I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a ball
valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

Paul wrote:

I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a
ball valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?


Just checked OED and it backs me up.

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

"Paul" wrote in message ...

Paul wrote:

I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a
ball valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?


Just checked OED and it backs me up.

Before you get all OCD about this,
https://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

Paul wrote:

I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever.

I wouldn't say the valve that a ballcock controls is a ball valve, the
ones I've disassembled are piston valves.

Ball valves are just that; a sphere with a hole drilled through it,
which can rotate so the hole lines up (or doesn't) with the inlet/outlet.

Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the
Spanish wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and
calls it a ball valve.

That's what a ball valve is.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?

You've really been wrong all these years.

An example of a ball valve is a washing machine inlet valve, except the
on/off mechanism has a blue or red block to signify hot or cold, normal ball
valves just have a slotted screw that is turned 90 degrees to open or close

On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

newshound wrote:

On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

OED:

ball valve n. (a) a valve opened or closed by the rising or falling of a
ball which exactly fits a cup-shaped opening in the seat; (b) = ballcock n.

1839€“47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 631/2 A mechanical office
somewhat on the principle of the ball-valve.
1841 W. Templeton Locomotive Engine 38 The valves used are termed ball
valves, being spheres of brass..situated in the pumps covering the orifices
of inlet to the boiler.
1901 G. L. Sutcliffe Sanitary Fittings & Plumbing xiv. 126 Water-closets
are now generally supplied directly from a separate cistern having an inlet
controlled by a ball-valve.
1948 A. W. Turner & E. J. Johnson Machines for Farm, Ranch, & Plantation
xviii. 748 Remove ball valve on suction side of pump to clean and sand
lightly.
1991 Offshore Engineer Sept. 14/1 A ball valve needs little regular
maintenance, but when its soft seats eventually do require maintenance...it
must be taken out of line, refurbished and then replaced back in line.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) ix. 410/2 Check feed-and-
expansion tank in loft. If empty, the valve may be stuck. Move ball-valve
float arm up and down to restore flow and fill system.

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

Richard wrote:

"Paul" wrote in message ...

Paul wrote:

I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a
ball valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?


Just checked OED and it backs me up.

Before you get all OCD about this,

https://www.google.co.uk/search?clie...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

OMG! Wickes is as bad as me!

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

On Saturday, 25 June 2016 13:10:27 UTC+1, Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever..

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a ball
valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?

The correct term for the thing in your cistern is float valve.

https://images.search.yahoo.com/yhs/...p=yhs-adk_sbnt

newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called
a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Not everyone else, only those who don't know the difference between a float
valve and a ball valve.

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

A float (in a normal bog cistern) isn't a ball, occasionally it was round,
but in the past 30 years or so they've mostly been the shape of a soup can
so I don't know how that could be described as a 'ball' anything.

Paul Wrote in message:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a ball
valve.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es


This one catches a lot of people out, as it happens I knew about
the potential confusion.
Another one is DRM in the context of digital media, it has two
entirely different meanings.
--

%Profound_observation%


----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://usenet.sinaapp.com/

Phil L wrote:

newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called
a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Not everyone else, only those who don't know the difference between a
float valve and a ball valve.

It's what my dad called it and he knew everything. Don't all dads?

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

In article ,
newshound wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Nope. Ballcock. Ball valve is the PC version.

--
*On the other hand, you have different fingers*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2016 14:37:56 +0100, "Phil L"
wrote:

newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called
a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Not everyone else, only those who don't know the difference between a float
valve and a ball valve.

Or a 'ball cock'?

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

A float (in a normal bog cistern) isn't a ball,

There are loads of things we still refer to by their original common
names that may no longer bear a physical characteristics of such. Like
'the front bumper' on a car when it hasn't been an actual chromed
metal bar for ages. It's still on the front and still serves the
(joint) purpose of absorbing 'bumps'.

occasionally it was round,
but in the past 30 years or so they've mostly been the shape of a soup can
so I don't know how that could be described as a 'ball' anything.

Because it was once and only a pedant would call it anything else. ;-)

In the plumbers ...

"Can I have a soup-can-shaped-cock please?". ;-)

Cheers, T i m

Paul wrote:
Phil L wrote:

newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be
called a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a
cistern or whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Not everyone else, only those who don't know the difference between a
float valve and a ball valve.

It's what my dad called it and he knew everything. Don't all dads?

I used to think so too, my dad used to give me an answer to every question i
asked, it was only in later life that i realised that if I asked a question
he didn't know the answer to, instead of saying 'I don't know', he'd make
something up!

On 6/25/2016 2:37 PM, Phil L wrote:
newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called
a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Not everyone else, only those who don't know the difference between a float
valve and a ball valve.

