Hi there - We have an old house with galvanized steel pipes. Our main water shut off valve leaks -- the leak is from the packing nut. A plumber came out yesterday and tightened it, and it now barely leaks at all, maybe one drip every 24-48 hours (which it probably has been doing for the 6 years we have lived here, we just didn't know when we bought the place). Rather than replacing the whole valve (which, apparently, has a high liklihood of breaking the pipes in the foundation, requiring jackhammering and whatnot), we are thinking of installing a new shut off valve higher up on the pipe, where I guess it's less likely to break. If we go for the second valve, is there a way to close up that old valve (hydraulic cement, tape, solder, etc.), so it doesn't leak at all? The tiny leak is coming from the stem of the handle - can we remove the handle and cap it off or something? (And thanks to those of you who answered my husband's question about the pipes yesterday!)
There is a very simple fix to your problem. Get some teflon tape, turn off the valve, back off the packing nut all the way, twirl the tape into a thread (about 4 to 5), wrap it around the stem, reinstall the nut and snug it up. Done! While there is special graphite packing for this purpose, it is usually hard to find and works no better than the tape. You can apply a small amount of vasaline to the stem before you put on the tape to make the valve operate more easily. Only tighten the nut enough to keep it from dripping or it may become hard to open and close. You can easily add a second valve by removing the pipe above the old one and installing a piece of copper with a valve inline. Some will say you need to worry about electrolysis if you screw an adapter into the existing galvanized but I am sure you will replace the old pipe before that is an issue 20 years from now. Good Luck!
with my background in replacing galvy with copper or even new galvy is not that your problem is fixing the old valve, but replacing that one with a new one and new lines to the house. your first problem is is there another shutoff at the street meter and if so, shut it off and replace from the meter to the house and add new ball valve at the street on your property and another at the house before entering the foundation. getting through the foundation is a whiz as the removal of the old pipe will enlarge the hole enough to allow new pipes to enter. on the inside, install another gate or ball valve if accessible so you thru a basement and then feed copper throughout the home. The electrolysis that the other person is speaking of is a valid point, but i believe in doing thing right. add a union between the galvy copper (6.00) and forget about it . sometimes if you have a lot of iron in your water, rusting will start in a year and destroy your couplings...so do it right.
This Site Might Help You. RE: Leaky main water shut off valve? Hi there - We have an old house with galvanized steel pipes. Our main water shut off valve leaks -- the leak is from the packing nut. A plumber came out yesterday and tightened it, and it now barely leaks at all, maybe one drip every 24-48 hours (which it probably has been doing for the 6 years...
