Anything I can do to stop weeping mains supply tap

[pbyrne]

Hi,

The tap that controls the mains feed into our house has started weeping after being turned on and off today for a bit while some other work was being done. Is there anything I can do this evening to stop it weeping - is turning it completely off a good idea or is that possibly going to make the problem worse?

On a related note - any recommendations for a plumber out dun laoghaire direction?

 

[Gulliver]

There are two taps (stop cocks) controlling your mains feed. One is on the road under a cap marked "uisce" and may require a water key to turn off or on, and the other is under the kitchen sink and may look like this .

If you attempt to repair and you do not know what you are doing, you could easily flood the house. If you unscrew the wrong part, then your only way to stop the high-pressure mains is to go to the external stop-cock - and if you do not have a water-key you will have a real problem.

Assuming that you are confident, the problem is most likely the gland nut - this is the first nut on the turning part of the stop-cock. If you can tighten it by up to a quarter of a turn, that should do the trick. Just check that it is not so tight that you cannot turn the stop-cock on or off.

 

[Froggie]

You should also check that the valve is fully open as it might only seal fully if in this position. ie turned fully anticlockwise until it stops turning.

 

[pbyrne]

Thanks for the replies - don't have a key for the external feed and most definitely take the point on flooding the house! I have a some emergency putty that I am hoping will stop it if it gets worse, at the moment the trickle is very very light so I should be ok until morning.

It was opened fully (I think) when I checked it first and to be honest I am afraid to turn it any direction now!