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

A float (in a normal bog cistern) isn't a ball, occasionally it was round,
but in the past 30 years or so they've mostly been the shape of a soup can
so I don't know how that could be described as a 'ball' anything.


Well my two are still balls. I've just put in four toilet cisterns in a
modern business unit for my lad. The original one (which I moved) had a
ball shaped float. The three new ones are Torbeck type. Go into any
plumbers merchant or DIY store and ask for a ball valve for a toilet
cistern, and they won't have any difficulty understanding what you want.

And cold water tanks still use balls. So do animal water troughs.

On 6/25/2016 3:53 PM, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Nope. Ballcock. Ball valve is the PC version.

Agreed

:-)

Phil L wrote:

Paul wrote:

ball valve

It's what my dad called it and he knew everything. Don't all dads?

I used to think so too, my dad used to give me an answer to every question
i asked, it was only in later life that i realised that if I asked a
question he didn't know the answer to, instead of saying 'I don't know',
he'd make something up!

Heh. Mine didn't. "You wouldn't understand". And I believed him.

--

Paul.
https://paulc.es

newshound wrote:
On 6/25/2016 3:53 PM, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
newshound wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be
called a ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a
cistern or whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

Nope. Ballcock. Ball valve is the PC version.

Agreed

:-)

I typed ball valve uk into google images:

http://bit.ly/28WRezV

317 images of ball valves and one rogue picture of a ballcock, it's quite
fancy though, made of copper

On 25/06/2016 14:06, Paul wrote:
newshound wrote:

On 6/25/2016 1:46 PM, Phil L wrote:
Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or
whatever.

nope, that's never been a ball valve


Not to an engineer perhaps, but colloquially to everyone else.

I'd say both definitions are perfectly valid, and normally unambigous
taken in context.

OED:

ball valve n. (a) a valve opened or closed by the rising or falling of a
ball which exactly fits a cup-shaped opening in the seat; (b) = ballcock n.

1839€“47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. & Physiol. III. 631/2 A mechanical office
somewhat on the principle of the ball-valve.
1841 W. Templeton Locomotive Engine 38 The valves used are termed ball
valves, being spheres of brass..situated in the pumps covering the orifices
of inlet to the boiler.
1901 G. L. Sutcliffe Sanitary Fittings & Plumbing xiv. 126 Water-closets
are now generally supplied directly from a separate cistern having an inlet
controlled by a ball-valve.
1948 A. W. Turner & E. J. Johnson Machines for Farm, Ranch, & Plantation
xviii. 748 Remove ball valve on suction side of pump to clean and sand
lightly.
1991 Offshore Engineer Sept. 14/1 A ball valve needs little regular
maintenance, but when its soft seats eventually do require maintenance..it
must be taken out of line, refurbished and then replaced back in line.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) ix. 410/2 Check feed-and-
expansion tank in loft. If empty, the valve may be stuck. Move ball-valve
float arm up and down to restore flow and fill system.

As an Engineer, to me, a "ball valve" is a ball drilled through and
which can be opened and closed by turning 90°.

The float operated valve in a tank or cistern is a "float operated
valve", "float valve", "auto-fill valve", "level control valve" or less
technically "ballcock". On an engineering schematic, it would most often
be tagged LCV.

Ball valve in the context of a tank or cistern is perfectly
understandable, but not (in my experience) used in engineering. I would
normally use ballcock when referring to the domestic versions that most
people know.

On Sat, 25 Jun 2016 16:05:38 +0100, T i m wrote:


In the plumbers ...

"Can I have a soup-can-shaped-cock please?". ;-)

Cheers, T i m

There are websites so i'm told where you can get that done but I
don't think they feature plumbers.


G.Harman

On 25/06/2016 13:10, Paul wrote:
I've always thought of a ball valve as being what used to be called a
ballcock. That is, a valve controlled by a float in a cistern or whatever.

I've just come to translate "válvula de bola" and going from the Spanish
wiki page to the English version, it shows an inline tap and calls it a ball
valve.

You are confusing ballcock and ball valve - different things.

Have I really been wrong all these years? Or is Wiki wrong?

I suspect people use ball valve often enough for a ballcock (aka float
valve), that you are not wrong - but not right either!


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Sun, 26 Jun 2016 01:23:57 +0100, wrote:

On Sat, 25 Jun 2016 16:05:38 +0100, T i m wrote:


In the plumbers ...

"Can I have a soup-can-shaped-cock please?". ;-)



There are websites so i'm told where you can get that done but I
don't think they feature plumbers.

Hehe. ;-)

Cheers, T i m