Goodmorning all, I need to replace a rusty outside faucet and I am having a tuff time . its a line off another line and do I need to use a hack saw to get it off? Like 2 faucets next to each other do you heat the fitting or just use a hack saw to remove ,take to hardware to replace and solder it back on? I shut off what I believed to be the main water shut off, yet its still leaking water even though I opened other lines.The shut offs in the yard are curiously placed so I’m not sure if it belongs to my house or the neighbors! Any advise?Be nice now !
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Whats the reason for replacing? If its a stem leak then it could be repacked, won't shut off a new washer might do. But if removing the old, just replace with all new. If it won't stop trickling use a compression fitting to re-install.
It needs replaced cause it pulls right out! When I took it to Ace they said to bring in the whole thing !
Sounds like the threads have striped, replace the whole thing.
I'm trying, anyhow, hack saw or what to remove , or call a plumber ?
Hard to say without a bit more info. It the bib threaded on or soldered? Are you looking to simply replace the bib, or the line going through the wall as well?
Either way, you seem to have encountered the bane of plumbing repairs -- a main shutoff -- that doesn't. (You mention that it's in the yard. Are you sure there is not one inside the house? If not, see below.) You say you turned it off but it is still "draining". Does that mean just a slow trickle? If so, you may be able to open one or more faucets upstream of the point you are repairing so the water never makes it to the repair site. If that works, you can cut the old line and solder a new line and bib on in about 10 minutes. If you still have ANY water at (or even near) the repair site, you can't solder. You can use a compression fitting tho'. But I hate them and only use them only as a last resort. (Lots of others disagree and don't mind using them.)
If you have a lot of water still coming through after shutting off the main, or if you have no main inside the house, you may want to add another main shutoff as part 1 of the job. What I've done is to disconnect -- or cut-- the line just after it comes into the house at a point AFTER the faulty shutoff valve, taking appropriate measures to catch/divert the still-running water. (If I'm lucky, I can just uncouple the downstream side of the line at the meter, but MAKE SURE you have actually shut off the water supply enough that you can handle the spill.) Then I install a new main ball valve shutoff, and hook everything back up. I usually take this opportunity to also install a hose bib just after the new main to use for draining the lines in the future.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
I'd give more info if I new the names of the pipe stuff ! Feeling a bit uneducated, which really annoys me as I like to think I can do anything !Lol Just the bib I think. Its a spicket added on a few inches from another ?
If it's just the bib, there's a 50/50 chance it's threaded on and can simply be unscrewed and replaced. Tough to tell, though if you can't see the back. If you can get the water turned off, grab it with a wrench and give it a turn. If it's threaded, it'll come off. If not, well, you needed to replace the pipe anyhow, right?
If you are thinking this is over your head, and you don't want to end up under water <G>, this is a job any handyman could do, so you may want to go that route and save some $$$ over a plumber.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
You should go to your local HD or Lowes and scan through the plumbing books, picking out one or two that look good. They'll help familiarize you with the terminology and some of the basic techniques you need to know.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Susan -
Call a plumber. Your posts tell me that you aren't real sure of what you're doing and whacking off a hose bib without knowing that the water is shut off isn't an experience that you really want. (No, you may not ask me how I know that. - lol)
While he/she is at it, they can also show you where the main water shutoff valve is located - that's always a handy thing to know.
For what it is worth - when you need to sweat solder a joint/faucet etc and cannot stop the flow of h2o try this little know secret. It only works if the flow is minimal: Be ready with all of your tools. You have to work fast. Take a few slices of plain white bread. Has to be processed white bread. Cut off the crusts. When the pipe is ready to be soldered shove the white bread up the pipe to dam the flow of water. Use as much bread as you want. After all you work is done and the h2o is turned back on the bread will turn to powder and does NO damage to anything. I saw an old plumber do this. I always wondered why he had a loaf of fresh Wonder Bread in his tool box - then I saw it in action.Mike
"After all you work is done and the h2o is turned back on the bread will turn to powder and does NO damage to anything."
