Went to sort out two dripping kitchen taps for an old lady on my way home yesterday thought 10 mins for job and half hour chat etc, the plumbing was 30-40 years old gravity system.
The taps were the ones with the flat lockshield style headgear not splines, I turned off the stoptap and did the cold first, with a new tap reviver and the tap body was BSP unlike some of the Pegler ones. The trouble was the washer was too big and had to be pulled out with pliers so I thought there goes my easy hot snatch.
I moved to the hot and opened the bath and basin hot and went back downstairs but it was still too forceful and the water was steaming hot, I undid the headgear and it was really pumping out of the top and I could feel the washer was stuck and would be pulled off if I yanked the headgear out. I thought no way I'm I scalding my hands so I tightend it back up and went upstairs to see if there was a loft ladder, there wasn't and I had no ladders with me.
I went into the airing cupboard in a wardrobe (clothes and boxes all over) and found the old gate valve and just teased it closed a bit but there was too much resistance so I wound it back open and turned the water off and drained the tanks wasting all the hot water.
I fixed the tap and turned the water back on with the taps open and after 5 mins thought it strange not much was coming out, I thought please God don't say I've sheared that gate valve I barely touched it, the tanks filled up and I got my wet vac and put it on all the hot taps but it didn't work.
I thought I can't drain down as it would take all night so I went home for my ladders and went in the loft and checked the tanks for signs of blockages (second one for bath cold), non found so I bunged the both and struggled like hell to remove the gate valve as it was awkward to reach and I had no play so had to cut it out and it was fully open!
I fitted a 22mm lever and slip coupling and it leaked twice as I couldn't get my flame on it properly, third time lucky and back to square one, poor flow 8pm.
I took a step back and composed myself and found the problem, guess what..
The taps were the ones with the flat lockshield style headgear not splines, I turned off the stoptap and did the cold first, with a new tap reviver and the tap body was BSP unlike some of the Pegler ones. The trouble was the washer was too big and had to be pulled out with pliers so I thought there goes my easy hot snatch.
I moved to the hot and opened the bath and basin hot and went back downstairs but it was still too forceful and the water was steaming hot, I undid the headgear and it was really pumping out of the top and I could feel the washer was stuck and would be pulled off if I yanked the headgear out. I thought no way I'm I scalding my hands so I tightend it back up and went upstairs to see if there was a loft ladder, there wasn't and I had no ladders with me.
I went into the airing cupboard in a wardrobe (clothes and boxes all over) and found the old gate valve and just teased it closed a bit but there was too much resistance so I wound it back open and turned the water off and drained the tanks wasting all the hot water.
I fixed the tap and turned the water back on with the taps open and after 5 mins thought it strange not much was coming out, I thought please God don't say I've sheared that gate valve I barely touched it, the tanks filled up and I got my wet vac and put it on all the hot taps but it didn't work.
I thought I can't drain down as it would take all night so I went home for my ladders and went in the loft and checked the tanks for signs of blockages (second one for bath cold), non found so I bunged the both and struggled like hell to remove the gate valve as it was awkward to reach and I had no play so had to cut it out and it was fully open!
I fitted a 22mm lever and slip coupling and it leaked twice as I couldn't get my flame on it properly, third time lucky and back to square one, poor flow 8pm.
I took a step back and composed myself and found the problem, guess what..
