I am starting to winterize my house, and draining the hoses. I find that a freeze proof faucet won't turn off completely. It was fine 7 months ago.

Hopefully there is a way to fix it, because replacing it will be difficult. It is in a corner with cable TV wires all around, so working on it will be a bear.

I can't read the brand; Prier or Drier maybe? Presumably you will recognize it. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

 

I think that Prier is a valid name but don't hold me to that. One thing that jumps out at me is that while this IS a freeze-proof faucet it does NOT have a backflow prevention device, sometimes called a vacuum breaker, as is often required by the latest plumbing codes.

The actual valve seat and disc in these faucets is located inside the wall or if the faucet is really long, on the inside of the far side of the wall. As such, these faucets do drip for a minute or so as all the water in the tube between the valve proper and the outlet drains out. Are you allowing at least ten minutes (should be way longer than necessary) for this water to drain before deciding the valve is leaking?

If it IS leaking it should be fairly easy to replace the valve disc, what most people call a faucet washer. You will have to close the supply valve for this faucet inside the house/basement first. Some, far too many in my opinion, homes do not have an individual shut-off valve and in these cases it will be necessary to shut off the entire house water supply.

Open the valve by turning the handle and then using an adjustable wrench on the hexagon portion behind the handle unscrew the "bonnet" by turning it anti-clockwise. You may need to do a combination of turning the handle and the bonnet before being able to withdraw the assembly of handle, bonnet and "stem" from the housing which will remain attached to the house. At the internal end of the stem is the sealing surface, properly called the "disc" but most often termed a faucet washer. These are usually replaced by first removing a brass screw in the center of the disk but some simply snap into/onto the end of the stem. Your local hardware store should have replacement discs. Reassemble the faucet in reverse order and while tightening the bonnet make sure the handle is freely moving or else you will damage the seat, disc, stem or even the housing. The bonnet should screw on easily until the point where it tightens against the body and then only a fraction of a turn more. Turn on the water shut-off valve and flush a gallon or two through the faucet before turning the faucet off.

Do NOT screw down the faucet handle really hard, just moderate pressure is adequate to make the seal and remember it WILL drip for a minute or three after closing. If it continues to leak several minutes later you probably have a defective "seat", the part the disc closes against, and it will require the replacement of the entire faucet.

Here is a page of Google images detailing how these faucets work.

https://www.google.com/search?q=prie...of+faucet+work

 

Would it make any sense to try tightening the hexagon shape first to see if that helped? Naturally I don't want to make it worse.
I appreciate the long explanation. Sadly there is no shut off except for the whole house.

 

No. The leak is at the seat/disc contact and tightening the bonnet, if even possible, would more than likely damage the stem making it worse and requiring replacement of the entire faucet.

 

I took it apart and the washer is bad.

I looked on the Prier web site and it calls for a C-134kt-802, which consists of a washer and a screw, available from Amazon for $9.

It says it is a standard 00 Beveled bib washer. If I just go the hardware store, will they be able to give me one of those? I expect it will be less than $9.

 

I don't know, it depends upon how well stocked the hardware store is.

 

Parts usually less than a couple of dollars with a new brass screw. May have a kit for it.