15mm Angle

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However, if you are using plastic Speedfit pipes along with copper compression fittings then always use pipe inserts as they prevent the fitting itself crushing the pipe when tightened as this would almost certainly result in a leak. You will need two pipe wrenches or a wrench and a spanner to suit the size of the compression nut. Hold the body of the valve to prevent it from twisting and exerting pressure on the pipework. Use the second wrench, or spanner, to undo the compression nut. If you need to know more about copper compression plumbing fittings then our project on copper compression joints will give you more information.

Say you want to do some plumbing work on your toilet. You’ll need to cut off the water to the toilet without affecting the rest of your house. An isolation valve allows you to do this. The valve is positioned on the feed from the main supply, and closing it will stop water from reaching your toilet. Maintenance Some valves are directional so before removing the old one, make a note of the direction of flow so that you can fit the new one the same way round. 2 – Undoing the Valve Fitting an isolation valve is a job that most DIY enthusiasts can do without too much prior knowledge or experience of plumbing, it’s mostly common sense.Hold the new valve next to the pipework to ensure that no adjustments are needed and that the pipe both sides will sit into the valve the correct amount. If you look inside the end of the valve you’ll see an edge where the pipe should stop. Adding the Olive Based in the West Midlands, we are an independent plumbers merchant and national distributor of quality Plumbing, Bathroom, Heating and Plastic products. Again, yes. Your valve has both a screw or a handle, and both can fail as time goes by. Why Is My Isolation Valve Leaking? Isolating valves of all types also come in a right angled form which allows you to fit them to the top of a pipe running along, or up, the wall so that the opening for hose connection is facing out into the room (See below). Plumbing World is a plumbers merchant and bathroom showroom that has been trading since 1996 and has gained a vast amount of experience in dealing with individual customer requirements.

Where the screw head or handle is at 90° to the pipe then the isolation valve is closed and the water is unable to flow. The main role of the isolation valve is to enable you to “isolate” a given appliance. For example. if you want to remove a radiator to decorate behind it and you have isolation valves fitted to the pipes, it’s just a simple matter of turning the valve or valves to off, disconnecting them and then moving the radiator.

Flexible Hoses with Isolation Valves

Under normal circumstances, a leaking screw is either set to fully open or fully closed. Gently turn the screw a few degrees to the right or left. This may be enough to reseal the valve. Although the fittings can be a little more expensive, professional plumbers do opt for using then as the additional expense can be made up in the time they save on fitting. Many traditionalists see push fit as a poor choice and “a bit of a short cut”, but in reality, it’s every bit as good as copper, that’s not to say that copper pipework and fittings have had their day, far from it, copper has many of it’s own advantages and also push fit is yet more plastic!!

Washing machines can have a hot and cold water supply feeding the machine and, for ease of recognizing which is which, the levers are often coloured red for hot water and blue for cold water feeds. As with the copper variant above, make sure the pipe you are working with it totally clean and free of any dirt or debris before fitting your valve. Repeat this on the other end of the valve and gently ease the valve away from the pipework. The fitting is often quite tight as the pipe sits inside the valve at both ends and there’s not much play. Removing the Olives To fit, simply push on this purpose made valve at both ends of the cut pipe, making sure each pipe is fully engaged and touching the main body of the valve. This is an incredibly useful piece of equipment for the DIY enthusiast especially as it makes tap connection so easy. These flexible hose are also available in Speed Fit connections.

What Does An Isolation Valve Do?

If you are fairly new to the world of plumbing then we would suggest you opt for push fit as soldering copper joints can be a fairly involved process if you are not familiar with the techniques required. Where there’s a leak on one of the joints with the pipework, you can sometimes cure this by nipping it up a little. Again holding the valve with a wrench to prevent it twisting and making the leak worse, use a second pipe wrench to tighten the compression nut a little. Don’t overdo it though as excess tightening can damage the olive and make the matter a lot worse. Replacing a Service Valve Select which type of isolation valve you want to use, by reading the information above to work out which is the best for your particular job. It is also possible to buy flexible lengths of pipe, called flexible hoses, that are in most cases used to connect taps to the hot and cold water supply and these can also include a built-in isolation valve (see image below).

There is also a fair amount of debate between plumbers as to whether you should use pipe inserts in plastic pipes with Speedfit. In reality this should not be necessary, but in most cases where a leak occurs on a joint, adding a pipe insert and then refitting the joint cures this, so we do tend to use pipe inserts regardless. Replacing the valve is not a complicated job. But before you do any repairs, turn off the water supply. If the leak cannot be stopped, you will need to refit the valve or if the valve has seized altogether, you will need to fit a replacement. 1 – Purchasing a Replacement Valve Remove the total length of pipework that is equal to the length of the main body of your isolation valve Step 5 – Fitting Compression Joint Isolation Valves Essentially, you need to remove a section pipe the same length as the length of the “body” of your valve.If the screw or handle is lined up with the length of pipework then the isolation valve is open and allowing water to run through the pipe. The easiest way to think of it, is that it is as if the valve is pointing along the flow of the water. If your isolation valve is leaking, you may have a loose connecting nut or a broken valve component. Take the ballofix valve, for instance. If you are replacing either, make sure you clean the areas of the pipe that fit inside your given fitting thoroughly! If you’re working with copper pipe The range of names for these valves all describe a valve that does the same thing, which may be a little confusing and you will find that throughout this project as we will interchange the various names for these isolation valves where needed, but essentially, they all do the same or similar thing: