Dan wrote:
Yeah, I don't think I'll attempt it. As I said the one time I did try
it (another house) the wrench bent & the valve didn't budge. I'll try
snugging down the nut on the valve stem, then go from there.

Dan

If the valve is installed properly when you close it there is no
pressure at the packing nut. You can at this point unscrew the nut and
wrap a few strands of packing around the shaft, tighten the nut, open
the valve and continue living your life.
Dave

MLD wrote:



Don't be tempted to shut off the curb water yourself. My shutoff
valve also
leaked and I replaced it with a ball valve. My plumber refused to
shut off
the outside water "too many bad tings happen". When the city shut off the
water the shaft extension (from ground to the valve underground) broke in
half. Result was that they had to tear up the street to get at the
valve,
install a new shaft extension, fill the hole and re-hot top the street.
Plumber made the right decision.
MLD