It's DIY home repair time again (plumbing)

[wurm]

If it's Saturday, I must be dealing with the little things around the house that need to be dealt with.

I was going to bring in the hoses and turn off the outdoor water for the season, and discovered that the supply to one of the outside spigots doesn't shut the water off completely. I vaguely remember dealing with a leak at the inside shutoff last year, but I futzed around with a washer and tightened the packing nut and it seemed to do the trick. Well, now there's no leak, but it doesn't shut the water off completely.

Everything I'm reading says how these old gate valves wear out and that a ball valve is the way to go. Well, I'm not about to fire up a torch or do any welding or soldering, so I start reading about these new Gator Bite (Lowes) and Sharkbite (Home Depot) valves and they seem like they could be an easy answer. Lots of positive reviews.

Anyone here familiar with them? Any other ideas that don't involve soldering or hiring a plumber? Thanks.

edited to add pic of existing

[lafinfil]

Is it a "frost proof" spigot ? If it is they are designed to trickle out for a bit after they are shut off
(this is why they don't freeze) Many people make the mistake of over tightening them trying make
them quit leaking. This will over compress the seals and then it will leak.

Before replacing it I would replace the seat washer. Remove the whole stem and take it to the hardware store
to get the proper fit. The old one will be too smashed to get the proper one. After replacing the seat washer
shut it off and give it a minute to drain out (if frost free) Worst case is that you can still replace it if needed.



OK - I thought it was the spigot and not the shut off. I would still try a replacement washer first. I have used
a variant of the shark bites and they have worked fine. I would not trust the inside a sealed wall though.

[mikebw]

If you are physically able to I would highly recommend doing the soldering, and replacing that old valve with a ball one. Even though it might seem daunting it's really not that bad, and once you've done it people will really admire your skills. Out of all the plumbing fittings, a soldered connection is one of the easiest and most reliable ones to deal with.

The hardest part is getting all the materials you might need, proper sized fittings and such, but you would have to do that with any other connection.

Biggest tip I can give is to make sure you let the water drain out of the pipe before trying to solder. It may seem like an unnecessary step, but any water left in the pipes will soak up the heat from the torch and make the job take much longer.

Looks like a relatively accessible connection from what I can see in the photo. All you would need to do is remove the old valve, which may require cutting off one side, then de-soldering the other. Actually what I would do is just cut out the center section of the valve with a reciprocating saw to remove it, then you can de-solder both sides without sacrificing any copper pipe. You'll have to clean up both sides to make sure there is no solder left over, and then use a fine sand paper to prep the surface for new solder.

[BernDog]

As far as replacement, I've never used them, but I'm sure either of those valve you linked to would be fine. Otherwise, standard copper compression fittings along with a regular ball valve would work just as well if you want to avoid soldering

[wurm]

Thanks for the quick reply. I'd like to think they installed a frost free (since we are in New England), but I don't know for certain. Even if it is, it trickled for a long while before I decided to shut it off at the outside spigot just so it wouldn't continue forever.

And just to be clear, the outside spigot does shut off completely. If I leave it open to remove water in the pipes, it trickles out because the inside shutoff valve doesn't seem to want to shut off the water.

So assuming you do mean the inside shutoff, what do you mean by "remove the whole stem"? And I would assume I'd have to shut off the main house water supply first.

[wurm]

That reply above was to 'fil's comments. While I was writing, mikebw and BernDog followed up.

Easy as it may be, if I thought it definitely required soldering, I'd hire a plumber. I've come to realize that there are things that even if I could do, I wouldn't trust myself to do right. Soldering is right up there.

FYI, the valve is fairly easily accessible, but there's not a whole lot of room to work on it. I have to reach through about a foot and a half opening to access it.

If I wanted to try to "fix" the existing gate valve, can I replace the necessary inside parts without removing it from the copper pipe?

[mikebw]

The most important thing is that it doesn't leak. Do that in whatever way makes you the most comfortable and you win.

[lafinfil]

The outside spigot would be the one that is frost free, not the inside shut off.

"what do you mean by "remove the whole stem"?

The stem is what the handle attaches to, and has the washer on the other end. It is likely that the washer is old and not sealing properly.

Remove the screw holding the handle on and remove handle. You now need to unscrew the large nut holding the stem in the shut offs body. You will want to keep the body from moving (risks breaking joint) I would use a pipe wrench or large channel lock pliers to cradle it and then use a crescent wrench to unscrew the stem. There will be a small washer/seat on the end of the stem (usually sits down in a shallow area) The washer is likely compressed or deformed so taking the whole stem in will allow to get a correct replacement. Get a packing washer too while you're at it.

http://www.familyhandyman.com/DIY-Projec...ep-By-Step

[dad@home]

I just used Lowe's Gator Bites to re-do the plumbing in a bathroom I'm remodeling. Went together easily (make sure you mark the pipe with a pencil to make sure you push it on far enough) and so far no leaks.

dad

[Mike Johnson]

Heh, I had to do some plumbing work, so I bought a torch and some solder and flux and a length of copper pipe and a bunch of fittings, and I practiced. I thought it would be fun. It was a disaster. Twenty elbows, eight feet of pipe later, I hadn't made a single good fitting.

Being a little bit obstinate, I went back and bought another 8' of pipe, determined to master such a basic skill. The first attempt was good. The second was beautiful. The third made me weep, it was so perfect. It turns out, the first 1/2" pipe I was practicing on was a little smaller than 1/2". Funny, right? I had no idea that could happen.

Anyhow, it's a handy skill. But when I needed a new water heater I called a pro to install the beast and vent it properly, and replumb the rats nest in my garage. He did a fine job. And you know what? In a couple places he used sharkbite fittings. If it's good enough for him...