Water still running after disconnected at main valve. Recently we had a plumber come to repair a leaking faucet. The hot water always leaks from it. We know eventually we'll have to replace the faucet and all. Anyway, after he shut off the water from the valve in the basement. Water is still running from the pipes in the bathtub. He said that means something is wrong with the main valve. Which will be an issue when we do our big bathroom remodeling in approx 6 months.
any ideas what could be wrong? Or if it's going to be an expensive repair?

 

Welcome to the forums.

Yes... a main valve that won't fully shut off is a problem.

Here's what I did. I didn't want to mess with the shutoff at the street. My water service comes into my house and there is a shut off valve right there. Then my water meter and then a second shut off. Both valves were old and neither would shut off all the way. I shut the valve before the meter, unhooked the water meter and allowed it to drip into a bucket. Then I changed the second valve to a ball valve.

Now I have a new working shutoff valve. You may be able to apply this towards your application.

 

I would only suggest that a ball valve be used vs a gate valve, Ball valves are ok for adjusting flow, gate valves are intended as shut off.

I have also found that ball valves tend to be a litter better for not leaking but the quality of each is a big factor!

 

I think Marq got his words mixed up. Ball valves are meant for immediate shut off vs a gate valve for flow adjustment.

 

Yes, you house's shutoff valve should be repaired or replaced. Most areas now have water meters and your water can be shut off at the meter so the valve can be replaced making it a relatively quick and easy job.

 

Damn, well it was 4am and I could not sleep!

 

Use reply #2 for a quick fix and avoid having to coordinate the the water company come in and turn off the street outside shutoff, while you put in a new or additional master shutoff valve downstream in the basement and then coordinate with them to turn the water back on.

(You would not touch anything upstream of the meter.)

When the water company needs to change the meter every 7 years or whatever they will worry about the street shutoff and the old master shutoff (if it is still there) in the basement.

 

I corrected my whoops. I had a gate valve and installed a ball valve. Must have been too late.

 

Ha, you and Marq are staying up way too late.

 

I think I might get beat up here (lol) for suggesting this, but you could actually put in a 3rd valve upstream of the 2nd valve. You could put in a SharkBite Ball Valve. You would just cut out a small section of pipe just upstream of the 2nd valve and then slip in a SharkBite Ball Valve bridging the 2 opened pipe ends. You could then just leave valve 2 always open and not worry about having to touch it again and instead use the SharkBite Ball valve to turn the water ON/OFF to the house.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SharkBite-B...lve/1000182651

The SharkBite instructions tell you how much pipe to cut out in order to put the valve in. The pipes slip into each end of the SharkBite.

So you wouldn’t have to acquire any plumbing skills and it’s an easy job. You just need to cut out the correct amount of pipe making sure the pipe ends are cut square. You can buy a little pipe cutting tool pretty cheap that will give you a nice square cut (you need a little room around the pipe to spin the tool. If the pipe is too close to a wall or something you would probably have to use a saw).

But some people don’t think SharkBite connections are as reliable as the connections on soldered or threaded valves. It’s different in that you push the pipe end into the SharkBite and a teeth like mechanism grabs the pipe and then the pipe won’t slip back out unless you use a special tool. I think however– but I may be wrong – more and more people, including plumbers, are finding SharkBites acceptable.

I put one on my main water line to my pressure tank years ago and have not had any problems whatsoever. Maybe others will weigh in.

 

Zoesdad, your idea is fine except by cutting the pipe upstream from the valve before the meter will allow a large flow of water at a pretty high pressure to hit you as you try to quickly attach the Sharkbite. Only way to avoid that is to shut off the water at the front yard or street level, in which case what's point? Just replace the original with a screwed on high quality ball valve.

 

Norm –

This is a crazy thread - lol. Something contagious here. I must have been up too late too- lol (I know I was up too late, still all screwed up from staying up till 3am the other night following election results).

I really was thinking downstream but said upstream, no lie – and I actually concentrated on it to get it right before I posted. lol. No hope for me.

Still, I guess that doesn’t mean it’s a good solution. Isn’t there a term Plumbers use when they leave an old valve in place? Doesn’t seem like a professional would do that but for some reason I think I remember reading that they do – and that they have a term for it.

 

I got to say you all make me feel better knowing I make lots of mistakes like that. LOL

 

No... a pro would not normally leave a defective valve in place but it's the lesser of the two evils.
I'm sure he'd love to change the main shut-off valve for $500+.

I knew I wasn't going to mess with the street shutoff. It hasn't been shut off in 60 years.

 

Dont forget the o-ring, that critical part sourced to the low cost supplier in China!

I've changed a lot of leaking o-rings in my like, dont want any on my water line components, I like to sleep at night, at least until I wake up and make posting errors!

 

Not all China made things are poor quality. It's not so much China manufacturing as it is the quality control exerted by the company or the American company contracting with them to make parts. Remember, China is in the space race and you can't compete unless you can make quality material. It all depends on the end customer or in this case who retails China made material in the US.

SharkBite valves and fittings are not cheap. I have enough trust in their quality control that the "O" rings meet their standards be it made in China or the US. If the "O" ring fails I don't believe that it's because it's made in Chine but because the quality control is not being measured by the parent company or the engineering specs are not up to the rating they say they are. Also with any manufactured item there is an unavoidable % of failure rate (perhaps less than .01%) that must be maintained. No matter how good they are at manufacturing, failure in the field will result at some point. NASA can relate to that as can Russia and China.

However I will say most consumables from China are poor quality because the cost to make the same item here would not be possible. Look at electronics from Korea, and southeast Asia, for the most part very reliable. And could never be made here at the price we can buy them. When it comes to a TV or computer I feel very comfortable buying a Samsung or any other similar brand, than if the same thing was made here. In fact if the same TV or computer was priced the same but one was made in the USA, I would be very reluctant to trust the USA made electronic item. How could they pay the employees and make a profit and produce the same quality without using lower quality parts?

 

Let's not get into a Sharkbite vs soldering valve discussion. As long as we have our ball/gate upstream/downstream terms correct, we should be good!

Many towns will have their water department come out and turn off the curb stop. Since it's owned by them, they want to keep it working and functional, and if there's an issue, they will fix it for you. Of course some cities make it your problem... but it's at least worth a call.

 

I have agree with that. If you get to the point of replacing the upstream valve, use soldered or screwed (preferable with a union).