I am seeking suggestions re. repair of an outside faucet (hose bib). The
problem is difficulty turning off the faucet so that it won't leak a small
stream. It takes a lot of strength to turn the handle hard enough to
completely shut off the flow. And then when it is turned off, the washer
sticks in the seat making it difficult to turn on again. It is really
desirable to make it work easily so my wife can handle the outside watering
chores.

With a faucet grinding tool I took the seat down maybe 1/6" or so in an
attempt to clean it up. That made no difference and I am afraid to grind
much more for fear of totally ruining the seat. Looking into it with a
flashlight, the seat looks shiny from the grinding but there is a triangle
shaped black spot (cavitation/corrosion ?) on one side. The mark is only on
one side and I am guessing it is the result of leakage past a blow hole or
blemish of some kind in the brass.. As stated, I am afraid to grind on it
any more - the spot was there before the initial grind so I'm guessing it is
pretty deep.

Is there any way to tell if the seat is removable from the outside? I know
that some faucets have replaceable seats, but I can't see it well enough to
determine if it has any "wrenching" surfaces. If it isn't replaceable and I
jam something into it to try to unscrew it, the faucet will be ruined. If I
continue to grind on the seat to get below the damage, and there isn't
enough seat left, the faucet will be ruined. I don't relish the idea of
tearing into the wall to replace the faucet. Suggestions please.

Bob Swinney
Bob,
There is a slight chance that the entire freeze-proof faucet is
threaded into a female elbow inside the wall. Some are soldered, some
have male threads. Maybe you could just unscrew the entire faucet
from the outside, get a new replacement unit (8", 10" or whatever) and
thread it back into the fitting in the wall....???
Ken.