On Wed, 28 Oct 2020 20:10:01 +0000, newshound
wrote:

snip

When I was doing all the plumbing here 40 years ago they typically
recommended gate valves (low pressure) and conventional stopcocks
(mains pressure), I'm not sure ball valves were used much outside
washing machine attachments?


I reckon the modern small ball valves are pretty good, and not silly
money. You can get full bore ones that are only slightly larger than the
standard service valves.

Yeah ... and I think they are worth spending the extra money on, for
all the advantages they offer.

I also favour the ones with a proper lever on
them.

Agreed. I've seen too many people twist the plastic caps off the
appliance ones because they have seized. Using a small adjustable
first is all they normally need to get them moving first though.

I have an extra couple for "easy access" on the gas and water
mains.

We used to have a communal water main that ran across the back of the
cottages and off that to each house in some galvanised steel pipe.
When isolating my supply via my underground tap I suddenly found I had
a pond in the garden. Luckily I knew a guy who worked for the water
board who came round and repaired the broken bit (it has rusted away).
[1]

When we built the extension it meant it would go over the communal
main so we paid to have it bypassed (in plastic) around our extension
(to the boundary) and a new main run in directly (plastic, inside some
plastic ducting).

Some years later we got a knock on the door saying that there was a
burst in the communal bit and I'd have to pay my share. I explained
why I didn't and how the leak in their main couldn't be in my garden.
;-)

You can even train wives and children how to use them.

Daughter is quite practical and I'm not sure the Mrs could get to it
with her knees (or not comfortably).

It's a conventional stopcock and I try to work it closed and back once
in a while, just to make sure I can ... but a quality ball valve would
be nice.

Cheers, T i m

[1] I had a temporary standpipe in the kitchen when I first bought
this place but was still living with my parents. I came round after
work to do some more work and found the bib tap on the kitchen floor
and a rod of ice sticking out of the stand pipe! *Luckily* it was
still all frozen so I was able to isolate it outside and put the tap
back on with not a drop of water spilled. ;-)