Why is my water still running?

Question

Hello people,
I'm trying to replace my outside tap - i've turned the stopcock off but water is still running out of all the taps i've turned on and have been for about 20 minutes now... i would have thought the tank would have been drained by now.. do i have to just wait some more or have i not done something?
cheers

bb, you're the only cock... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stopcock

dont answer unless you know what you're talking about

the system is low pressure - as in a water tank in the loft (attic) that runs off gravity ...

i have definatly not turned off just the hot water (that works as well)

I dont have a water meter and the shut off valve doesn't turn "round and round".. it will only go so far then stop. (i turned it all the way to the right)
cheers people

the tank gets filled from mains water supply that fills the tank at the top of the house... guess that's pressurised.. (not sure, im not a plumber unfortunatly) i've tried shuttin off the valve that supply's the house with water - but doesn't seem to be having any effect - probably needs replacing


thanks for everyones help.. i think i'm jusst goin to have to get a plumber in to look at it..

cheers DSM... though that's essentially what i did... i came to the conclusion that the main valve was faulty and is being replaced .. once again thanks for the help.

Answer 1

Tank or no tank, the physics of water supply is the same. There are differences in the details, but not the basics.

It is not uncommon for a water valve to not shut off the flow of water completely. This is especially true if the valve is only used every few years, as yours well might be.

It that is the problem, it needs repairing or replacing. Obviously you can't do that if the supply is under any pressure.

You have said the you have only a tank in the attic. How does the water get into that tank? Surely you are not going into the attic and pouring water into it. Unless you are doing that, there are pipes leading to the tank and the water in those pipes is fed by either a well pump that you have, or a city main, or something else to supply the pressure.

You need to cut off the flow from whatever it is that is supplying the tank, then wait for the tank to drain. That is necessary because it appears that the valve coming out of the tank is not stopping all the flow.

Tell us what feeds the water into the tank and what pressurizes the water enough to get to the tank. Also, just curious as to why you have an unpressurized tank in the attic. Frankly, I havn't heard of anything like that being used for over a hundred years. How do you keep it from freezing in winter?

P.S. You posted more information so I can now give you a better answer...

You DO have a pressurized system. The water coming into the house, from the mains, is pressurized. After you turn off the line from the main coming into the house, you still have pressure in the system from the mains. You also have a persistant pressure source from the tank in the attic.

Depending on how big that tank is, it can take a long time to drain. Anything over five minutes seems like way too long to me. Again it depends a lot on the tank capacity.

Open up a faucet in the lowest part of the building. Also open one in the highest part. Once all the water stops flowing out of the lowest one, the system should be empty.

Close the low faucet and wait for a couple of minutes. Open it again and see if any water comes out of it. If there is more than a few drops, the valve on the main is not shutting off completely.

Is that essentially what you already did? If so, it isn't worth repeating, expect for the highest and lowest part that I outlined.

Again, it is pretty common for the main valve to not fully shut off.

Answer 2

I'm going to try and guess what you need here and I might be right. It's true that you very well might have not turned off the water properly to the home. I'm going to go out on a guessing limb here and say that since you still have water everywhere in the home (all taps) your water is still "on" I don't know where you are or what kind of water metering system/well you have but if you have a water meter then it is the best place to shut down the whole house. Most water meters in the US will continue to turn "round and round' In other words if you kept turning it to the right you have turned it on-off-on-off-on-off and so forth. If you have turned a shut off valve in the house down, like say in a water closet or near the hot water heater you probably just shut off the hot water side of the house. I'd start in the ally-street-or ( well house if in the country) and see what you can find. Hope this helps good luck.

Hmm, Wow sure sorry I wasn't more helpful but from your updated comments your dealing with something I know nothing about!! Guess you could turn on a tap and start turning off vavles closest to the point of origin. Sorry I can't be more helpful but you have intrigued me to do some reasearch Good Luck

Answer 3

Turn off the water at the main. Then open as many faucets as you can. This allows water to drain out and air the enter the system. If water is still draining out after 30 mins and a steady rate, call the water company and have the main shutoff valve replaced. "Your mission IS possible!"

Answer 4

I've found that an outside faucet, without its own separate turn-off valve, to be a real pain in the neck. Its a bit of work, to be sure, but attaching a valve like this to the line will save you a lot of work in the future.

Answer 5

turn the valve on you re water heater off, you could be siphoning it from the tank

Answer 6

sounds like your valve is bad on the inlet to your tank, get some real help. theese yahoos cant help you.

Answer 7

did you turn off your well pump???shut off water to house??