Shutting off the main water supply to your home seems so simple, but surprisingly many homeowners don’t know how to do it or even where to look.

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Cutting off the water supply to your home may be necessary in the event of a burst water pipe in your home, water leak, or any serious plumbing repair. It is also essential to know where to look in your home to find the water cut-off valves.

In warmer climates the main cut-off valves are usually outdoors, whilst in colder climates these valves are usually indoors. The water shut-off valves have either lever or round wheel handles.

• Water shut-off valves: can be found in the following locations in or around your home:

• Outside: The shut-off valve is normally inside an underground ‘pit’ near the property line. These ‘pits’ usually have a cover that can be removed which gives direct access to the valve. This valve usually shuts off water to the entire property including sprinkler systems and outside hose

• Basements: This shut-off valve is usually found near the front foundation wall inside the home. The main water supply usually comes through the basement concrete floor or through the basement wall. In some cases, the main water could enter through a different area, such as near the furnace or water heater.

• Crawl-spaces with a basement: This shut-off valve is generally found where water enters the basement. In older homes, the shut-off can be located inside of the crawl space. It is usually ideal to have a secondary shut-off valve in the living space (under a sink or near the water heater).

• Crawl-spaces without a basement: This type of valve is typically found near the water heater or under the kitchen sink, but anywhere is possible. In some instances, the shut-off valve is found on a pipe near the water heater and may have a red handle.

• Slab-on-grade construction: This shut-off valve is located inside the home near the water heater or under the kitchen sink, but can be found elsewhere in the home.

• It is important to know how to close (turn off) the valves. The tips below will explain this in detail. It is important to note that if a valve is difficult to turn – DO NOT force it. Call a licensed plumber or the local public works authority for assistance.

• Round wheel handle valves will close (turn off) by turning the handle to the right (clockwise). A few turns should stop the wheel.

• Handle valves should slowly be turned clockwise ¼ turn. The handle should no longer be parallel with the pipe. It should stop at a ¼ turn.

• Tub and sink faucets (hot & cold) should be opened on the highest level to relieve pressure and to ensure a full shut-down. Continue to open faucets inside the home to drain the pipes as needed.

• When draining the water from your home it is important to shut off power to electric water heaters and boilers. This de-energizes the water heater and boiler. In the case of gas water heaters, shut off the gas to the heater.

• Close all faucets except for the tub or sink.

• The valves should be turned on (counter-clockwise) slowly, and extra slow for lever handles. You should stop turning after ½ revolution on a wheel handle and ⅛ of a turn for lever handles. At this point slowly turn off the open tub or sink faucets.

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• Once the water pressure equalizes (intermittent noise ends from faucets) then fully open the main valve. Bleed air from lines by slowly opening all water lines to the property, waiting until the noise ends, followed by closing the water line.

• It is important to note that the power should only be turned on to electric water heaters and boilers after the water system is completely full and all air has been bled-out. If the gas for a gas heater was shut off carefully follow the restarting instructions located on the appliance jacket or call a licensed plumber or gas company for assistance.

The editorial content on Universal Property’s website is meant to be informational material and should not be considered legal advice.

So, What Exactly is a Valve?

A valve is a very simple mechanism. Valves can be found everywhere, in nature, life, and industry. Even your bathroom taps are valves. The dictionary definition provides a good starting point:

noun

1. any device for halting or controlling the flow of a liquid, gas, or other material through a passage, pipe, inlet, outlet, etc.
2. a hinged lid or other movable part that closes or modifies the passage in such a device.
3. Anatomy. a membranous fold or other structure that controls the flow of a fluid, as one that permits blood to flow in one direction only.
4. to provide with a means of controlling the flow of liquid, gas, etc, by inserting a valve.

verb (used with object), valved, valving.

Simply put, a valve is a way of controlling the flow of liquid or any media through obstructing its pathway.

How do we know if the Valve is Open or Closed?

Now we have established what a valve is, how do we know if we are going to get our dreamy beer to flood into our awaiting pint glasses to quench our eager thirst? We need to know whether the valve is open or closed.

The majority of valves require a handle to turn the valve from the closed position to the open position. This diagram shows us what this looks like on a simple ball valve. 

Usually, when someone asks if a valve is open or closed, they’re not really that interested in the orientation of the valve but what they really want to know is, is there flow passing through? In our example, we just want to know where our heavenly beer is and whether it will ever reach our lips right?

In order to tell if the valve is open or closed, the general rule is, if the handle is switched 90deg to the flow, it is off. As you can see from the diagram above, if the handle is in line with the flow path, it is on. Simple. Of course, this only applies to manual style valves such as the ball valve in the above diagram. There are exceptions to this rule, such as with actuated valves, which are remotely operated.

Beer pumps don’t look like our diagram but behave in the same way. When the pump handle is pulled down, the valve opens the flow path and instantly releases its sweet divine nectar. Pure joy!

Beer Pumps are Our Favourite Valves     

In the example of a beer pump, it is possible for the valve to be in the open position and yet for there to be no flow. Heart breaking! For a beer pump to work correctly the valve needs to be open and a carrier gas (CO2) needs to be flowing into the keg to force the beer out of the other end. If the gas is not connected, there will be no beer, and sadly, we will be calling it an early night!

Not all Valves are Beer Pumps!

Due to the nature of some applications, it is not always possible to visually see if flow is passing through, particularly with closed systems. This is where either external or inline flow meters can be installed and used to assess both if flow is passing through and at what rate. Most suppliers can provide you with flow meters, so ask when you’re ordering your valves if this is a requirement.

Conclusion

We need valves. Not only for British summertime treats and traditions, but also in many everyday uses across oodles of different applications. At home, in industry, just about anywhere where we need to control the flow of liquids or gases. Valves enable us to ‘shut-off’ supply when it’s not required and then simply re-establish flow as soon as we open them up again. They’re a simple easy mechanism and make our lives easier. To see if they’re open or closed, check the handles, or invest in a flow meter for closed systems.

If you need any further information on any aspect of the points above, please give our knowledgeable Sales Team a call on +44(0) 1235 512500, complete this form with your name, phone number or email address for a callback, or email us at sales@actionsealtite.com

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