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Help! No Water From Garage Faucet
Hello all,
I live in a 8 yr old town home in central NJ which my wife and I purchased when new. This town home includes the optional faucet in our enclosed garage along with a patio faucet. We normally keep a hose on the garage faucet all the time, if that means anything.
Each of the outdoor faucets has an associated shutoff valve to isolate it from the main water supply. The shutoff for the garage is in a closet in the room leading to the garage. Up to this summer, this faucet functioned normally. However, this summer, the there is no water flowing to the faucet though the mouth of the faucet is moist when I removed the hose. This is regardless of how open the shutoff valve is. It’s as if the shutoff valve is stuck closed, though it turns normally.
The shutoff valve and the faucet handles move freely and do not appear to be stuck. There are no other valves between this shutoff and the main water supply for the rest of the town home which are all functioning properly, and there are no signs of any leaks. I’m suspecting that the shutoff valve may be clogged somehow though it seems to me that the town home is not old enough for this to happen, or is it?
Every winter, we close the shutoff valves to the garage and patio in fear of frozen pipes. I I’m feel that this is probably overkill for the garage since all of the garage piping is indoors where it is heated, except for the faucet which is located on the back wall of the garage closest to the remainder of the town home. The garage faucet is about 6 or 7 feet from its shutoff valve.
The shaft and packing nut is all that is exposed of the shutoff valve with the remainder of the valve hidden behind the drywall back of closet. Similarly, the spout and handle of the faucet is exposed in the garage with the rest hidden behind drywall. I am hoping for a solution to this that doesn’t require me to cut a hole in either drywall though I will if it is required.
I am not a pro, though I have put in some replacement fixtures for some of our sinks and changed some packing from time to time. I’ve never done anything that involves repairing or replacing shutoff valves.
Are there any suggestions for how I should proceed?
cycloptic
Most likely one of your valves failed.
You said you're turning the one inside so I'm assuming it's a gate valve? They don't last as long as ball valves do and eight years is long enough for it to have failed. My money is on that valve having failed. Unfortunately I don't know of any way to test it without changing it. Maybe someone else here has a better idea.
Thanks for replying.
Thanks a lot for your reply.
I believe it is a gate valve. That's what was used for the valve controlling the patio faucet, and this one has the same style handle.
Is replacement the only option, or is it possible to replace the packing for it?
cycloptic
Before you go tearing it apart wait for someone a little more knowledgeable to confirm what I think. Replacement is usually the only way. You can't buy new packings although if you could find the exact same valve you could change it over.Originally Posted by cyclopic
Don't waste your time and effort on a gate valve. Just get a ball valve and live happily ever after.
THESE OLD GATE VALVE HAVE THE STEM STRIP OUT, LOCKING THE GATE IN THE CLOSED POSITION;
3 WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEM
#1 CUT OPEN DRYWALL AROUND THE VALVE, AFTER CUTTING OFF MAIN
WATER IN HOUSE, REMOVE THE BONNET COVER REACH INTO VALVE
AND PULL OUT GATE, PUT BONNET BACK ON, AND TIGHTEN,
#2 SAME AS #1 EXCEPT AFTER YOU GET WALL OPEN AND CAN SEE WHAT BRAND OF VALVE THIS YOU BUY ONE JUST LIKE IT AND INSTALL
NEW GATE AND BONNET,
#3 JUST BUY A NEW BALLVALVE AND (2) TWO SHARK BITE FITTINGS
CUT OUT COPPER AFTER YOU HAVE MAIN WATER TURNED OFF,
OH YEH. OPEN AS MANY FAUCETS AS POSSABLE TO DRAIN DOWN WATER LEVEL IN PIPES,!!!
INSTALL NEW BALL VALVE, THE REASON EVERBODY KEEPS SAYING TO INSTALL BALLVALVES, IS BECAUSE THEY ARE STAINLESS STEEL BALL INSIDE
TEFLON SEATS THAT LAST A 100 TIMES LONGER THEN OLD BRASS GATEVALVES,
YOU MIGHT AS WELL BITE THE BULLET AND GET USED TO THIS AS THE OTHER GATEVALVES ARE GOING TO START DOING THE SAME THING;!!!
OR #4 CALL A PLUMBER OR TWO GET PRICES TO CHANGE OUT THESE GATES
BE SURE TO GET THE ONE ABOVE THE WATER HEATER YOU DON'T WANT TO HAVE A LEAKING WATER HEATER SOMEDAY AND NOT BE ABLE TO SHUT OFF WATER THERE
MACPLUMB MASTERPLUMBER
Thanks everyone for your input.
I guess I will probably consult a plumber or two as suggested in option #4 to price it out. If the builders soldered this valve as they did the others then this job is probably a little over my head to handle myself.
At least now I will be able to communicate with the plumbers a little better about this.
Thanks again!
cycloptic
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