[JulieNeedsHelp]

Hi, I just joined to hopefully get some help without hiring a plumber.

I had a leak in my kitchen faucet and tried to watch YouTube videos about repairing it. However, it looked easier to replace the faucet than the little part within the old one.

I moved everything out from under the sink. I turned off the cold water. Then I tried to turn off the hot water. It was stuck. I tried off and on for a couple of hours. I finally tried to turn it with a wrench. Instead of turning, it simply broke off.

The handle has a little Phillips screw in the middle which goes into a plastic piece. It is the plastic piece that broke.

Thanks for your help!

[KISS]

Hi Julie:

So, we can know what we are dealing with can you post a pic using "go advanced/manage attachments"?

It would make things much easier.

[afaroo]

It is easy to replace the angle valve or the plastic handle if you tell us which one looks like yours see the images below, Thank.

John

[JulieNeedsHelp]

Hopefully this will work. I uploaded these images to Photobucket. The first one is the backside of the handle which shows the broken piece:



Then this shows the hot water pipe on the left where the part is broken off and the cold water pipe on the right which still has the part in place and turned off:

[JulieNeedsHelp]

Duh, I have a straight stop! I'm learning as I go.

[afaroo]

Hi Julie,

No problem it is the same with horizontal or straight up, you lucky it is the compression type and it is very easy to replace, close your main waterS/O valve to the house get two pliers remove the old angle valve go to HD or lowe's get a new one one and get some teflon tape, see the mage below for remove and install , good luck

[JulieNeedsHelp]

There isn't anyway to just replace the broken threaded valve stem is there?

[afaroo]

Yes you can change the stem, remove the packing nut and the stem will come out, but I recommend replacing the whole valve assembly it is easy and cheap, you may not be able to find the stem, it is best to change the valve, thanks.

John

[JulieNeedsHelp]

Should I replace the cold water valve too? Is that green from leakage?

[afaroo]

Yes that is from the leak, check if it is not leaking and works good you don't need to replace it, just clean the green, Thanks.

John

[JulieNeedsHelp]

Thank you!

[afaroo]

You are welcome, come back if you need any help and let me know how it worked for you, good luck.

John

[KISS]

John/Julie:

John, Your pic shows the use of Teflon tape on the compression fittings. Generally not a good idea and not required. Teflon tape should be used for tapered threads. If you do use Teflon tape, use only one layer to prevent corrosion. Don't follow the package directions.

I use plumber's grease on the threads.

Pliers:
Your teaching bad habits. Two wrenches. It won't mar the surface.

Julie:
Look for a stop that says 1/4 turn unless you need to adjust the flow. Most of them are. e.g. 1/4 Turn Ball Stops (KT Series)

This does look like a 1/2" to 3/8" compression stop although at Lowe's, I started seeing them marked by outside diameter which is 5/8".

[afaroo]

KeepItSimpleStupid,

Thanks for popping in, The picture doesn’t come from me it is from the experts see the image below, and they recommend the Teflon tape it is up to the individual to use it or not, it will not hurt anything to use it, if not you may have a leak, and I am will argue with you.
You second question I didn’t get it, you mean not to use two pliers or it is good to use to pliers, if you say not to use two pliers how you would remove the valve, Thanks.

Regards,
John

[KISS]

1. More than a single layer of tape in this application is a bad thing. Experts here generally say no tape with compression fittings. No real argument. Just a clarification.

2. It's a workmanship issue. Pliers are just the wrong tool. The purpose of plyers is to scratch and round off bolts.

Example: For automotive brake lines, you HAVE TO use a flare nut wrench for flare fittings. For plumbing, you can use on compression fittings, but it's not necessary.

Q: What's the BEST two tools to change the fittings on a compession stop? You can pick the same tool twice?

a. pliers
b. channel locks
c. adj. wrench
d. flare nut wrench
e. combination wrench
f. pipe wrench
g. basin wrench
h. vise grips
I. stubby combination wrenches

For gripping the nut, the flare nut wrench wins hands down. http://www.amazon.com/Allen-29202-Fl.../dp/B00002NBFP
It grips on five sides and won't squeeze the nut and won't slip and mar it either.

