I thought it was an adventure story about me navigating the labyrinth I assume is your house.
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I would expect a furry bull to have experience navigating a labyrinth.
edit , I live in a normal house.
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“Your cheaply built 4’ high labyrinth can’t stop me!”
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finished it today. took about 20 hours total and i should have taken it down to the ground but we agreed that was a lot of work and this would do for now.
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Outta likes.
That’s a fine looking patch given what you were working with. I sure hope they take care of that properly.
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they won’t, but it’s ok. i told them it would give them a few years, maybe 10, but no guarantee that it would go one and i hate doing work i can’t guarantee. it was a lot of fun though. after it was all said and done, when he asked me how much it would be, i said i had no idea and to pay me what it was worth and we agreed to $300 for just that when the original was $450 for this and some other work. while i was painting it i told him it needed a second coat but that i didn’t have time to wait til it dried and paint again before dark. then when he gave me the check i didn’t look at it til i got home. now that he paid $450 when we agreed on $300, i’m gonna go give it a second coat in a bit.
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I am not knowledgeable about plumbing, but i think i know enough to say where i am at.
The drain cap on my outside water connection seems to be stripped. Since the seal is broken, it leaks water if i turn on the connection.
I am asking for help in 2 ways.
1, can someone tell me the terms for what i am looking at? Does a stripped drain cap describe this?
2, what would your plan of action be? I have access to tools and my step dad is able to help me, i just want to have a good footing before i go to him, because i want to seem not like a completely ignorant person
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I’m not a plumber either, nor well versed in it. Someone else should be able to help. But if you mean that little hex headed “nut”/screw, that looks like a bleed valve for bleeding air out - but it doesn’t seem like it’d work for that purpose given its location (not above the water level, so it would just leak water if opened, and not release any air that might be in the system).
Anyway, I’ll let someone else, who knows, discuss it.
You may be able to clean that, apply some flux, and solder the relief drain into place. That’ll stop the leaking as a temporary fix but then you’ve removed a mechanism to drain the line.
Typically, installation of outside taps will be angled downward slightly such that they will drain sufficiently to avoid freezing. As long as it drains enough such that the copper that breaches the wall detail is dry, there shouldn’t be much of a concern with freezing as long as the interior is heated during the winter months. There are also anti-freeze taps available.
Personally, I’d probably just evaluate how the tap drains and, if it looks ok, replace the valve. Soldering is easy but there is some technique that should be understood otherwise it can become frustrating. Things need to be clean. Things need to be relatively dry. As you heat the connection, nearby moisture within the pipe will wick towards the heat and it won’t solder properly, for instance.
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This is a wierd fix but is less labor intensive. Turn off the water and put plenty of pipe dope on the leaky screw and put it in and let it dry all day. If it holds you can then use a refrigerator water line fitting to serve as a drain going forward. It should be installed in the copper line between the valve and the spigot. It installs by mounting up on the line and a small point will pierce the copper . Add a tiny piece of polyethylene water line with a 1/4 valve so you can drain it conveniently. You may not need any plumbing tools only a couple small clamps.
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Nooooooo. I’m very anti saddle valve or whatever the hell those things are called.
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It’s fine , it’s why I recommend the small piece of poly line. So you only have to work the saddle valve once. It’s also clearly unfinished room below, so Haa!
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Oooo I removed them in my house, they are bad and people should feel bad for using them. I’d do a shark bite before a saddle valve…
That reminds me, I need to replace the shark bites with soldered sections. Like an adult.
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Those saddle valves are fine if on the first piercing you don’t drive the point all the way like a goof. Just tighten it until it pierces and back it off, if it didn’t flow ,go a little more and check again. They are not to be used over and over, hence the small section of 1/4 line with a mechanical valve on it. Again , no plumbing tools or cutting the line involved.
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first that is called a gate valve tec term shut off or stop valve with a waste gate that little leaker honestly i have never seen one with a nut thou usually they come with a cap looking thing neither here nor there it leaks. this would be my plan
shut off the water to the house main supply do not panic when it still leaks a bit they always do some more than others you will need to cut the old valve out as close to the ends of the old valve a slack thing for new to mate up once the old is gone install new one with a couple metric adjustables and get out there and water
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Unrelated, but I absolutely hate those types of handles on valves. They’re slippery with wet hands. And they kinda hurt to grip and try to turn with wet (and maybe feeble) hands, maybe especially when the valve is old, and sort of…stiff to turn. I want to replace two above the utility sink. I’ll be back here when I’m able to attempt that, haha.
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Agree, they suck. I’ve been ripping them out and replacing them with ball valves.
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Yeah, they’re particularly glorious when those shitty pot-metal handles break.
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the removable caps are normally used for outdoor taps. The inside valve should be shut-off (in winter)and the outside tap opened to allow air to enter and water to drain. the cap off lets you to drain the outside tap as it lets air in . I would cut it out and replace it if it’s old and solder a new one on. If it leaks you can use a valve sharkbite if you aren’t experienced with solder
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Also sometimes the cap itself has a hole in it, I can’t tell by the pic, the hole is so you only have to loosen the cap to drain instead of completely removing it
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