Help with identifying stopcock under sink

[Sonicboom]

Hi everyone

I’m trying to locate my stopcock. I’ve searched the house inside and outside and I think it must be one of these two brass taps under the sink. Photo Attached ( the bottom one is almost hidden by a pipe). The bottom one does not budge at all (although I haven’t tried some WD40 on it yet). The top one does move. By default it is set so that I can’t turn it any further clockwise but I can turn it anti clockwise.

I can turn it...and turn it...and turn it...and turn it....to the point where after 5 turns I’m scared to keep turning it in case something untoward happens! If I have the kitchen sink tap running whilst I turn it, the water does not stop running. However, once I turn the kitchen sink tap off, I hear something that sounds like regular dripping of water within the sink, with a drip every 6 seconds or so - best way I can describe it. If I then turn the brass tap off, the regular drip noise stops.

I have read that old houses (which mine is, 1920’s) often have two brass taps under the sink, one being the old stopcock which no longer moves and the other being the working stopcock. I’m hoping this is my setup and I just need to keep unscrewing the top one but I’m scared.

Also, the top brass tap looks like its linking directly into a tap on the outside of the house (the type of tap you would attach a garden hose to) so maybe its not the stopcock at all, or both?

Advice would be appreciated! If I can’t work this out on my own, and I wanted to get a plumber in just to tell me, what should I expect to pay, Im guessing it would be nominal or would someone likely do this for free? I just want peace of mind

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Bottom one the top one is your outside tap

you will need a set or pliers or grips to getthe bottom one moving hasn’t been turned off in a while

 

[Chuck]

The bottom one is probably the stopcock on the incoming service pipe. The fact that the is an earth-bond wire attached next to it tends to increase the chances that this is a correct guess.

If you have one, an external tap can normally be isolated with an internal stopcock, which it is a good idea to close during winter months in case the pipe to the external tap freezes. The upper stopcock looks like this one to me.

The main stopcock to your house needs to operate correctly. It should be slightly stiff but easily opened/closed by hand if you are a healthy adult. If you have a water leak you need to be able to turn off the water supply, sometimes in a hurry.

I would not encourage a DIY repair / replacement of a stopcock if it doesn't move with the application of reasonable torque, e.g. as ShaunCorb suggests. They can be tricky jobs and mistakes can result in a lot of water damage. It's an easy job for a qualified plumber, however.

 

[Harvest Fields]

Bottom one the top one is your outside tap

you will need a set or pliers or grips to getthe bottom one moving hasn’t been turned off in a while

Or for an extension or upstairs. Seen almost everything possible with additional stop taps.

 

[WC1]

Turn it off in the street if you can, just in case. Then work it gently back and forward. Hit it with wd40 if needed. You just want to get the first little bit of movement either way and you're good just keep working it.
Genuinely interested to know why someone would do the work for free?

 

[Ric2013]

Turn it off in the street if you can, just in case. Then work it gently back and forward. Hit it with wd40 if needed. You just want to get the first little bit of movement either way and you're good just keep working it.
Genuinely interested to know why someone would do the work for free?

I think he means what a plumber would charge to identify what they do.

To answer it, I would expect the plumber would either charge a callout or would come for free when they he or she has some spare time and then it won't ever happen.

The plumber may not charge for identifying the taps as such, but it would be fair to give the plumber some paid work. Have you any tap washers or float valves need a new washer you could pay the plumber to change and ask for some advice while he's there? Otherwise, a surveyor will identify the taps for around £400 + VAT

 

[SonicBoom1]

Hi there
So I guess I need to clarify what I meant but I totally understand why things wouldn’t work this way.

I work in IT and used to do work outside of hours for extra cash. If a call out turned out to be something silly or small, sometimes I wouldn’t charge. My thinking was if someone was in the area and they could turn a tap easily and all is ok, they might not charge but I can understand if they would and of course if it turned out to be more involved, then they would.

 

[SimonG]

Is it the angle of the pic or is that condensate pipe running up that hill.

 

[Ben-gee]

Those freebies are reserved for little old ladies or the obviously struggling - not your IT types sorry.

 

[Ric2013]

...or where there is an obvious personal connection. Let's face it, I'll admit to having had a couple of occasions where I would have felt silly writing an invoice - but it wasn't a complete stranger I was dealing with. But one of them was a Labour party member and did pop a few quid through my door a few days later without my asking.

Anyway, let's not assume he's rich just because he works in IT. There's a lot of IT support work that isn't highly paid. He may have worked in a school or something.

I guess it depends if he wants advice or whether he wants the tap freeing off. If the tap can be turned easily, then the OP would have turned it by now, so it's a plumbing job.

If the tools come out, then there's an element of risk and flooding the house if something is rushed and goes wrong. So, with the proper precautions being taken, it will be a call out charge, but, if he finds someone with reasonable rates, that shouldn't be excessive.

 

[WC1]

@Ric2013
Told you so.

 

[Ric2013]

@Ric2013
Told you so.

I admit it. You were right and I was wrong.

 

[Jim Goodenough]

Is it the angle of the pic or is that condensate pipe running up that hill.

Definitely not 1:40

 

[WC1]

The free plumber can fix that as well "while he's there."