All,

We've got a strange pipe lurking under the sink. It's closed off with a
valve but - as these things do - it's not exactly been behaving itself as
it should, and it's spent a few years having a little leak whenever it
thinks you're not looking.

Capping it off would be a good idea, but it's not a size I've ever seen in
my limited experience, and I can't find anything near it in the sheds.

It looks like it could be an iron pipe (under the grot and mould and I-
don't-wanna-know-what), and it's BIG. Squeezing into the back of the tiny
cupboard I can just about get ruler and light onto it simultaneously, and
it looks to be about 32-33mm OD (1 1/4"?). The valve on the end has an
exposed male thread, of about 35mm OD (1 3/8"?).

WTF is it?

The kitchen is on the "to-do" list, so the (rotten) floorboards will be up
in that corner and there will be Much Work to strip these strange artefacts
out, but in the meantime, it's a case of not letting it get any worse.

Newshound ) gurgled happily, sounding much like
they were saying :

Er, it's an iron water pipe I imagine. Might have once gone to a back
boiler in an iron solid fuel stove? You need to trace it back to where
it comes from. Use an angle grinder to cut it back flush to brickwork
(once it is isolated).

Yep, very probably.

But I'm damn certain that an Angle Grinder - while *immensely* satisfying
it not going to help it get that smidgin more watertight in the short term.

Er, it's an iron water pipe I imagine. Might have once gone to a back boiler
in an iron solid fuel stove? You need to trace it back to where it comes
from. Use an angle grinder to cut it back flush to brickwork (once it is
isolated).

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170...
All,

We've got a strange pipe lurking under the sink. It's closed off with a
valve but - as these things do - it's not exactly been behaving itself as
it should, and it's spent a few years having a little leak whenever it
thinks you're not looking.

Capping it off would be a good idea, but it's not a size I've ever seen in
my limited experience, and I can't find anything near it in the sheds.

It looks like it could be an iron pipe (under the grot and mould and I-
don't-wanna-know-what), and it's BIG. Squeezing into the back of the tiny
cupboard I can just about get ruler and light onto it simultaneously, and
it looks to be about 32-33mm OD (1 1/4"?). The valve on the end has an
exposed male thread, of about 35mm OD (1 3/8"?).

WTF is it?

The kitchen is on the "to-do" list, so the (rotten) floorboards will be up
in that corner and there will be Much Work to strip these strange
artefacts
out, but in the meantime, it's a case of not letting it get any worse.


Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old stopcock
and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2'' BSP size
probably.

Adrian wrote:

We've got a strange pipe lurking under the sink. It's closed off with a
valve but - as these things do - it's not exactly been behaving itself as
it should, and it's spent a few years having a little leak whenever it
thinks you're not looking.

From where is it leaking?
and what type of valve is it?

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Adrian wrote:

WTF is it?

My guess is an old water main which has been superceded by a new one
which enters your property maybe elsewhere?

David

Pet @ www.gymratz.co.uk ) gurgled happily, sounding
much like they were saying :

We've got a strange pipe lurking under the sink. It's closed off with
a valve but - as these things do - it's not exactly been behaving
itself as it should, and it's spent a few years having a little leak
whenever it thinks you're not looking.

From where is it leaking?

It's leaking from the "open" end of the valve. More of a weep than a leak -
at the moment, it's bone dry.

and what type of valve is it?

It's a valve. Looks like a bigger version of your standard ball valve.
Difficult to tell exactly, because it's not very accessible
/understatement

BigWallop ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old
stopcock and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2''
BSP size probably.

So off I go on a wander round the likely sources...

Stop 1. Bathroom store with a damn good plumbing trade counter round the
back, staffed by ol' boys who've bin there, dun that. No, the trade
counter's closed down, and the showroom's extended into the space. Soddit.

Stop 2. Jewson. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell
me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that
sort of size he's got. Try Plumb Centre.

Stop 3. Plumb Centre. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to
sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing
that sort of size he's got. Try... umm... somewhere else...

"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170...
BigWallop ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old
stopcock and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2''
BSP size probably.

So off I go on a wander round the likely sources...

Stop 1. Bathroom store with a damn good plumbing trade counter round the
back, staffed by ol' boys who've bin there, dun that. No, the trade
counter's closed down, and the showroom's extended into the space. Soddit.

Stop 2. Jewson. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell
me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that
sort of size he's got. Try Plumb Centre.

Stop 3. Plumb Centre. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries
to
sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing
that sort of size he's got. Try... umm... somewhere else...


Oh bugger!!! Then you could try packing a sheet of loo paper in the
stopcock and fill it with silicone sealant. The paper should hold long
enough to stop the mass of water coming in contact with the curing sealant.
Remember to press the sealant well in to the end of the fitting.

Try a pipeline centre - not plumbers. They have all sorts of sizes and
bits - I found them very helpful
"Adrian" wrote in message
. 244.170...
BigWallop ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old
stopcock and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2''
BSP size probably.

So off I go on a wander round the likely sources...

Stop 1. Bathroom store with a damn good plumbing trade counter round the
back, staffed by ol' boys who've bin there, dun that. No, the trade
counter's closed down, and the showroom's extended into the space. Soddit.

Stop 2. Jewson. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell
me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that
sort of size he's got. Try Plumb Centre.

Stop 3. Plumb Centre. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries
to
sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing
that sort of size he's got. Try... umm... somewhere else...

On 20 Jul 2005 11:14:53 GMT, Adrian wrote:

BigWallop ) gurgled happily, sounding much
like they were saying :

Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old
stopcock and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2''
BSP size probably.

So off I go on a wander round the likely sources...

Stop 1. Bathroom store with a damn good plumbing trade counter round the
back, staffed by ol' boys who've bin there, dun that. No, the trade
counter's closed down, and the showroom's extended into the space. Soddit.

Stop 2. Jewson. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell
me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that
sort of size he's got. Try Plumb Centre.

Stop 3. Plumb Centre. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to
sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing
that sort of size he's got. Try... umm... somewhere else...

Hi,

BES probably have what you want, see halfway down this page:

http://www.bes.ltd.uk/products/161c.asp

cheers,
Pete.

Pete C ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

BES probably have what you want, see halfway down this page:

http://www.bes.ltd.uk/products/161c.asp

That looks like just the biscuit. Ta muchly.

In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Adrian wrote:

Pete C ) gurgled happily, sounding much like they
were saying :

BES probably have what you want, see halfway down this page:

http://www.bes.ltd.uk/products/161c.asp

That looks like just the biscuit. Ta muchly.

I would suggest Item 6453 - which is a 1" BSP cap. A 1" BSP thread has an OD
of 1.309" - which is about 33mm rather than 35, but the next size up (1 1/4)
has an OD of 1.650" which is nearly 42mm, and probably too big.
--
Cheers,
Set Square
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