Stop Tap Gland packing

[b830ag2]

Hi all,

I'm an amateur DIY plumber. I like to have a go at simple things in the house myself, to save money, and usually do ok following a bit of research, common sense and a bit of swearing!

A new one on me though....my internal Stop Tap/Cock is leaking from up between the spindle and the gland nut.
A bit of research on the net suggests I should be able to undo the gland nut, pick out the packing that's in there, put some PTFE tape around the spindle, push down into the housing, re-tighten the gland nut and bob's your uncle. Sounds fairly easy.

However, I have a question, having never done this before....and if anyone can advise I would appreciate it.

1) Do I have to isolate the supply to do this? i.e. turn the main street stopcock off? I can imagine that when I undo the gland nut that the leak will be exacerbated, but will the leak be excessive? or is it manageable with a few rags whilst I install the new packing? Also, thinking about it, do I have to turn the internal stop tap off i.e. the one that is leaking?

Many thanks,
Andy

 

[GQuigley67]

try tightening the gland nut before you do anything first

 

[b830ag2]

hi,
yeah, I thought about that, i might give it a go first then like you suggest.
a little bit wary though as the tap is very hard to turn as it is and has been installed for quite a while (decades). might try give it a squirt of penetrating lube first....
cheers,
Andy

 

[GQuigley67]

9 times out of ten all i do is give it a wee jag and it stops weeping

 

[SimonJohns]

You can do this live and you may get water coming out

When ever I have had this issue. I remover the nut from thread
Push some jet blue in to where packing goes
Retighten
All good

Or use loctite 55. Ptfe isn't very good at fixing this

 

[dontknowitall]

I turn the stop tap off - just in case something goes wrong. Shouldn't do but as it only takes a few seconds ...

Then proceed as your initial post. If it still seeps then more packing but, as you've found out, the more you pack in the more difficult it is to turn. When they're really bad it's best to change the whole shooting match (turning off supply at road first).

 

[Deleted member 25704]

Some good advice so far

but just to add. The job can be done without isolating mains, but there could be some dribble - so prepare for this with a towel.

Open tap to full, unscrew gland nut, clean exposed spindal with non-metalic cloth (green washing up pad).

Apply silicone lube to spindle. Cut some loctite 55 Amazon.co.uk: loctite 55

Or use dental floss - I think its the same stuff. Cut to about 75mm long, wrap around spindle and screw up gland nut. Repeat this process twice rather than stripping thread off gland by using too much first time.

 

[WHPES]

Loctite 55. PTFE tape is OK for a quick fix but won't last that long.

 

[Reg Man]

No need to turn the water off as the washer will still be seated when you loosen the backnut. Locktite 55 is really good but you can buy replacement nylon packing glands for old style taps.

 

[Bernie2]

In the past we opened the taps right out until the back of the washer jumper acted as a stop on the bottom of the spindle to body housing. But obviously if its on the main it has probably got a loose jumper and so it will not work. But still open it right out, slack off gland nut, pack gland with Plumbers grease or silicon grease then you can either use PTFE or wool and lanolin to pack the gland. Then screw nut back down, tightening as you close the tap. Then open it up to its normal position. As said though often a nip up will stop a minor leak. I would go careful using releasing oil as mains water is intended for drinking as well as other uses so really it is a food stuff and releasing oil and food do not usually mix very well.

 

[b830ag2]

Thanks for all the advice so far....
I'm going to have a go at it this Friday, as I've got the day off.
Got some Loctite 55 in prep., and loads of towels.

 

[dontknowitall]

You only need one towel - a few dribbles when working on it and then to mop up afterwards. Sometimes just a piece of kitchen roll is enough.

Hope it goes well!

 

[stevetheplumber]

i doubt very much any of the oil will penetrate the gland with 3 bar of mains coming the otherway

 

[b830ag2]

Leak stopped!
Got all things ready, but before I did anything else I too the advice of a quick nip up. It worked! It's been drip free for 5 days now, so i think that's a success. Will just need to watch it next time i decide to turn the water off. It's been good to get to know how to change the gland packing though, even if i didn't get around to it this time...thanks all...!

 

[PlumbBobBob]

when you nip up tap gland nuts it is a good idea to make sure you can still turn the handle to operate the stopcock because if the nut is nipped up too much it can bind against the spindle making it very tight and difficult to turn.

 

[b830ag2]

yeah, thanks for the tip. i'd already checked this though as i was aware of this potential issue. tap turns ok......
i'll just be keeping an eye on it from time to time now, especially when i turn if off again in the future...