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6 p.m. on a holiday Monday and I discover my outdoor anti-siphon faucet is running full blast, even though it is turned off as far as it will go. I have a hose and nozzle on it but don't know how long that old hose will hold up.
I'm not a plumber (nor much of a DIYer) but have fixed a leaky indoor faucet...with difficulty.
Any idea what might be the cause, will the whole thing need replacing or maybe some small, easy part? Should I call a plumber before I even bother to make an effort?
Thanks for any replies!
Ronaye |
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Hmmm good question!
I hope you have a good hose on it to keep it from running,, or you have a shutoff for it in the basement or crawlspace.
TheGuru will probably have a better answer than me, but I'd guess that the anti-siphon faucet can be repaired in the same way as an older kitchen faucet -- one without a cartridge, but one that has a gasket and a seal.
Failing that, the faucet will probably have to be removed with a torch if the nearest sweat joint is close to the wall or cut away if it isn't. Then a new one will have to be sweated into place.
But like I said, I'm sure TheGuru will have more experienced words of advice for ya!
Till then... good luck! |
Sounds to me the washer has deteriorated away..
First you need to turn off the water that goes to the silcock. If there is no shutoff then the house main will have to be used.
There is a screw holding the handle - remove screw and handle - and then there is a big hex nut (about 1 1/4" or larger) holding the 'guts'. Loosen, twist out and remove. There should be a rubber washer on the end of this held on with a brass screw. Carefully remove the screw (you can get new screws if it is bad) and replace the washer and screw. You can take the whole 'guts' piece to the hardware store to match them up (there are different size rubber washers). Look at where the rubber washer would go, there should be a small lip that would run around the edge, that holds the sides of the washer in while compressed. If this is chipped that’s why it failed. You can get a new retainer washer to repair the chipped one. The old one would need to be filed away smooth first (easy) then the new one (looks like a washer with a lip all the way around) goes under the replacement washer.
Now look inside the body of the faucet and try to view the 'seat'. It must be clean and not chipped all the way around or the new rubber washer won't seal properly. There is a special seat wrench (cheap) that will remove the seat part and that too can be replaced or filed smooth and put back in.
So after all this... put it back together and it should work!! |
Thanks to you both for your replies, guess I'll tackle it myself and see what happens. Fingers crossed!
Ronaye |
Glad we could help...
keep us posted how things turn out! |
It went really well....after the plumber showed up!
This faucet did not come apart like a faucet should. I gave up before too much frustration had set in and called for help. The plumber and his assistant were in and out of the crawlspace to replace the darn thing, so I am glad they were doing it, and not me. They got it done in under an hour, it probably would have taken me days.
But thanks for your help!
Ronaye |
hehe! Your not the only one with leaking valves!!
All of a sudden 3 of my heating system's 16 ball valves started to leak! I looked at them and there is no packing nut under the handle on those 3 valves either, so they need to be replaced. Somehow I got 3 cheap crappy valves mixed in and now I am going to pay!
Time to change my hat and start plumbing!! |
