Plumbing?

[heyttown]

Since Ive lived in the house the water pressure on the hot side hasnt been great to say the least....(Its in the plans to get replaced eventually on the never ending honey-do list)....Yesterday while washing my hands I noticed the hot water pressure lower then normal...Almost to a trickle coming out.I reached under the sink wondering if the valve was full open, to my suprise it wasnt. When I was in the process of opening the valve the water coming out turned rusty color but the pressure increased slightly. I proceeded to open and close the valve 3 or 4 times and the rust color was going away.(I figured the valve and inside the pipe had some corrosion and I was breaking some of it up).I went and reopened the valve one last time and I lost all water pressure.....I did the same to the cold valve and it stopped flowing also.I figured maybe the valve broke or was plugged with corrosion, so I went to HD and replaced those valves.When I took the old valves off their was corrosion everywhere and I was suprised I had any water pressure to begin with.....I cleaned up the copper stubs that come out of the wall and put the new valves on,and reconnected the supply lines.....When I turned the water back on I had no leaks(good thing) but didnt have any water pressure coming out of the faucet....

I know I have galvanized pipe in the wall going to the 2nd floor,will eventually get replaced....But I have a tub 5' away from the sink, and a toilet right next to the sink which still have pressure....So my problem is somewhere between the tub and the sink.

Any ideas on why it stopped working.

Im thinking some corrosion passed through my valves and is plugging up my faucet as now both my hot and cold dont work....
After writing this post I realized I can disconnect the faucet supply lines at the new valves and see if I have water flowing...I will post the results when I get it done...
Until then any other ideas.
As you can tell I am no plumber by any means.


I would love to take my new valves off and make sure there is nothing plugging the new valves but with my better half gone most of the time with school and work....I am here by myself and the only shutoff valve to the upstairs is shutting off the main....so its impossible to do alone.




As a 2nd question.
With a gas water heater, if you shut the main off(no other valves installed to work on plumbing system) would you shut the gas off to the heater.....
I did as a just in case type of thing, but Im thinking it really isnt neccessary as the water will stay in the tank,until I open up the main shutoff valve again.

Thanks

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Plumbing?

Have you pulled the aerator off the faucet yet?


(Sorry, I don't know about gas fired water heaters. They're relatively new here!)

 

[heyttown]

Re: Plumbing?

Ok folks Im back.....I took the faucet supplu lines off the new valves and I have water(made a little mess,but at least Im getting somewhere)....So I have pressure in the valves but nothing at the faucet.

Paul what is that aerator your talking about?

So Im assuming there is a clog somewhere either in the flexable supply lines or in the faucet itself(im leaning towards the faucet) as water came out of the supply lines as I disconnected them.

The faucet is a delta 2 knob plain jane faucet....I have no idea how to tear these things apart or anything so any info would be greatly appreciated.
Its in a small 18" or so vanity and the faucet is almost impossible to reach from under the cabinet as its recessed up behind the bowl.

Thanks

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Plumbing?

I would look at the aerators too and get rid of the galvanized pipe. It is common for the corrosion to build up to the point where a pencil will not fit into a 3/4" pipe.

Did the stuff clog your supply lines? You might need to remove those small supply lines at both ends and insure they are clear too. The valves in the faucet may be clogged too. You disrupted the corrosion and it went somewhere.

We were tying at the same time. If you can remove the small sink it sounds like the valves are clogged. If you can pull the faucet use an air hose to clear it blowing the waste backwards out thru the supply lines.

The aerator is the screen assembly in the downspout where the water comes out.

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Plumbing?

A little more on the subject of aerators:

That silver barrel around the screen unscrews from the faucet. If it isn't removed regularly, this can be a difficult task. Be prepared to mar it and replace it. This is normally here you find clogs as it's the narrowest restriction.

If it's clogged really bad or it gets wrecked you can pick up a new one for <$5. Fortunately, there's pretty much only two different types - ones with internal threads and ones with external threads. But bring yours to match up anyway. Since it's a kitchen sink, try to find an aerator that is *not* a "water saver".

If it comes off easily, just take it apart (note the order of parts) and clean each peice of debris. Reinstall finger tight - no need to use pliers.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Plumbing?

No need to shut the gas off unless there is a chance the tank may be drained...And let the hot and cold water run a while with the aerator removed to clear the lines....

 

[heyttown]

Re: Plumbing?

Ok, Pulled the aerator off and it was plugged....Cleaned it up,and ran the water to clear the lines for awhile.Reinstalled the aerator and now I have almost a steady stream/drip of water coming from the faucet,with the faucets turned off. Almost like the faucet wont turn off completely....Im assuming since I cleaned it,all the debris was stopping the stream of water....(its always had a slow drip,but now its more like a stream.)

Im guessing its a gasket in the faucet somewhere,but Im wondering if it would be better just to get a new faucet or not....

Any other ideas.
Thanks for all the help so far.

 

[rickdb1boat]

Re: Plumbing?

Yep. Probably have gunk/grit on the washer that seals it. Turn the water off and remove the handles. Then remove the packing nut and the stem. Clean the washers and the stems and if needed, replace the washers. Put her back together and try it again...Or, just buy a new faucet if it's real old anyway...

 

[Ron G]

Re: Plumbing?

The rebuild kits cost under 5 dollars and are real easy to do and while you have the stems out,cut the water back on and flush the lines going to the faucet.

 

[heyttown]

Re: Plumbing?

Ok, pulled the handles off and replaced the innards and everything is working great....Thanks for all the help everyone.