Fixing Stop Valve Leakage
Angle stop valve valve can be found in several locations throughout the home, it can be found under the kitchen sink, bathroom sink, behind the toilet and sometimes by the laundry area. Angle stops are also known as emergency shut off valves; this is because if you have leaking fixtures in the house, the shut off valve is the best option to stop the water leakage. However, due to water hardness, angle stops will overtime get corroded and eventually will start leaking, so what to do to fix such a problem? The best thing is to replace the defective valve (s).
Before Replacing Shut Off Valve:
Prior to replacing an angle stop valve, you will need to do the followings: 1 – Locate where the main water line comes in the house and, check to see if there’s a main shut off valve there, if so, shut the water off for the whole home at the main shut off valve. If not, 2 – Shut the water off at the meter, mostly located outside in the front yard. 3 – Open the fixtures located at the lowest compartments of the house. 4 – Have a small bucket with you at the working area, paper towels and old rags. 5 – Make sure to have proper tools: a small crescent wrench and box cutter. 6 – Make sure to have all parts needed: New angle stop valves (in case you more than one), plastic supply lines, plastic gasket rings, Teflon tape. p.s.: when buy angle stops, stay away from whole plastic or mixed plastic & metal valves, they are junk valves. Make sure to buy quarter turn solid brass valves, these are the best and will last longer. The average price for an angle stop valve is around $7.00.
Removing Old Valves:
If you are going to replace the valves, you might as well replace the supply lines, save yourself future headache.
1 – Unscrew the old supply line (s) from the angle stop (s) and from the faucet, or toilet tank. 2 – Remove the old angle stop valves from the existing piping. If the valves are threaded tighten over galvanized pipe, unscrew them out. If the angle stops are compressed over a copper pipe, you will need to use crescent wrenches, one to hold the angle stop (s) while the other wrench will twist the compression nut.
Installing New Angle Stops:
If the existing pipe is copper, than you must buy brass angle stop (s) with a quarter turn option with compress nut or if the pipe is galvanized, then, the right angle stop (s) will be the brass threaded ones, also, with the quarter turn option.
Angle Stop For Copper :
1 – Insert the compress nut through the pipe. 2 – Insert the metal ring through the pipe. 3 – Put Teflon tape around the thread of the angle stop (s). 4 – Put thread sealant over the tape and manually, insert the angle stop (s) into the compressed nut (s) and twist the valve carefully. Do not force it, make sure to not cross thread it, otherwise, it will damage the valve. 5 – With a crescent wrench hold the angle stop (s) and with the wrench tighten the compress nut slowly until is firmly tightened.
Angle Stops For Galvanized Pipe:
1 – Clean the threads on the existing pipe really well 2 – Put Teflon tape around the threads of the pipe. 3 – Apply thread sealant over the tape. 4 – Manually, insert the angle stop (s) and slowly twist it until you can no longer do it. 5 – Finish tightening with a crescent wrench.
Replacing Supply Lines:
Now that the angle stop valves are installed, it is time to install the supply lines.
Before replacing the supply line (s), you must know that faucet supply lines are different in shape and length when comparing to toilet supply lines, so, make sure to buy the type of supplies that will fit your plumbing needs. 1 - Connect the supply line (s) to the fixture (toilet or faucet) but do not tighten them yet, do this only to take measurement between point A and point B, then, remove the supply (ies) and cut the needed length. 2 – Connect the supply to the fixture but don’t tight all the way yet. 3 – Insert the compress nut and gasket ring on the other side and insert the supply (ies) into the angle stop valves. 4 – Screw the compress nut over the angle stop valve (s) until get tighten by hand. 5 – Finish tightening both sides until is firmly tightened. 6 – Clean the work area and dry all the wet spot. 7 – Put pieces of dry paper towel under the angle stop valves to check for leaks. 8 – Turn the water back on at the main shut off valve, then, turn the water back on at the fixture (s) by turning the angle stop valves back on. 9 – Check for leaks, if everything looks good, mission accomplished. Congratulations!
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