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Outside Tap
22 Answers
Hi All
I moved into a new home just over 2 years ago and had an outside tap fitted. I used the tap for the first 2 years with no problems. I tried to use the tap last weekend and nothing came out , not even a dribble. I thought it was just the tap as I've had this before and all was good after changing it but this time around after I put the new tap on , there was nothing again. I checked under the sink and the isolation for outside tap is definitely on. I'm getting water to both my mains and dishwasher (outside tap spurs off from them) I've tried taking off the tap again and putting the isolation tap back on and still nothing comes out.
I can see the outside pipe run from inside to outside and there is no leak or the pipe has not previously burst.
I'm at a complete loss to why I'm having no water feed to just my outside tap, when everything off it is working fine.
Any ideas are more than welcome
Kind regards
I moved into a new home just over 2 years ago and had an outside tap fitted. I used the tap for the first 2 years with no problems. I tried to use the tap last weekend and nothing came out , not even a dribble. I thought it was just the tap as I've had this before and all was good after changing it but this time around after I put the new tap on , there was nothing again. I checked under the sink and the isolation for outside tap is definitely on. I'm getting water to both my mains and dishwasher (outside tap spurs off from them) I've tried taking off the tap again and putting the isolation tap back on and still nothing comes out.
I can see the outside pipe run from inside to outside and there is no leak or the pipe has not previously burst.
I'm at a complete loss to why I'm having no water feed to just my outside tap, when everything off it is working fine.
Any ideas are more than welcome
Kind regards
Answers
The image you show is a isolation valve .. Plumbing is like everything else .. try the simple things first. Leave your water mains on and dont turn it off. No water at the outside tap .. break the body of the tap apart, ie. Separate the tap head from the body .. which is fixed to the wall. If no water starts to squirt out then your problem is further back the supply line....
18:08 Sun 29th Apr 2018
the buttery fly valve would look like an in-line straight pipe connection with a flat screw in it
a bit like this
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a bit like this
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Thanks Johnny but no it does not have one of these I'm afraid. The mains comes straight up with a spur coming off. That spur the forms a t , one going down for my dishwasher with an isolation tap and the other going up for the garden tap fitting with garden tap stop cock tap. It's got the be the garden stop cock tap that is the problem.
Outside taps are supposed to have a non-return valve in the pipework to prevent contamination getting into the mains from outside. Some taps have one built in; if yours doesn't there should be one in the pipework leading up to it (they look a bit like johnny's link). They have been known to go wrong and prevent flow of water in both directions. If you have changed the tap it seems that yo have a separate non-return valve - have a look for it.
Thanks bhg...the old tap definitely didn't have one on but the new one has. There is only around half an inch of copper piper exposed on the outside wall before it disappears inside , so not one on there, and the only thing on the same pipe coming back into the house is the stop cock for the outside tap (not the main stop cock) it has to be that that is faulty...I'm guessing this is essentially what you mean but mine has a tap rather than a screw fitting
You mention that you have a stopcock serving only the outside tap.
I would guess that is where the problem is. It's possibly stuck down.
These things work by raising and lowering a valve fitted with a tap washer. Often, when opening the valve, the handle winds up ok, but leaves the washer still stuck on its base.
Turn off the main incoming stopcock. dismantle the outside tap stopcock, and free it up. It's pretty easy to dismantle.
I would guess that is where the problem is. It's possibly stuck down.
These things work by raising and lowering a valve fitted with a tap washer. Often, when opening the valve, the handle winds up ok, but leaves the washer still stuck on its base.
Turn off the main incoming stopcock. dismantle the outside tap stopcock, and free it up. It's pretty easy to dismantle.
Thanks bhg, it looks as if the valve is the correct way around as the arrow is pointing with the flow of water.
Thank you builder, this does seem to be the most likely problem. I'm up for giving this a go as it does not seem to difficult. Could giving the valve a light tap make any difference? I've not tried it but won't bother if it won't work. Thank you all so much taking the time to answer
Thank you builder, this does seem to be the most likely problem. I'm up for giving this a go as it does not seem to difficult. Could giving the valve a light tap make any difference? I've not tried it but won't bother if it won't work. Thank you all so much taking the time to answer
Assuming the stopcock looks something like this...
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Don't unscrew the top nut (the smaller one.) Unscrew the lower one. This will separate the valve assembly from the valve body. Free it all up and give it a bit of a greasing. (Vaseline will do it.)
https:/
Don't unscrew the top nut (the smaller one.) Unscrew the lower one. This will separate the valve assembly from the valve body. Free it all up and give it a bit of a greasing. (Vaseline will do it.)
It actually looks more like this , although it is a full handle and not half handle
https:/
https:/
The image you show is a isolation valve ..
Plumbing is like everything else .. try the simple things first.
Leave your water mains on and dont turn it off.
No water at the outside tap .. break the body of the tap apart, ie. Separate the tap head from the body .. which is fixed to the wall. If no water starts to squirt out then your problem is further back the supply line.
Re-asemble the outside tap and turn it to the open position. (This will lower pressure)
Then go back to the next joint in the line .. from your image it looks like the isolation valve.
Grip the body of the isolation valve with pipe grips and start to undo the compression nut nearest the o/s tap. Make sure the valve is in the 'on position'. Give the body of the valve a whack with the head of the grips. This will break the seal and if water appears, just tighten it up again. If water doesn't start to leak out still tighten it and and then do the same with the nut on the other side of the valve.
Your problem more than likely lies with the valve.
Should water appear from the supply side of the isolation valve, then the chances are that the valve is blocked.
This kind of valve usually has a reduced bore inside the valve body. Personaly I would always fit a 'full bore isolation valve'... having been called out to many incidents and I can assure you you wouldn't believe what travels through your water system.
The only other thing to check is that you have water at the 'T connecrion by the dishwasher ... we already know that you have .. because the dishwasher is working. But still break it apart to confirm.
Plumbing is like everything else .. try the simple things first.
Leave your water mains on and dont turn it off.
No water at the outside tap .. break the body of the tap apart, ie. Separate the tap head from the body .. which is fixed to the wall. If no water starts to squirt out then your problem is further back the supply line.
Re-asemble the outside tap and turn it to the open position. (This will lower pressure)
Then go back to the next joint in the line .. from your image it looks like the isolation valve.
Grip the body of the isolation valve with pipe grips and start to undo the compression nut nearest the o/s tap. Make sure the valve is in the 'on position'. Give the body of the valve a whack with the head of the grips. This will break the seal and if water appears, just tighten it up again. If water doesn't start to leak out still tighten it and and then do the same with the nut on the other side of the valve.
Your problem more than likely lies with the valve.
Should water appear from the supply side of the isolation valve, then the chances are that the valve is blocked.
This kind of valve usually has a reduced bore inside the valve body. Personaly I would always fit a 'full bore isolation valve'... having been called out to many incidents and I can assure you you wouldn't believe what travels through your water system.
The only other thing to check is that you have water at the 'T connecrion by the dishwasher ... we already know that you have .. because the dishwasher is working. But still break it apart to confirm.
Sounds as though you are not scared in getting involved.
For tuppence I wouldn't hesitate to replace the isolation valve, they are really cheap.
The only expensive thing to do with plumbing, is getting someone else to do it for you.
These days plastic pipes and push fit connectors make things a lot simpler and safer... good luck !
For tuppence I wouldn't hesitate to replace the isolation valve, they are really cheap.
The only expensive thing to do with plumbing, is getting someone else to do it for you.
These days plastic pipes and push fit connectors make things a lot simpler and safer... good luck !
