Can I fix this cistern inlet leak myself?

mehera

Its a 15mm to 1/2 inch isolation valve (compression to tap connector)

Olives (gold things!) and new washer included.

Get a couple of spanners to get it off properly even though it may be stiff . . .

You can find your stopcock in many different places in fact - the cupboard under the stairs, under the kitchen sink, in the hallway ect.

It is a fairly big tap however that you are looking for. Switch it off and test the taps to confirm you have the water off.

Just make sure that you have the bottom nut done up nicely with a spanner and then look for leaks when you switch it back on.

Save time and use the old nut and olive as it will be already nicely bit down on the pipe!

Otherwise you may find it tricky to get the old olive off . . .

Good luck - and ask if you get stuck!

littlesnuggy

Hmm, I've just been to see if I can 'push the pipe down' as Lee recommended but it only moves about 1mm and not enough to free-up the end of the plastic pipe.

I've also now got a suspicion that the leak is actually from the lower nut (olive?!) as I'd dried the section and wrapped a new dry cloth around it to check I'd stopped the leak and that is now wet.

Might this be my stopcock? I'm in a basement & ground floor flat and this is at ceiling height in my utility room on basement level where the gas, electric & water pipes come in from the outside vaults and mains supply (under the road, I think). It's also more or less underneath the en suite so I'm thinking it looks likely?



Thanks for all your ongoing help - I'm determined to fix it myself now! We're going away for the weekend though so for the time being I'm keen to just stop any more water leaking out.

Myser

That's most likely the main stop tap as the main earth bonding wire is connected close to it.

Turn it off, flush the toilet and see if the cistern stops filling!

Your best bet is to replace the valve complete with olives. Be careful not to damage the pipe when removing the olives as they are probably tightly compressed around the pipes.

As mehera mentioned, you will need a 15mm to 1/2 inch compression isolation valve which you will most likely not find in Homebase. Try a local plumbers merchant.

Stooby2

mehera wrote:

I am a profession plumber and i can tell you categorically NOT to put ptfe on that thread!!!!

Thanks for that - always happy to be corrected, but.. had to pop into my local plumber shop anyway today and asked the guy there and he's a guy I've used for years, his advice has always been good. His opinion was to put PTFE on and I've done it on both toilets here with no issues. So is that right or wrong?

mehera

For plumbers PTFE is quite contentious as it is easily misused!

The basic rule of thumb is that it does get used on threads - only when there is no washer involved.

You can wrap some around the olive itself to aid the seal, and some use different sealants as well.

You do not need to use ptfe on most things however!

If I find it on threads the first thing I do is remove it . . . .

As for the fix isolate the stop !!!! and test as suggested. Once you are certian the water is off the proceed. You may need to use a spanner on the head of the stop !!!! however if it proves seized.

Also if you really cannot move the pipe at all to remove the valve you may have to look at loosening the connection where it feeds into the cistern and getting some movement here!

Make sure you empty the cistern properly first however.

southcoastrgi

!!!!!!, I can see exactly what is wrong with that from the first pic, it's leaking because whoever put the service valve on has cross threaded the fill valve/ball valve, OP you will need a new fill valve/ball valve, when you fit the new one don't do up the nut tight onto the cistern (leave it so it moves), screw the service valve onto the thread by hand (with a new fibre/leather washer) it will screw on very easily (don't cross thread it), then when it's hand tight do up the nut onto the cistern & then tighten the nut on the service valve

plus it's chrome not gold, god knows what people are selling in here when they don't even know that

mehera

They just said that the washer was split . . . .

As you get older you get hard of hearing don't you?

Can you at least be a bit civil?

southcoastrgi

Civil !! good job i edited my post then
If you are going to state that you are a professional plumber then at least try to get the answer correct.
Yes they said the washer was split & i'm not saying it wasn't but thats not the solution, it has been cross threaded & that's the reason the "installer" has tried to stop it leaking by using ptfe on the thread.
Once a plastic thread has been cross threaded you will never get the nut to do up so the washer will seal.
Getting older (although i'm not that old) might mean I get harder of hearing but it also means i have lots of experience.
If you or anyone else makes a good post then I'll click the thanks button because if the correct answer has already been given then there is no point in me making any further comments, but like it says in my sig if you are wrong I will tell you, like it or not as the regs on here will tell you it matters not a jot to me what others think of me

27col

If there is an olive or washer then there should be no need to use ptfe tape at all, The olive or the washer will do all the sealing necessary. All the nut is doing is to hold the washer or the olive in the correct place so as to let them do their sealing job.
Unfortunately it is all too easy to cross thread the tap connector to the cistern if care is not taken. A competent fitter knows that this can happen and would therefore makes sure that it does not.

littlesnuggy

Just got back from weekend away. Before we left we put a new washer on the top (managed to get enough movement by partially unscrewing cistern from pan), screwed back up and wrapped a cloth around it. Left the valve in the horizontal 'off' position.

Just got home and the bottom part of the cloth is wet, as well as the one I'd put on the floor.

I did manage to get a 15mm to 1/2 inch compression isolation valve in Homebase so that was the next thing to try, but unfortunately neither OH or I can get any movement on the stopcock whatsoever, so looks like I'll have to admit defeat and call in a plumber.

Any ballpark estimates on what this is likely to cost me? Call out, sort the stopcok & fix the leak (I might have the right part, at least!). I'm in the South West....