[Assmanof]

My cold water supply line going to my faucet burst so luckily I was there before it got bad and also the valve still works. After replacing the hose I noticed the hot water valve was corroded and was seeping water. So I thought it would be a great idea to replace all the valves and hoses in both the bathrooms.

My main water shutoff at the meter does nothing but spin so I used the street one. I also shutoff the hot water heater valve and turned on all the faucets. Water still continues to run out of everything making it difficult to replace all the valves. Its not full pressure or anything but definently more than a drip. Anyway I managed to replace all 4 valves and hoses. I have no idea how to remove the compression ring on the pipe so I reused the ones on there.

Problem is I now have water seeping out of all the valves! Nothing major but it shouldn't be wet at all. I tightened them pretty snug at first but still no good. So now they are on there gorilla tight but still seeping water. It is 100% coming out from the compression nut and not from anywhere else.

I would have replaced the compression ring but couldn't get it off. And sweating new pipes on there is no option because the water will not stop running. Any ideas?

Dave

[iamgrowler]

Do you have a hot water recirculating system?

[iamgrowler]

Pasco makes a fairly good ferrule puller, but it can be very dangerous in the wrong hands, especially if the compression nut has been tightened "gorilla tight".

I've run into this a number of times, most recently at the Seattle Art Museum -- The fix is to open up the wall behind the stop and sweat out the copper nipple, and then sweat in a new capped copper nipple, and then install a new angle stop after the wall has been re-finished.

Tghtening the compression nut and ferrule too tight will distort the copper nipple -- And trying to pull the compression nut and ferrule off with a ferrule puller only makes further distorts the nipple.

[labman]

It is a bit of a hack, but when all else fails, I have put an O-ring between the ferule and the nut. It goes together better with a little Vaseline or silicone grease on the O-ring. You can pick up O-rings at a hardware or auto store.

[letmetellu]

By the time you see this post if ever you will either have the problem solved or be floating.
This will entail taking the compression nuts off again (the big 5/8 nuts that tighten the ferules ) after you have the valve off the pipe put a liberal amount of yellow rector seal around the ferule and then put everything back together... most of the time this stops the small seeps... Good luck.

[Assmanof]

Thanks for all the replies. First I don't believe I have a hot water recirculation system. Id rather not cut anything being I can't sweat pipes with a torrent of water flowing anyway. Id probably break something else trying to get that ferrule off. That leaves o rings or that yellow rector seal stuff. Ive never heard of that stuff but ill look into it. Ill have to get around to doing this again soon but right now I'm wiped out till next week when ill have more time.

And not to worry you guys too much but its not dripping or anything like that, just getting wet enough to get a drop every hour or so. Ive got a cup under each valve for now. Still its not cool and ill have to get back to it soon.

Thanks to all,
Dave

[speedball1]

First off, "It goes together better with a little Vaseline or silicone grease on the O-ring."
Do not use any petroleum product on any neoprene "O" ring or gasket. It will deteriorate the neoprene. Moen supplies a Teflon based jel to lube the "O" rings on their replacement cartridges. ***next***

"after you have the valve off the pipe put a liberal amount of yellow rector seal around the ferule and then put everything back together"

This is a no-no. The pipe dope puts additional pressure on the brass valve body and we have had angle stops split apart a few months after installation. Do not coat ferules with anything when installing compression fittings. **and last**

If I have to replace a compression angle stop I never remove the old 5/8" compression nut and ferule. I reuse them when I reinstall the stop.
Good luck, Tom

[iamgrowler]

First off, "It goes together better with a little Vaseline or silicone grease on the O-ring."
Do not use any petroleum product on any neoprene "O" ring or gasket. It will deteriorate the neoprene. Moen supplies a Teflon based jel to lube the "O" rings on their replacement cartridges. ***next***

"after you have the valve off the pipe put a liberal amount of yellow rector seal around the ferule and then put everything back together"

This is a no-no. The pipe dope puts additional pressure on the brass valve body and we have had angle stops split apart a few months after installation. Do not coat ferules with anything when installing compression fittings. **and last**

If I have to replace a compression angle stop I never remove the old 5/8" compression nut and ferule. I reuse them when I reinstall the stop.
Good luck, Tom

I read the other answers with some interest, Tom.