One slight caveat. It will clog any aerator screens on downstream faucets, muck up control valves, sludge up the bottom of a HW tank, etc. Best bet is to plan on flushing the system of bread goop through a nearby unrestricted faucett or valve before it gets into places where it shouldn't.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Edited 8/8/2007 11:14 am ET by MikeHennessy
Mike - I thought the same thing. But remember you have to remove the crust. Just the white crap bread. He would use two slices. It never even clogged the screens on the faucets. He would not even bother to flush the system. So I complained to him. When he would talk - which was seldom - he demonstrated with an experiment. He put a slice of bread into a gallon of water - minus the crust. Waited 20 minutes and there was nothing but a little haze to the water. The bread was gone. Not even crumbs. So I guess it works. I used the trick on my own h20 system @ 5 years ago. Two slices. My h2o heater is still in operation. Ihave 4 faucets with screens - no need to even clean. And no sign of bread even yet!Mike
I do it all the time too, but usually only need to use about a quarter of a slice or less. I do flush the system tho'. It doesn't take much to mess with screens & valves.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Mike - you may be the only other guy in the world that does the bread trick - congrats.
I've used the bread trick as well. It is awesome. I always flush after but
I'll try the "bucket experiment" .
Not hardly, it is a very old trick however a very good one. Works for pvc,cpvc to keep water out of the solvent cement. My son told me that about 20 yrs ago when doing irrigation at several Country Clubs, the Augusta National, and Wichita CC.
Edited 8/8/2007 3:07 pm ET by rasconc
"Mike - you may be the only other guy in the world that does the bread trick - congrats."
LOL. Well, me and about 10 million others. It's pretty well known and often used. Mebbe others just don't admit that they're skipping lunch 'cause they put their PB&J inside the plumbing! ;-)
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
You can buy a pipe cutter for cutting copper in tight spaces.
They are cheap, albeit less effective than their full sized brethren.
Would you mind explaining what you mean by, "cause it pulls right out"?
Does the faucet pull out of the wall anywhere from 2 to 5 inches and stop, within a hole around it? Is water still available to a hose hooked up to it?
Or does the faucet turny thing completely remove itself from the rest of the parts?
Or has the whole faucet assemby fallen off of it's serviceing pipe, causing water to be gushing out uncontrollably? But you've found the main shutoff?
I'm sorry, but I'm not clear on it.
Thanks all for responding. Its the faucet turny thing.It is squirting and pulls right out with a long stem attached.Its an add on to an outside faucet run around the corner for an outside shower . It is sticking out of the side of the garage wall a few inches.I think I'll call the water company and have them come show me where to turn it off , theres a place out front between properties that has a lid that i lifted but was scared to do something wrong, well the spiders may have had a little to do with it.I've actually sweat pipes before I don't know why this one is stumping me.I'm in Fort Myers Fl, talk about sweating, it was 94 today .And I like the bread idea. Its just too hot to be outside and I want to just get er done already.
Edited 8/8/2007 5:55 pm ET by Susan -homedecsewing
If I'm not mistaken, a simple tightening with a screwdriver will make the leak stop. You may need to replace the screw because others in an earlier life may have stripped it's cap.
A picture would be worth a thousand words!
Don't use multi-grain bread...lol
I still haven't quite grokked the problem. If it's leaking around the stem then tightening the packing nut or removing the nut and replacing the packing will generally do the trick.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
My thought, albeit misworded involving the term, "screw."
This "faucet off the side of another" has me too.
Ok, what is meant by packing ? and with what ? Thanks. Sorry I'm not being clear , but this is my 1st computer, Im 52, and the thought of trying to learn how to add a picture kindda makes me want to cry.I taught myself how to use the computer about a year ago.I can learn, its the remembering part thats kicks my butt.The second faucet is conected about 3inches off to one side of another, that sticking out from the garage wall. I'm getting a book tomorrow at Lowes.Wish me luck.
Edited 8/8/2007 7:34 pm ET by Susan -homedecsewing
Edited 8/8/2007 7:36 pm ET by Susan -homedecsewing
Okay, let's take this one step at a time so it will be easier to digest.
PACKING in a gate-valve type of faucet (also called a 'hose bib' or 'spigot') usually consists of a special kind of string. You can buy this at any plumbing or hardware store. It is wrapped around the valve stem so that when you unscrew it to turn on the water, it blocks the water from squirting out where the valve stem it passes through the cap nut. Replacing packing is easy. If you put too little in, it will leak. If you put too much in, the faucet will be very stiff or you won't be able to open it all the way.