Gripping the body is a major toss up. The adustible usually has more jaw but it can slip and could have problems in close quarters. The combination wrench might be difficult to use based on close quarters. Vise grips are useful if you want to mar the valve and your going to mar the valve. I could even use a C clamp and two people for the greatest amount of torque.

My opinion, in this case might be a pair of channel locks and a flare nut wrench and it's all because of the offset in the channel locks.

If this was out in the open, probably a flare nut and a combination wrench.

If it was being stubborn probably vise grips and a flare nut wrench.

If it was being impossible, then I'd cut it off.

To each his own.

To tell you the truth, about the only time I use large pliers (>8"), excluding vise grips, is when soldering pipe or pipe threading. I've used large channel locks on wheel bearings retained with castle nuts, but one time I had to use a HUGE socket.

[afaroo]

KeepItSimpleStupid,

You really confusing me in your post #15 item 2. you say It's a workmanship issue. Pliers are just the wrong tool. The purpose of pliers is to scratch and round off bolts and you say.

Q: What's the BEST two tools to change the fittings on a compression stop? You can pick the same tool twice?

a. pliers
b. channel locks
c. adj. wrench
d. flare nut wrench
e. combination wrench
f. pipe wrench
g. basin wrench
h. vise grips

Julie,

Sorry for confusing you, do what ever works for you, I just gave you my recommendation and has worked for me and every one else, good luck.

John

[JulieNeedsHelp]

Just a follow-up. I bought 2 straight stops today. I went to Lowe's. All they had were the quarter-turn ones so it was easy to make the correct choice there. I opted to buy new supply lines since they have to be totally disconnected anyway.

I'm waiting until tomorrow after church to turn my water off. Hopefully I won't break anything else.

So far, I've only found one wrench. If need be, I'll go buy one. Hoping a neighbor can help me out with a loan though.

I also have the plumber's wrench for the top of the supply lines where it attaches to the faucet.

I'll report back and let you all know how it goes.

[afaroo]

You are going the right direction and please pray for me when you go to church,Thanks.
John

[JulieNeedsHelp]

I couldn't get the old stops off no matter how long I tried. I did get the old faucet removed. I did call the water company and found out how to turn the water off to the house as turning it off in the laundry room still let a slow leak in.

I finally called an old friend who came over and fixed it. He also installed the new faucet.

He also found leaks in the drain pipe and fixed those. I am so lucky - and blessed!

At least I had all the right parts when he came over. He was happy with that!

[KISS]

Congrats and it didn't cost you a lot of cash.

I probably did a poor job of illustrating the difficulty of removing the old stops. Corrosion makes things tight and it becomes awkward gripping the things in cramped spaces. Slipping and not having the strength in both arms. I'm relatively ambidexterous, so it doesn't matter. I can write script left-land, right hand, forward and mirror image. My right hand is better writing, but I can write with my left.

I'll use whatever hand is convenient. If eating and I'm bumping into someone, I'll just change hands.

We really didn't discuss turning on and off the water and in hindsight we probably should have. You always need to open a fixture below the one your working on and you need to let air in so the water can leave. Opening the fixture that your working on usually takes care of that.

Turning off the hot water heater and draining a little bit out prevents it from "burping". Either turn it to pilot or turn the breaker off. I usually leave a faucet open closest to the water heater.

Turning the water on when you have drained the house allows pockets of air to accumulate. The easist way to eliminate this is to crack open the furthest valve. Tubs are great to use when turning on the water. You can open them all the way without any fear of overflow or splash.

Periodically, you may have to drain the house to refill the air chambers in the walls that prevent water hammer.

While we are on the subject of home maintenance, remember to let some water out of the drain of the water heater until it runs clear. Speedball1 says to do it monthly. I do it once a year.

So, you have another project around the corner? Replace the laundry shutoffs. Again 1/4 turn ball valves are the way to go.

You did good. All he experts get our jollies by answering questions. It's an addition for some of us.

Come back again.

I get a little too picky sometimes. The example in this thread is that I consider maring a chrome surface while repairing something poor workmanship while others would say it's covered by the cabinet and I don't care how it looks. Both are valid arguments.

If I caused you grief, I apologize. I know I annoyed afaroo. I appogize to him to.