Valves (float)

Below is a description of some of the very many valve types that are found in plumbing:

Diaphragm float valve.

Made of plastic and rubber. The diaphragm valve works very similar to its older brass valve counterpart, with the float lifting up and down by the water level. However when the water starts to rise it affects a plastic type piston causing it to fall against a rubber diaphragm so that the rubber disc on the other side of the diaphragm pushes against the water inlet nozzle to cut off the water. Orpington Plumbers work on valves and know how they work. Then, as the water level lowers, the float follows it, so that the pressure is reduced on the diaphragm and the water flows out of the nozzle.

Portsmouth valve.
This valve is the most common type of its kind in the UK and has the name of the Portsmouth piston. Constructed of brass and almost indestructible, the valve is opens and closes by the back and forward movement of a cylindrical plug inside a horizontal chamber. If the ball float is in the ‘up’ position, the opposite end of the float arm moves the plug along the chamber, so that a rubber disc at the end of the plug is pushed hard against the water inlet nozzle cutting off the water. An Orpington Plumber can fit this valve. If the ball float is in the ‘down’ position, the float arm pulls the plug back through the chamber, so that the rubber disc at the end of the plug moves away from the water inlet nozzle, and lets water into the cistern.

A valve worth a mention is a Croydon valve which operates similarly, the only difference is that the plug moves vertically instead of horizontally. These valves can be maintained by cleaning the piston and/or replacing the rubber disc. Both Portsmouth and Croydon valves are still around, however, the diaphragm valve is more efficient and probably more popular.




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