The valve stem is the part that the 'turny-thingy' (handle) is screwed onto. It goes through the cap nut into the valve body and has a very coarse and steep spiral thread on it which makes it move in and out of the valve seat as you turn it. The washer is screwed to the bottom end of the valve stem, usually with a brass washer and screw, and is forced against the valve seat when you turn the handle/stem clockwise (usually), shutting off the flow of water. The washer is usually made of neoprene, but may be made of leather. It may be flat, conical, or otherwise oddly-shaped. Plumbing shops and hardware stores sell small faucet-washer kits for a few bucks with an assortment of the most common sizes and shapes.
Putting a photo into a message is called 'attaching' it. To do that, you need to have the photo stored in your computer as a digital image file. If you own a digital camera, you probably already know how to download photos from the camera into the computer. (If you don't own a digital camera, you'd have to scan a printed photo with a printer/scanner and store the digital file which results from that process.)
You need to know which folder your digital image files are in. Usually, Windows-based computers come with a permanent folder named 'My Photos' or something cutesy like that. It may be part of your 'My Documents' folder. You can store your image files there, or anywhere else you like so long as you remember where you stored them.
To upload a photo to appear with a message on Breaktime, all you need to do is the following:
While you're typing your message, scroll the whole screen up--not just the little message box. Move your mouse until the pointer is outside the box you type in, and then roll the mouse wheel. You'll see five 'Buttons'. Click on the one that says 'Attach Files'
You will get a pop-up box titled ATTACH FILES with a 'Browse' button in it. Click on that button.
That will open another pop-up window titled CHOOSE FILE. Use that window to browse through your folders until you get the photograph you want showing in that box. Click on that photo.
Now click 'OPEN'. The 'Choose File' box will close and you will see the 'Attach Documents' box again.
Click UPLOAD in the Attach Documents box. Now WAIT. Nothing will happen for a minute or so. The time will depend upon how big the image file is and whether you're using a dial-up or high-speed internet connection.
When the photo has been completely uploaded to the server here, the file name will be shown in the Attach Documents box in purple at the top and also below in black.
If that's the only photo you want to post, click DONE and the window will close.
When you post your message, you will see a little yellow icon at the bottom of the message. Clicking on that icon will make your photo replace the text in the message frame. To get back to the text, click the BACK button on your Internet Browser.
That's all there is to it.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Edited 8/8/2007 8:50 pm ET by Dinosaur
Wow, you must be a teacher.What great info, I do appreciate your time.I love learning something new.Thanks Susan
Thanks. Now you're going to have to post a photo or two so I can find out if I 'taught' you right!
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
"It is squirting and pulls right out with a long stem attached."
Ahh. This sounds like a frost-proof sillcock. Like this --
View Image
They are valve units were the working parts (i.e., the valve seat and washer) are 8" - 10" in from the handle. Ideally, the faucett should extend all the way through the wall and be connected to the plumbing just inside. Sometimes they don't make it all the way through though, and the connection may be inside the wall. The connection between the valve and the plumbing can be threaded or soldered, depending on the unit. Can you see where this connection is? Can you tell the type of joint? If you can't see the joint, as per a prior post, once you are SURE the water is off, try to unscrew the valve from outside by grabbing it with a wrench and turning the whole thing. If it doesn't budge with a reasonable amout of force, it's probably soldered. If so, cut the pipe a few inches inside the wall and replace the unit by patching in a new section of pipe between the cutoff and the valve. If you get a sweat fitting valve, all you'll need is the valve, a few inches of pipe, a coupling and solder.
Getting the water company (or someone) out to show you the shutoff is probably a good move regardless of what you do with this valve. You oughta know where it is anyway. If you want to try to find it yourself, just follow the cold water piping inside the house upstream from the water heater until it exits the building. The main shutoff is usually very near to where the water enters the building.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Edited 8/9/2007 8:40 am ET by MikeHennessy
Thanks Mike but its not that new its what I now know is called a spigot and the stem is 3 or 4 inches long, I'm gonna try the packing today and go from there. I'll report back tonite with an update ! Pretty exciting stuff, Lol
If there's room inside the basement/crawl to access the pipe feeding the valve, the simplest approach is generally to cut the pipe (assuming copper) and pull it out, then solder a copper stub to the replacement, slide it in, and make the connection with a coupling. (Or make the connection with a shut-off valve, if there isn't one already.)
If you can't get the water to completely stop flowing, however (not unusual if the main shutoff is a gate valve), you'll have trouble soldering the pipes together. In that case a "SharkBite" coupling is probably what you should use.
If the inside pipe isn't very accessible then probably you need to call a plumber.
But note that most sillcocks can be repaired fairly easily, if dripping or leaking around the stem is the only problem.