Common or garden varierty isolation valve leaks.

[WaterTight]

We've all taken punts on them without knowing we can turn the water off upstream, no doubt. If any of you have never taken that risk I am impressed. But as a low-rent jobber, grabbing at any dregs of jobs he's offered I do it all the time.

When you get unlucky and it keeps weeping despite diddling about with it and you find that you can't shut the water off upstream obviously you need to begin the processs of being able to. But has anyone found a genuinely successful way of stopping the buggers leaking until then? I've had some luck with ls-x but not much. Just seems like there should be something out there to hold it until the water board fixes the external shut off or whatever.

Thanks

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Open all the other taps in the property and do it live hasn’t failed me yet

 

[WaterTight]

Seriously? That works on mains? You've not struck me as the pranking type so far...
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I did just think I suppose if desperate you could install an aladdin valve below it, if there's room

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Seriously? That works on mains? You've not struck me as the pranking type so far...
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I did just think I suppose if desperate you could install an aladdin valve below it, if there's room

Yes you get a tiny bit damp but tbh nothing much just need to work fast and don’t let go

Obviously this wouldn’t work on a 5 bar plus main but 1-3 should be fine especially with one or two outlets open before this

 

[Scott_D]

Freeze the pipe and replace?

 

[WaterTight]

Yes you get a tiny bit damp but tbh nothing much just need to work fast and don’t let go

Obviously this wouldn’t work on a 5 bar plus main but 1-3 should be fine especially with one or two outlets open before this

I've got to try this. I'll rig up something in my garden and do it rather than a customer's house. Done plenty on gravity, including in big blocks of flats but just presumed mains was way to risky.

Freeze the pipe and replace?

I suppose that depends on how fast the leak is. Been years since I froze a pipe but did manage to freeze one or two with active weeps from what I remember.

I guess I'm just wanting someone to invent something that makes it easy to just stop the leak. Like put it on and do it up and done. Since a bit of garden hose with a jubilee clip can hold back mains pressure given a chance I was just thinking there might be some rig-up trick. Problem is how you'd get the hose over the pipe.