Old odd plumbing

[Adrian]

All,

We've got a strange pipe lurking under the sink. It's closed off with a valve but - as these things do - it's not exactly been behaving itself as it should, and it's spent a few years having a little leak whenever it thinks you're not looking.

Capping it off would be a good idea, but it's not a size I've ever seen in my limited experience, and I can't find anything near it in the sheds.

It looks like it could be an iron pipe (under the grot and mould and I- don't-wanna-know-what), and it's BIG. Squeezing into the back of the tiny cupboard I can just about get ruler and light onto it simultaneously, and it looks to be about 32-33mm OD (1 1/4"?). The valve on the end has an exposed male thread, of about 35mm OD (1 3/8"?).

WTF is it?

The kitchen is on the "to-do" list, so the (rotten) floorboards will be up in that corner and there will be Much Work to strip these strange artefacts out, but in the meantime, it's a case of not letting it get any worse.

[Adrian]

Newshound ( [e-mail]) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Yep, very probably.

But I'm damn certain that an Angle Grinder - while *immensely* satisfying it not going to help it get that smidgin more watertight in the short term.

[Newshound]

Er, it's an iron water pipe I imagine. Might have once gone to a back boiler in an iron solid fuel stove? You need to trace it back to where it comes from. Use an angle grinder to cut it back flush to brickwork (once it is isolated).

[BigWallop]

Sounds like an old lead water mains, and the bit you see is the old stopcock and wipe joint. The thread will be something like 1 1/2'' BSP size probably.

[Lobster]

My guess is an old water main which has been superceded by a new one which enters your property maybe elsewhere?

David

[Adrian]

BigWallop (spam.guard@_spam_guard.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

So off I go on a wander round the likely sources...

Stop 1. Bathroom store with a damn good plumbing trade counter round the back, staffed by ol' boys who've bin there, dun that. No, the trade counter's closed down, and the showroom's extended into the space. Soddit.

Stop 2. Jewson. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that sort of size he's got. Try Plumb Centre.

Stop 3. Plumb Centre. Spotty git hasn't a clue, and half-heartedly tries to sell me some plastic waste pipe fittings, because they're the only thing that sort of size he's got. Try... umm... somewhere else...

[BigWallop]

Oh bugger!!! Then you could try packing a sheet of loo paper in the stopcock and fill it with silicone sealant. The paper should hold long enough to stop the mass of water coming in contact with the curing sealant. Remember to press the sealant well in to the end of the fitting.

[Hzatph]

[Pete C]

Hi,

BES probably have what you want, see halfway down this page:

cheers, Pete.

[Adrian]

Pete C ( [e-mail]) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

That looks like just the biscuit. Ta muchly.

[Set Square]

I would suggest Item 6453 - which is a 1" BSP cap. A 1" BSP thread has an OD of 1.309" - which is about 33mm rather than 35, but the next size up (1 1/4) has an OD of 1.650" which is nearly 42mm, and probably too big.