hi all

right, i have a 2" gate valve in a water system that has broken, by broken i mean you can keep spinning it in any direction and its not opening or closing.

so, i need it open, as its closed, but i cant remove it from the pipework and i cant get a replacement until tuesday, so, does anyone know of a way of opening it?

a very big thankyou for any help.

I assume it's the stem is spinning as well as the top? if it's just the top then take it off and use some stillsons on the stem.

Damn it too slow again ^^
If that's because the top wheel is rotating on the shaft take the wheel off (should be attached by a screw on the top surface). Then use a big pair of molegrips on the shaft BUT work it a small amount at a time backwards and forwards because if it's corroded in it could do untold damage if you apply too much force. Might also be useful to drop some thin oil where the shaft and housing meet then leave to soak for a couple of hours before attempting to free it.
If you use Stilsons as Mook suggests just go gently in case you snap the shaft though.
HTH. Cheers, Pewe

[Edited on 30/12/09 by pewe]

ah brilliant chaps, im going to give it a go tommorow,

its very much like this one

link

I find Stilsons a bit crude. A small adjustable spanner is less likely to round off the square bit of the shaft.

Then again I usually have a spares box full of old gate valves so I normally nick the wheel off one of those and use that

ah just re-read, its the stem aswell.

right, ok i have been looking around and what i need to do is 'pull' the gate out so it lets water pass. anyone got any idea how to do this?

If it gets to the stage where the only option is to replace the valve, you can hire pipe freezing kits to block the water flow with ice until the new valve is fitted, don't hang about though as it will weep quickly.

basically your screwed. the only options open tp you are freezing the pipe above and below the valve and changing it that way, be careful because not all the valves have the same thread on the body for the gate and spindle to fit into or you can drain the tank manually and catch anything left in a bucket when you strip the valve. either way its a pain in the arse job, i never turn gate valves off unless i have no alternativethen its done with great care. they always snap on a friday afternoon last job as well. hope this helps rob

hmm, ok cheers chaps, not just a home plumbing job to be honest its part of the plant room for my work, a public swimming pool, so i think we will leave it till the pro's can do it on tuesday

when you say you cant remove it from the pipework, do you mean physically or because you cant isolate the water elsewhere? if you can isolate the water you should be able to remove the complete head of the gate valve and then remove the gate (sounds like stem has broken if head continuiously turns) then put the valve head back on.