvenience.

We had an insurance company contact us one afternoon, and that evening a little old lady was delivered to the doorstep of our holiday let in complete shock with all her worldly possessions in bin bags.

She was in the holiday let for 5 months (only 3 months of which were paid by the insurance company), whilst her own house was dried out (6 weeks), had new ceilings put up, extensive rewiring, replastered walls, which then had to wait until it dried before they could decorate and then new carpets and much new furniture.

All caused by a water tank in the roof that suddenly split and then water at mains pressure pouring from attic to basement for two days.

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[dulvil]

Fitted quite a few of these

 

[St3v3]

You should regularly close and open your stop tap to stop it seizing. If it starts to weep around the shaft it isn't necessarily the end of the world - that nut can be tightened slightly to compress the gland.

When you re-open it, turn it until it stops, then back half a turn. It's less likely to seize.

Close while away? Maybe in the winter, but not routinely. Would you close it while you sleep? Same damage could occur...

As dulvil Shurestop is a good product, but still maintain your stop tap.

 

[L' Hobo]

After returning one day to find my kitchen flooded by the washing machine, I added another stopcock in the downstairs lavatory and now always turn it off.
This also allows me to KNOW it can be in an emergency.

 

[maison]

I think if I were heading off for a long winter trip I’d prefer to leave the system on a frost protection programme…draining the system down would seem extreme and leaving water in pipework without any heating risks a problem when you turn the water back on

We turn off the domestic water at the stopcock but leave the heating on set at 10°C in order to avoid freezing. No need to drain down.

 

[pappajohn]

We had a holiday cottage near Newton Stewart on the Scottish borders.
We let the kids use it on condition it was left as they found it.
What we didn't realise was No1 daughter didn't know left from right.....rather than turn the stop tap off she turned if fully on.
Of course, it was winter and we got a call from the local water company to say the village reservoir level was unexpectedly dropping and the cause.....water running out of the front door after a pipe burst due to freezing.
420 mile emergency round trip just to turn off the water.

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