Leaky full bore lever

[jayc89]

I have a full bore lever that's used as our mains stop tap. 28mm. Fitted by our plumber about 18 months ago when he connected the new supply coming into the house. A couple of weeks after it was fitted, it developed a leak, the plumber came and I thought sorted it out. I've been working near the water mains again recently and noticed it's dripping, looks to be from the nut that goes through the lever itself.

 

Don't fancy my chances of getting the plumber back out given it's been 18 months. Does I need to replace it?

[Nickfromwales]

3 hours ago, jayc89 said:

I have a full bore lever that's used as our mains stop tap. 28mm. Fitted by our plumber about 18 months ago when he connected the new supply coming into the house. A couple of weeks after it was fitted, it developed a leak, the plumber came and I thought sorted it out. I've been working near the water mains again recently and noticed it's dripping, looks to be from the nut that goes through the lever itself.

 

Don't fancy my chances of getting the plumber back out given it's been 18 months. Does I need to replace it?

A 1/4 turn valve or a proper mains stopcock?

Pic please. 

[jayc89]

6 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

A 1/4 turn valve or a proper mains stopcock?

Pic please. 

 

1/4 turn valve. No idea why the photo's so bad, I can take a new one later today if needed.

 

Ignore the red gate valve next to it, that was for the pipes going to the UFH pump which have since been moved. 

 

[jayc89]

Judging by the rust I think it's been dripping for a while, certainly looks to be coming from behind the lever itself as the top nut connecting to the copper pipe is bone dry. 

[Nickfromwales]

Aye. It’s time for a new one! 😑

[jayc89]

3 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Aye. It’s time for a new one! 😑

 

Urgh how frustrating, it's only 18 months old! Any recommendations? Are they all of a muchness? 

[Nickfromwales]

It shouldn’t be in there, as a primary stopcock is supposed to be a proper stop-tap. Change it to a 22mm x 22mm stopcock and if it ever fails again, you just screw the guts out and overhaul it in situ.

[Nickfromwales]

Expensive, but good. Worth the extra £10. 
 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-stopcock-22mm/18986

[jayc89]

12 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

Expensive, but good. Worth the extra £10. 
 

https://www.screwfix.com/p/pegler-stopcock-22mm/18986

 

We have a 28mm supply (32mm MDPE) and were recommended to go for a full bore lever by our original plumber rather than a stop cock as both our flow and pressure were pretty low (10lpm internal, 11lpm at the outside tap, 1.1bar working pressure 3bar static on our old 15mm supply - didn't retest with the new supply), apparently they have less resistance... Would you still recommend a proper stopcock as a replacement?

Edited January 20, 2023 by jayc89
Updated flow rate

[Nickfromwales]

32mm from house to street? Is that 28mm pipe and a 28mm lever valve? 

[jayc89]

2 minutes ago, Nickfromwales said:

32mm from house to street? Is that 28mm pipe and a 28mm lever valve? 

 

32mm MDPE from the street to the house, then changes to 28mm. All the copper you can see in those pictures is 28mm. It drops down to 22mm after the control valve.

[Nickfromwales]

28mm stopcock won’t upset the flow rate. I wouldn’t fit another lever valve tbh. 

[jayc89]

19 hours ago, Nickfromwales said:

28mm stopcock won’t upset the flow rate. I wouldn’t fit another lever valve tbh. 

 

Will I have a problem with pipe lengths changing from a lever to a stop cock? Are the bodies generally the same length?

[Nickfromwales]

1 hour ago, jayc89 said:

 

Will I have a problem with pipe lengths changing from a lever to a stop cock? Are the bodies generally the same length?

You may have to cut the pipes back slightly.

May the force be with you.