Stopcock

A stopcock is a valve used to restrict or isolate the flow through a pipe of a liquid or gas.

In Great Britain a stopcock usually refers to a gate valve used to prevent flow of water into a domestic water system. There are usually two stopcocks for a home. One is usually found just outside the property boundary and can be used to isolate the building from the water supply. The other is inside the property where the supply enters the property. These valves are provided to allow maintenance and prevent flooding if the domestic water system is pierced. They can also be used to restrict the flow to prevent water hammer.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.