Hi Again!
I got an answer previously from SpeedBall1 about repairing a leaking cold water shut-off valve (Thanks for your speedy response!). I forgot to mention that the valve is not brass or metal, it is CPVC. Do these type of valves have the bonnet packing in them? I took apart an old PVC shut-off valve and all it had was a washer in it. Hope this makes sense!
Also, why in the world would this valve decide to start leaking for no apparent reason? My wife is now afraid that our house is going to flood while we are gone on vacation if this happens again!
Thanks for your help!:confused:

Show us a picture. Turn water off while on vacation.

HK said it... I advise all my customers to shut the water off at the water meter whenever they will be away for more than 2 days.

Also, if you have a gas water heater, I would tell you to look at the thermostat setting (big red dial at front of heater gas valve) and see if you can read the words VACATION on it... set the dial to vacation before leaving (note the place where dial was set originally, of course). That saves money.. period. Then set dial back to original setting when you get home.

If electric water heater then I would advise you to shut off the heater at the breaker and then just turn on when you return home.

Now, why would it start leaking huh? Don't I wish I knew ;) I would be a rich man if I could predict such things! Simple fact is that plumbing fittings are designed in such a way as to need replacement down the road.

I would not worry that all shutoffs will start falling apart... sounds like you got one bad one out of a bunch that is in your house... so please tell wife all should be just fine.

The packing nut... well, some cpvc shutoffs have them and some have packing nuts that if you tighten will just snap! Like HK said, we would need a pic. (post under "go advanced" if you decide to post pic.) to be able to tell you more.

Hope this helped. If it did, please RATE THIS ANWSER by clicking on rate this answer button at upper right or at bottom of this post. Thank you.

I am not having any luck getting my picture to upload. I keep getting a message saying the file is too big. I tried the Neevia site to resize it, but apparently it is still too large. As I mentioned in a previous post, once I opened the valve further, the leak stopped. Is it safe to leave it like this since it is no longer leaking, or do I need to bite the bullet and try to fix it? There is not a lot of work space where the valve is located... it is in the floor of an upstairs closet. If it helps at all, the valve itself is white with a red turn handle that looks like the kind on the outside spigot. I will continue to try and get a picture here. I do appreciate any help and advice!
Thanks.

I will see if KISS (a person that answers lots of questions and knows lots of stuff! ) can send you a file that will help with your file size issue... look for that post in next day. I also would state that if stopped leaking and you don't touch from here.. should be OK. But lets get that pic. Loaded up so we can be sure. Look for KISS to post. Talk soon.

Oldhouseowner:

Use this application: irfanview.org. After opening, use image/resize and select 640 for the longest dimension. It will usually fill in 480 if keep proportions are checked. Save as "Picture description 640 x 480.jpg" so, you'll know it was re-sized and upload.

KISS

KISS... you are terrific.. thank you for answering my PM. There you go oldhouse.. ;) Post that pic.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by OldHouseOwner

I am not having any luck getting my picture to upload. I keep getting a message saying the file is too big. I tried the Neevia site to resize it, but apparently it is still too large. As I mentioned in a previous post, once I opened the valve further, the leak stopped. Is it safe to leave it like this since it is no longer leaking, or do I need to bite the bullet and try to fix it? There is not a lot of work space where the valve is located...it is in the floor of an upstairs closet. If it helps at all, the valve itself is white with a red turn handle that looks like the kind on the outside spigot. I will continue to try and get a picture here. I do appreciate any help and advice!
Thanks.

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I think I may have gotten my picture to load! Let's hope so anyway!
Sorry for the blurriness... you would have laughed if you had seen me down on my knees in the closet, trying to zoom in on this thing! The picture also makes the valve look more white than it really is. It is actually more of a beige/cream color.
Thanks for your patience!

Hey oldhouse... yup.. I believe you can tighten that packing nut. Here, start with a 1/4 turn clockwise... be gentle... hold against yourself with other hand... and that should be all you need to do.

And leaking from that packing nut does NOT mean you have a defective valve there... it simply means the packing has dried a bit and needs to be repacked by giving it a little turn on the packing nut. That should do it... let us know if you need anything else.

Take care.

Thanks MassPlumber!
I am going to wait until the weekend to tackle this one. I will let you know how it goes! Do you think I should shut the water off before I start... just in case? Also, in one of your previous posts you mentioned shutting off the water if we were going on vacation. We live in the country and are on well water with a pressure tank and RO system. What do you suggest as the correct procedure for shutting off the water with that kind of system?
Thank you so much for all your help!

Hi Old house... There should be a switch right at the pump... You could switch that off or just shut the main water shutoff after the pump. BUT EVEN better...wait for HKSTROUD...seems to know pumps super great!! I will get him in to post regarding pump shutdown procedure.

And.. yes.. this being your first time messing with a shutoff... go ahead and shut water off... then tighten packing nut, then turn water back on... that should do it!

It can't hurt to shut off the water.

In the worst possible case the stem and bonnet will need to be removed and the packing replaced.

Never turn any valve of this type to their stops. Always back them off a bit.

When the HOT water is turned off the power to the hot water should be removed too. Leave a hot water faucet open a bit. If it's a gas water heater the system should be set to pilot. The washer supply should be shut off too.

There are systems available that will shut down a hot water heater when water is detected from a leaky tank and there are systems designed for whole house shutdown based on a variety of sensors.

I'll let MP deal with a system shutdown.

Yes, I would recommend turning off water while you are away for extended periods even though you are on a well system. If a pipe or a washing machine hose burst you pump will continue pumping water. Well water is relatively cheap but a divorce is not. Turning off the breakers to the pump is not a bad idea either. Breakers being off will not necessarly protect you from a lightening strike but if the pump is not running, it might not go down the well.

MassPlumber, hkStroud, and KISS--
Thanks so much for all your help! I made the repair this morning as per your instructions and everything turned out just fine! I really appreciate all your help and support and am so thankful that there are folks like you in the world who are so generous with their experience and are willing to pass the benefits on to people like me that need advice.
KISS, I am curious about your statement stating that valves should not be opened all the way, but turned back a bit. Could you elaborate on your answer? I just want to be sure that I did everything OK. If any of you need any help or advice in the carpentry/cabinetmaking area, please let me know as that's my area of expertise (such as it is!) and I would love to return the favor!
Thanks again!

Thanks for the follow up. Take care!

Well, if you have ever seen a liquid nitrogen valve stick, you'll know precisely why.

When you place a valve against it's stop, there is a possibility for the valve to get stuck there because of deposits in the stream, in your case water. If you could twist the valve back and forth, you would have a better chance to free it under those circumstances.

The other reason is that you could turn the valve either way and that's a big help when you don't know which way to turn it. Say it's 1/4 turn before the stop and 5 years later you had to turn the valve. Is it open or closed? Do you turn left or right? Turn either way, if you run into a stop, then that's the wrong way.

Does it make sense now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KeepItSimpleStupid

Well, if you have ever seen a liquid nitrogen valve stick, you'll know precisely why.

When you place a valve against it's stop, there is a possibility for the valve to get stuck there because of deposits in the stream, in your case water. If you could twist the valve back and forth, you would have a better chance to free it under those circumstances.

The other reason is that you could turn the valve either way and that's a big help when you don't know which way to turn it. Say it's 1/4 turn before the stop and 5 years later you had to turn the valve. Is it open or closed? Do you turn left or right? Turn either way, if you run into a stop, then that's the wrong way.

Does it make sense now?

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Wow! That makes perfectly GOOD sense! That's for the heads-up!
:D

Oh you.. you.. you.. you engineer you.

Nice tip.