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Calling Plumbers - Help - Advice on Home Plumbing


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Hi everyone.

Our house is a raised ranch built in 1961, with (mostly) original plumbing, and we have a valve in the basement that is leaking from around the stem packing. It is either a gate or globe valve, it's one of two isolation valves at the meter as the line comes in from the street.

 

Since it's a 55 year-old valve, to me the simple solution is to replace the valve. It's old iron or steel piping, 3/4" or 1" line size, the existing valve is FPT both ends. My father-in-law thinks it will be too much trouble to replace the valve, he insists that we hire a plumber to replace the packing.

It's an old valve...I talked to 2 plumbers who told me it's futile to try to re-pack. I can buy the valve for under $15 at a big box home improvement store, I figure a plumber could do it in 1 or 2 hours. It's relatively accessible, it's about a foot off the floor near a corner wall. When I told him this, he told me I don't know what I'm talking about and hung up on me.


Anyone care to chime in?>

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The valve is bronze and the pipe is carbon steel. You run a big, and I mean big risk of damaging the probably already deteriorated pipe threads if you do a replacement of the valve. I would just replace the packing, much easier and much less risk. The valve itself is in perfect condition in terms of the reusable components. I would heat it a little if you can't get the bonnet to unscrew, but as always proceed with a delicate touch until you see how she's going hold up.

Edited by Brian 1
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Brian 1, thanks for your reply.

 

UPDATE: One plumber I spoke with suggested I try to tighten the packing. I was previously unable to, as my channel locks didn't have sufficient a lever arm. I found my big-a55 channel locks, they're about a foot long, and I got the packing nut turned about a half turn overall, and it is no longer leaking.

 

It appears there's a female nipple, no union.

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Well done.

 

Before I rebuilt my 1960 house (a full "scrape" 10y ago), I learned to never ever touch plumbing unless things were really really bad. First lesson: I decided to replace a J trap under the kitchen sink...was back into the wall before the collateral damage stopped.

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