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Rich

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Can you all please help me with this…

I had a very good plumber come over to do some work.

He turned on this hose type thing in my basement which probably hasn’t been turned in in 5 years.

after he left I noticed it was dripping a lot. Probably about a full liter every 10 mins and my basement got a bit wet

I called him back. He used a wrench to tight it a bit and put a cap on it. It did stop the leaking.

my question is could it still be leaking internally?where is the leak going currently? Can my pipes bust because of this?

thank you all so much
 

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No worries Rich!
The leak almost certainly was because the washer on the hose bibb's (actually a boiler drain) stem broke apart when turned on. They dry out & crack. Sometimes the washer is good, but the screw fell out.

The only place the water can flow from there is out of the spout. Therefore the cap stopped it.

If you're so inclined, the repair is easy.
A) Turn off the water supplying the pipe. If there is no local shut-off, turn the house main off as well as the valve to the water heater. (This is optional. Sometimes the heater can siphon back when the main is off & a pipe eleswhere is open. You can try without & if warm water arrives, then turn it off.)

B) Put a bucket under the spout and remove the cap that the plumber installed on the hose bibb by turning anti-clockwise.

C) Open the valve only about 1/2 way, just as if you were using the valve.

D) Do you see the packing nut which is a large, hexagonal nut that the valve stem passes through?
See Photo Below with Arrow
Loosen it by turning it anti-clockwise & keep turning until it comes free of the bibb's body.
It there isn't enough clearance, take the nut or screw that holds the handle on out & lift the handle off.
It might take some wiggling or gentle tapping sideways to break the corrosion free.
Now the nut will unscrew and can be lifted off of the stem.

E) After removing the packing nut, put the handle back on and turn it anti-clockwise until the entire stem comes out.

F) Take the stem to a hardware store to match with a new washer. Mom & Pop hardware stores will be more inclined to help than a chain store or home center.

G) Bonus: If you wish, now is a good time to replace the stem packing. Ask at the hardware store what kind of packing it takes (string or a cone gasket).

H) After re-asssembling and turning the valve off, SLOWLY turn the Step A valve(s) on in either order.


It's an easy repair and I'll bet that can do the job yourself. Trying is how we learn new stuff!
Any questions, please ask

Paul
 

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Update:
I forgot to mention that if there is no local shut-off for the sillcock (another name for the valve) and you have to turn the building main off; when someone opens a faucet or flushes elsewhere in the house, some water may come out of the valve that you disassembled.

And, there is a small chance that the valve seat has a chip out of it. (Small chance unless you muscled really hard down on the handle with a bad washer).

Seats are usually replaceable or dressable with a seat dressing tool. When you have the stem out, look or feel inside for chips in the seat. A good hardware store will have seats and loanable seat dressing tools. (Or swap out the valve. Soldering pipe is easy to do with a little practice. Plus, you get to learn a new skill!)
 

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