Tried one last thing before going to buy some new valves for my kitchen
sink... actually probably would have anyway had I not been stuck at a
job site until after 7PM. Anyway, the hot water shutoff valve to the
sink was weeping, so last night I tried one last thing before condemning
it. I closed it about halfway, and then let the hot water run out the
faucet for about a minute or so. I figured there might be some crud on
the backside of the seal that was keeping it from sealing well. Then
with the faucet still open I opened the shutoff valve fully, giving it a
good crank. Came home tonight, bone dry. I know that I should tighten
the packing nut, but I don't know if that is even possible - they are
REALLY crusty. (yes, I do know that you should exercise all valves
every year or so, but PO's apparently did not.) I really didn't want to
replace them because of location, so that can wait for a full kitchen
renovation when the cabinets are out of the way.

Of course, there is now a tiny trace of water in the middle of the
cabinet, and I can't see where the heck it came from, unless it came
from around the faucet but so long ago that it's dry again. (still
haven't replaced the faucet, as SWMBO didn't see anything she liked at
the Despot, and it'll be Saturday before we can go to the real plumbing
store together.)

Also found out that the air gap for the dishwasher used to be required
by code here, but no longer is, and a sink replacement still falls under
a "fixture replacement" so I don't need to pull a permit even if we do
replace the sink. (My job requires me to maintain decent relations with
various code officials, so I either have to "do it right" or make sure
nobody ever finds out...)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Dec 3, 8:34�pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
Tried one last thing before going to buy some new valves for my kitchen
sink... actually probably would have anyway had I not been stuck at a
job site until after 7PM. �Anyway, the hot water shutoff valve to the
sink was weeping, so last night I tried one last thing before condemning
it. �I closed it about halfway, and then let the hot water run out the
faucet for about a minute or so. �I figured there might be some crud on
the backside of the seal that was keeping it from sealing well. �Then
with the faucet still open I opened the shutoff valve fully, giving it a
good crank. �Came home tonight, bone dry. �I know that I should tighten
the packing nut, but I don't know if that is even possible - they are
REALLY crusty. �(yes, I do know that you should exercise all valves
every year or so, but PO's apparently did not.) �I really didn't want to
replace them because of location, so that can wait for a full kitchen
renovation when the cabinets are out of the way.

Of course, there is now a tiny trace of water in the middle of the
cabinet, and I can't see where the heck it came from, unless it came
from around the faucet but so long ago that it's dry again. �(still
haven't replaced the faucet, as SWMBO didn't see anything she liked at
the Despot, and it'll be Saturday before we can go to the real plumbing
store together.)

Also found out that the air gap for the dishwasher used to be required
by code here, but no longer is, and a sink replacement still falls under
a "fixture replacement" so I don't need to pull a permit even if we do
replace the sink. �(My job requires me to maintain decent relations with
various code officials, so I either have to "do it right" or make sure
nobody ever finds out...)

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

just try tghtening the packing nut a little, they generally move easy.
the crud you see is above the area that will be compressed