Any plumbers in the house?

[Rick Lee]

I replaced my kitchen sink faucet today and it was quite a job. I broke the flexible copper hot water line that goes from the wall under the sink to the faucet. No biggie. I sort of wanted to upgrade to those 1/4 turn valves anyway, so I did. I used telfon tape and tightened it all very snug. Both hot and cold valves from the wall leak now. They're not cross-threaded. There's teflon tape on both and now I've even packed it all with plumber's putty. No good. What to do here? I really need water in the house and both drip a little. How to fix? Tighten until I feel like it's gonna break? Use some kind of sealant or silicone?

[Hads930]

Rick not a plumber but my brother is a licensed master. Done enough to know that putty traditionally is used to set faucets and drains. Did you use putty or "pipe dope", which is a common term for threaded pipe lube/sealant. On old pipe I usually use both tape and dope. I think there's a plumber on here with the official fix, just thought I could get you headed towards a fix.

[Bill Douglas]

I do thirteen turns on the tape.

[Baz]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

I do thirteen turns on the tape.

[Baz]

Rick - this is what I use.....

[Bill Douglas]

Lol

[island911]

Are you sure that you have the right type of fitting on the valve? ...mating to the line.

Some use a compression fitting, some don't. (I am not a plumber. I don't even have the right pants to show butt-crack)

[flyenby]

Do you have a male thread coming out the wall, is it copper? Tha other style is compression, it has a small copper ferrule? If it is compression you need to change the ferrules . There is a puller..or you can use a hack saw blade fine tooth, careful not to nick copper tube.....can you post a photo?

[Rick Lee]

I'm so exhausted, I don't care if the house floods - I'm not touching this again for a few days. The lines coming from the wall have no threads - just the nut and compression ferrule. I had to Dremel the old ferrules off, but didn't nick the pipes. Then I retaped everything, installed all new hardware and it seemed to be fine. We just came back from dinner and there's a very tiny drip, like a small drop every 45-60 sec. I'll snug it down some more, but not tonight. What a miserable job this was.

[john70t]

Originally Posted by Baz

Rick - this is what I use.....

I used to use that stuff on tractor/trailer air lines.
Much high pressures than water mains.
Let set an hour, good to go.

If it's after the 1/4 turn valve, you might as well glue it.
Those only last 5-10 years anyways before they freeze up to corrosion.

[look 171]

Rick, you have a compression fitting. You gotta crank it down a bit to stop the leak, so give it a go. Is that the only place that's leaking, the compression nut and the pipe? Do not over tighten the supply lines or they will leak over time. Hand snug as much as you can and give it another 1/4to 1/2 turn and leave it be and come back and check in a couple of days. Over tightening destroys the rubber seal.

[Cajundaddy]

Compression fittings are often the ones to bite you. The tubing needs to be de-burred and completely clean and round. Sometimes it will get dinged or flat-spotted and won't seal. Once you are sure the tubing is clean, Use a fresh ferrule, bottom the tubing into your threaded fitting, lube the threads with a little silicone lube, and then hand-tight plus 1.5-2 turns. No teflon tape or sealant is needed if the tubing is clean and round because the ferrule makes the seal..

[look 171]

Oh, no need for any pipe dope or teflon tape. As they say, do it dry.

[Rick Lee]

I put a bowl under it and an hour later there was less than 1/4 tsp. of water in it. So I'll ride this out for a few days before I get down there again. I'm so beat. I got a new amp this morning and haven't even been able to play but about an hour today.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

The lines coming from the wall have no threads - just the nut and compression ferrule. I had to Dremel the old ferrules off, but didn't nick the pipes. Then I retaped everything, installed all new hardware and it seemed to be fine.

Did you put new ferrules on exactly where the old ferrules were located?
When under compression, the ferrules will make the OD of the pipe slightly smaller. Putting a new one on exactly where the old one was probably wont seal no matter how tight you make it.
Cut back the copper to remove the ferrule and slide another on.
I don't use tape or pipe dope on compression fittings.

[carmad]

I have used these in the past, work great, when I could not get compression fitting to stop leaking.
Plumbing Supplies: Plumbing Fittings, PEX Fittings, Parts & Products Online

[peppy]

+1 on the shark bites. I don't use compression fittings any more.

[JavaBrewer]

We're talking compression fittings right? Wow I never had a problem.

- remove old section of pipe where old fitting lived
- sand paper the copper pipe to clean it up
- install compression fitting and water lines and lightly tighten
- turn on water
- tighten fitting using two wrenches (one on nut and other on fitting) till the water stops leaking

I admit getting the right access to do those steps can be a challenge. I loathe working on plumbing but generally have success if I follow the steps correctly.

[plumb4u2]

as stated you can NOT cut the ferrule off and put new one in its place

the copper needs to be cut and new ferrule installed

[island911]

Originally Posted by peppy

+1 on the shark bites. I don't use compression fittings any more.

+2 They are pricey, but make quick work of any job.