Leak at ball valve nut

Hi all,

I had to rerun the copper lines to my bathroom and was replacing the old bendable copper pipe so I had to do a lot of close-quarter fittings in the ceiling to get the pipe to go where I needed it to - it was a complete nightmare (I didn't know about the heatsink trick at the time).

After several failed attempts (and a pretty bad solder burn) I got all 4 ball valves and multiple fittings soldered in a very tight area but I just noticed (a few months later) that one of the 3/4" ball valves has a slow drip from under the nut where the handle is attached.

Is it possible that I got it too hot and melted something or is it just a matter of replacing a washer? I want to do everything in my power not to disturb the joints.

Thanks..

Try to tighten the nut.

Fixed!

Well that seems to have done it! Thanks Pipepusher!!!

I used blue handled ball valves for the bathroom and red handled ones for the kitchen so I could tell them apart. The red ones appear to be a solid piece whereas the blue ones have a packing nut. I also checked the other blue one and that one had some green discoloration so I tightened it as well. The one that was actually dripping took a quarter turn of the wrench before it gave resistance so it was defintely loose.

I guess that you are meant to tighten these during installation so thanks again and Merry Christmas!

leaky ball valve

You are welcome.Glad to help.