On Apr 10, 10:34 am, Grandpa wrote:
Amol wrote:
On Apr 9, 5:57 pm, "Roger Shoaf" wrote:
"Amol" wrote in message

oups.com...

Not knowing how it works...as a new home owner I twisted the knob on
thesilcock(its the one with a circular plasticky knob that needs to
be rotated counterclockwise) a bit too hard and I cracked the knob.
Last summer I replaced the knob but now its worse...there is water
gushing out from everywhere. My internal shutoff is quite a walk and
I need this working properly this summer/spring to water my backyard
properly. I hate 'the long walk' and the wastage of water and also
that the water spills on my deck that I had stained last fall.
Somewhere on the net I read that I would need a soldering gun if I
were to replace the whole assembly and that it would be a mess...I
need some guidance/reassurance if it is DIY project or not and is the
fix a simple washer and TFE tape or the whole replacement (I prefert
this not to be the problem).
Thanks,
I have a rule of thumb on my place, if I have to futz with a valve, I
replace it with a ball valve.

Valves with washers always require maintenance futzing with packing and
washers is not my idea of fun.

What kind of pipe do you have? And what kind of connection do you have
between the sillcock and the pipe?

If you do not know, then perhaps if you make a careful sketch or take a
digital photograph of your valve to a good hardware store they can guide you
to the best way to fix it.

--

Roger Shoaf

About the time I had mastered getting the toothpaste back in the tube, then
they come up with this striped stuff.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you Grandpa, mm and Roger for your detailed diagnostics. In no
particular order, following are my responses:

1. Water is gushing out only from the spigot and the knob area
only....so looks like all is not lost.
2. I live in Chicago, IL so the temps do drop below zero Fahrenheit
outside and that is where this tap is (into the backyard on my deck
and connected to my master bedroom which is heated... it is not in my
basement)
3. Yes, nothing else is cracked.
4. Yes, its a copper pipe when I look at it from the inside and then
there is a metal spigot and a plastic knob.
5. The metal spigot is screwed into the siding of my house outside my
master bedroom.
6. As far as I can remember (I am not at home right now)...the spigot
is screwed into a teflon/plastic base on the siding and the only other
screw if the one that holds the knob in place. The knob moves out (in
the user's direction) when moved counter-clockwise and the water flow
starts.

I need to figure out how to get to the stem, the valve and the seat
out. Worst case, I will take a digital photo to the local store...

Thanks for all your help folks.

Sounds like a frostfree sillcock, just put those in on my son's
house. Google it and see if it looks like yours. Trader4 is most
likely right that they just screw on. In fact, there are several
"repair your sillcock" sites that give you step by step
instructions. They come in various lengths; depending on brand, they
may not be repairable, so consider replacing it. Hardest part is
going to be holding the pipe its attached to so that it doesn't
twist into a spiral and fracture.
--
Grandpa- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ignore my messages... I found the following set of instructions for my
specific problem... this should do it I think

In order to fix this leaking around the handle,
you first remove the screw that holds the handle
on to the valve stem. Next, you remove the
packing nut - a large adjustable wrench will work.
Then you need to remove the old packing gasket
material and the brass packing washer.
Clean up the brass packing washer and replace the
packing washer, if you can find one in the size
you need. Look for a flat packing washer in your
hardware store. You can also check with a plumbing
supply jobber. It doesn't have to be the grey
clay-like material that you removed. I searched
many stores without success. I fashioned a new
packing washer out of 1/8" thick rubber, and it
worked fine. Make sure you put some thread dope
on the packing nut threads before you re-install
it. Don't over-tighten the packing nut; stop when
you get resistance. The rubber material will fill
the gap very nicely, and the leaking around the
handle should have stopped competely. There is
nothing wrong with the design of the faucet. The
correct order of re-installing these parts is:
(1) the brass packing washer
(2) the new packing gasket material
(3) the packing nut
(4) the handle

Thanks for all your support.