Recently I was sent a photo of a 40-year-old Blakes seacock. The question was simple: ‘Is it OK or do I need to get rid of it?’ It’s hard to properly diagnose the condition of metal without being able to touch it and tap it for that nice ringing sound of good metal, but a Blakes seacock, particularly the old bronze ones, are often still perfectly serviceable even after years of hard service.
Until the mid to late 1980s all Blakes valves were made of bronze castings. As newer, cheaper brass or heat-treated brass that we know as DZR (dezincification resistant) brass became commonplace, Blakes had no option but to go with the flow to a point and produce a cheaper
