Turning hot water off

[crank39]

HELP!! Meant to be fitting a kitchen at home in a few days and obviously need to turn the water off to remove and refit the sink base unit. Now, the cold is easy as the stop tap is under the sink but how do you turn the hot off?

Looked at my hot water tank in the airing cupboard but can only see 2 taps, one 22mm pipe comes down from the loft, it has a red tap on it but the pipe stops in the cupboard anyway, with a doofer on it where you can push on a hose pipe(like a radiator)!

The other 15mm pipe has a tap on it but this pipe just runs out the ceiling and down into the floor and is cold to touch, the 22mm hot supply out of the top of the tank goes into a 'T' and goes up and down (next to the cold pipe), this pipe has no tap on it (shame)!

Could i just get one of these DIY taps that just screw on, making their own hole and fit it in the sink base unit to isolate the hot water?

As you can see plumbing isn't my field

 

[ChrisR]

Could i just get one of these DIY taps that just screw on, making their own hole and fit it in the sink base unit to isolate the hot water?

Er, no

Venture into your loft and you'll find the big tank with a couple of pipes coming out of it. They SHOULD have gate vales (wheel type head) on them. You might have to do a lot of wiggling to get them turning, and don't go mad with tightening when turning off or they can jam and break.

Failing that, turn the mains off and empty the big tank from (usually) the bath cold tap. That can drag dirt or air into the system, but it works.

There should/could be valves at the red lines:

 

[spraggo]

As you can see plumbing isn't my field

You should find a wheel valve on the 22mm pipe that feeds into the bottom of the cylinder from the header tank, have you looked in the loft?.
If there is no sign of a valve then turn off the mains incoming water and open all hot and cold taps, this will drain the head tank so that you can do the work. I would consider installing a gate valve in the pipe work as explained before refilling. You can use you central heating while the hot and cold taps are drained providing it is an indirect cylinder with two tanks in the loft or a combi boiler.

 

[crank39]

Could i just get one of these DIY taps that just screw on, making their own hole and fit it in the sink base unit to isolate the hot water?

Er, no

Venture into your loft and you'll find the big tank with a couple of pipes coming out of it. They SHOULD have gate vales (wheel type head) on them. You might have to do a lot of wiggling to get them turning, and don't go mad with tightening when turning off or they can jam and break.

Failing that, turn the mains off and empty the big tank from (usually) the bath cold tap. That can drag dirt or air into the system, but it works.

There should/could be valves at the red lines:

Thanks Chris and Sprago

Incidentally i don't have central heating just them silly storage heaters

Anyway, i've had a better look at the tank in the cupboard, the 22mm pipe with the red tap on does actually go round the back and into the tank , i just saw the 'T' and the doofer, sorry. Can i just turn the cold supply off with this tap, surely if cold water won't go in it won't push out the hot water.......or doesn't work like that?

And why can't i fit my little tap idea under the sink?

 

[picasso]

the red tap as you call it have a nasty habit of snapping, its always a bit of a gamble, as chrisr said its safer to turn of the mains and drain the tank, put on an isolater under the sink and then slowly refill.

 

[crank39]

the red tap as you call it have a nasty habit of snapping, its always a bit of a gamble, as chrisr said its safer to turn of the mains and drain the tank, put on an isolater under the sink and then slowly refill.

Well i tried it earlier and it did turn, which bit is likely to snap off, the red wheel or something inside? Whats the worst that could happen if it did?

 

[picasso]

they normally let you close them then the sneaky burgers snap as you try to open them, the spindle snaps inside turning a ten minute job into a couple of hours, hate the things and try not to touch them if I can.

 

[crank39]

Ok i'll leave well alone then, thanks for the tip. So shall i do as chris and spraggo said ie turn of the cold water at the stop tap under the sink, drain the tank via bath tap, this i take will take the pressure off the hot water in the immersion heater...yes/no? And then just fit an isolator valve ubder the sink.

 

[picasso]

Ok i'll leave well alone then, thanks for the tip. So shall i do as chris and spraggo said ie turn of the cold water at the stop tap under the sink, drain the tank via bath tap, this i take will take the pressure off the hot water in the immersion heater...yes/no? And then just fit an isolator valve ubder the sink.

yep this is what I would do.

 

[kirkgas]

or you could do it live, either disconnect a fitting and fit a valve onto the nut, or cut the pipe with a pipe slice and quickly fit and tighten up the new valve, go on you know you want to

 

[crank39]

I've got a nice straight run of pipe running along the back of the base unit and into the washing machine with a 'T' up to the tap, heres a good a place as any. Incidentally, how long will the hot water run for, just roughly, i just don't want to be sat there for hours wondering if its ever going to stop or whether i've done something wrong

As you can see, i hate plumbing so i'd rather not do it 'Live', i hate uncontrollable running water , i'm sure to you plumbers its all bread n butter but im a pvc service engineer and i'd panic lol!

 

[gasbanni]

they normally let you close them then the sneaky burgers snap as you try to open them, the spindle snaps inside turning a ten minute job into a couple of hours, hate the things and try not to touch them if I can.

Too right !!!! I tend to close them and then reopen by degrees till it seems free enough to do its job properly...... but only when I have to