The only place to put an o-ring would be between the compression nut and the ferrule, and without a friction ring between the nut and o-ring, the o-ring is going to be shredded before it's even half tightened -- And of course there is no way to slide a friction ring over the ferrule.

The pipe dope suggestion might work, but only if you coated the copper tube extending beyond the ferrule and made certain none of the dope coated the ferrule, but I doubt there is enough copper tube extending beyond the ferrule to make this worth the effort.

As for re-using the nut and ferrule, I've had mixed results with the practice, when doing this, I apply a thick coat of silicone based pipe lube to the ferrule and hope for the best.

However, as the poster pointed out, he cranked the nut down "gorilla tight" without the application of lubricant, which likely distorted both the front and back of the ferrule as well as the copper tube beyond re-use.

If this were a service call where I was called in after the damage had been done, I would insist on removing the copper stub-out and starting over from scratch -- If the customer balked, I would gather up my tool bucket, hand him the Yellow Pages and hit the road.

Some things just aren't worth the level of incurred liability.

[labman]

There is no substitute for doing things right, but sometimes it isn't worth it when you are redoing somebody else's work. It also helps to have somebody else paying the bill when you make too big of a project. I have often had problems with old compression joints when I tried to put them back together. I have tried a number things. I have had good luck adding an O-ring. Sorry about saying next to the nut. It needs to go between the ferule and the seat. Grease it up good and tighten lightly. It must be 10 years since I put one in when I replaced the dishwasher, and it is doing fine. It is certainly worth trying an O-ring before you rip out the wall.

I keep a tube of Sil-Glyde around. Although Neoprene and some other rubbers are fine with Vaseline, I will take Tom's word it will destroy Moen O-rings. Since I seldom can be sure of what type of rubber I have, I just use Sil-Glyde. It is fine even for sensitive brake parts. A homeowner can pick up a lifetime supply at NAPA for about $4.

[letmetellu]

After all of the suggestions I say do what works for you, and the last thing you try will be the one that works.

[speedball1]

" I will take Tom's word it will destroy Moen O-rings."
Take Toms word that lubricating ANY neoprene "O" ring or gasket with any petroleum product will deteriorate the neoprene. I used Moen as a example. They furnish Teflon Jel to lube their cartridge "O" rings with. Cheers, Tom

[Assmanof]

I may or may not try the o ring with the non petroleum lube. Reason being is that most of the leaks have either slowed to being moist or dry as a bone. At this rate it might even fix itself! Im tempted to leave it as is rather than tempt fate and make it all worse.

Dave

[labman]

I am a great fan of leave well enough alone. That is the nice thing about water piping, small leaks tend to lime shut. At one time I was managing a factory that used about 10,000-20,000 gallons of an oil like material a week. We had many grades of it stored in 10 different tanks. Even the smallest leak would slowly accumulate oil, and perhaps some of the dust we always had in the air. The stuff would destroy Neoprene and other rubbers that resist ordinary oils. We used a lot of Viton or silicone rubber. EP also worked.

[labman]

Came up with another idea. If you have a Dremel tool, you can cut the pipe off from the inside behind the ferrule. Clean up the end and enlarge the hole in the wall to about 1 1/2''. It may already be that big. You can still cover that with the plate you may already have. Buy a Shark's Tooth to 1/2'' male pipe adapter and a threaded angle stop. Screw the adapter into the angle stop. Slide the Shark's Tooth adapter over the pipe stub, done.

I think the Shark's Tooth is fairly new and they are expensive, but a quick fix where you don't want to solder. They work with most piping. Although sold by ID, most pipe has the same OD and can be connected by the Shark's tooth. I haven't seen them at Lowe's or HD. Try an Ace Hardware or a plumbing supply. I have seen ads here.

I was cutting a pipe off in a tight spot last night with my Dremel, and remembered your problem.