Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Leaky Nibco frostproof sillcock

In order to fix this leaking around the handle,


you first remove the screw that holds the handle

on to the valve stem. Next, you remove the

packing nut - a large adjustable wrench will work.

Then you need to remove the old packing gasket

material and the brass packing washer.

Clean up the brass packing washer and replace the

packing washer, if you can find one in the size

you need. Look for a flat packing washer in your

hardware store. You can also check with a plumbing

supply jobber. It doesn't have to be the grey

clay-like material that you removed. I searched

many stores without success. I fashioned a new

packing washer out of 1/8" thick rubber, and it

worked fine. Make sure you put some thread dope

on the packing nut threads before you re-install

it. Don't over-tighten the packing nut; stop when

you get resistance. The rubber material will fill

the gap very nicely, and the leaking around the

handle should have stopped competely. There is

nothing wrong with the design of the faucet. The

correct order of re-installing these parts is:

(1) the brass packing washer

(2) the new packing gasket material

(3) the packing nut

(4) the handle

The packing nut needs to be tightened around the stem, if that doesn't do it, the packing needs to be replaced.

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/stepbystep-instructions-and-pictures-of-how-to-stop-a-freezeproof-faucet-from-leaking/article117717.html