Valves for Plumbing

Below are some of the types of valves used in plumbing systems:

Gate Valve:

These have a small wheel on the top of the spindle and this screws a wedge shaped gate in or out to close or open the supply. The gate moves in or out of the supply line rather than over an opening. The spindle on a gate valve doesn’t move up and down. Instead, the gate itself moves up and down the screwed thread at its base. Gate valves are normally installed on low-pressure supplies.

Stop Valve:

Usually located near where the supply enters the property this stop valve will isolate the supply to the whole house. If you have a cold water storage cistern, this will already be full so turning off the water at the mains stop valve won’t have any effect until the water in it has been used up. It is always a good idea to identify and mark your incoming mains water stop valve in case of an emergency. Walthamstow Plumbers recognise all valves as a matter of course.

Drain Valve:

This valve is opened or closed by a washer arrangement inside. When using the valve, a hose may be connected to the outlet and secured with a jubilee clip to stop leaking. A common example is the drain valve fitted on the radiator pipe work in a central heating system. If you are flushing the central heating pipe work, this is the valve you will use. Drain valves should always be fitted at the lowest point in the system.

Ball Valve:

This valve has a ball with a hole through its centre mounted in the supply line. The ball can be turned using a lever, or by a small screw head which can be turned up to 90 degrees allowing the water to flow. With the hole in line with the pipe work the water flows but with the hole at right angles the water is off. You can see whether the valve is open or closed, just look at the lever or screw head, in line for ‘on’ and across the line for ‘off’. A Walthamstow Plumber can fit all valves.