Broken Gate Valve Issue

Discussion in 'Plumbers' Talk' started by swyftie, Aug 14, 2018.

  1. swyftie

    swyftie New Member

    I'm currently changing taps in a school and, as they're so old, am encountering a lot of broken gate valves which I am replacing as I go along (they have boxes of spares so depleting the stock before looking at alternative isolators).
    I'm now facing one that will not close and cannot find any other isolation points along the run of pipe. Isolating the building and draining off isn't really an option as it is being used all summer and would probably be off for too long.
    Is there any way I can get this valve working again, at least temporarily, or an alternative way to isolate the pipe?
    I know you can freeze pipes but it's something I've never done and am unsure of - it's a 22mm hot water pipe but because of a faulty TMV no hot water is passing further along so pipes are cold.

    Any advice would be greatly appreciated
     
  2. rogerk101

    rogerk101 Screwfix Select

    How long is too long? and what time of the day are we talking about?
    If you were to get everything as ready as possible for as direct a swap out as you can do, you could turn off the mains, remove the faulty item, replace it with a working item, and restore the mains. Obviously **** can (and often does) happen, but surely the whole activity shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes.
    What times of the day are the water facilities in use? 9am to 5pm? 8am to 7pm? If the above suggestion of shutting off all water for 15 mins is too long during the time the facilities are being used, could you not just do it before or after?
     
  3. swyftie

    swyftie New Member

    The last time I tried changing a part 'live' it didn't end well! And with it being on the first floor this time it can cause even more chaos, so don't feel too confident about trying it again. I've only been a plumber for five minutes (school put me through college) and I start NVQ later this year. Just want to earn brownie & confidence points by tackling and successfully fixing this set of problem taps as they've been out of order for longer than I can remember!
    The site is really busy this summer, bookings from 7am until up to 10pm most days to raise funds. I could leave it to drain off overnight and get it together and back on before 7am, but if I could avoid wasting water, I'd much prefer to...which is what led me to pipe freezing. I'm just unsure about how reliable this choice would be.
     
  4. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    Live fit a pushfit ball valve, costs about a tenner, job done.
     
  5. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    Whatever you do, don’t attempt anything by yourself.
    Always better to have someone to stand by to reach you tools etc.
    Freezing a 22mm pipe with a cheap freeze kit should be easy, but best to have spare freeze spray cans.
     
  6. swyftie

    swyftie New Member

    Hadn't even considered push fit! Thank you.
     
  7. swyftie

    swyftie New Member

    That's the thing, I am pretty much by myself this summer, I have two colleagues, one is unfortunately unwell and will not return until some time toward the end of the year, and the other....well...not sure I could trust him to hold a broom if I'm honest, let alone my tools! Maybe that's a little cruel...but from experience I know that if things got a little wet he'd be gone...and I'd have no assistance.
     
  8. Heat

    Heat Screwfix Select

    Anyone reliable that you can depend on to reach or fetch something is all you need.
    Just wondering - how are you covered for insurance, should something go really bad?
     
  9. chippie244

    chippie244 Super Member

    Have a tray, blankets, something to catch the water. Use a pipe slice and double check that the valve is facing the right way and that it's open, cut the pipe, slam it on and close the valve. make sure the upstream bit of pipe is unsupported so it will fall away when cut.
     

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