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| jarrin > My House | |
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Plumbed!
12/13/2005 1:35 PM
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I closed the hot-water shut-off valve and discovered that it was hella-leaky. But since it didn't leak in either the fully open or fully closed position I opted to fight that battle another day.
I quickly realized that my Leatherman, alone, was not sufficient for the battle so I called in reinforcements: all twenty-pounds of my tool box containing a number of sockets, pliers and no less than two vise-grips. I quickly disassembled the entire assembly and discovered that everything looked just fine. If the tap was working perfectly then the problem was somewhere more complicated and I was going to have retreat and conduct more surveillance. I reassembled everything, turned the water back on and tested it. It worked great! Hot water came rushing out of the faucet just as
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That's when I called in an air strike. In this case, the air strike consisted of me rummaging in my workshop until I found something that would likely seal up any gaps in the plastic pieces. My savior was a small tube of ACE TFE Paste (Pipe Thread Compound). I can't remember why I bought this or what project I used it on, but it said "Use on water" and "will not harm seals of valves or faucets". Good enough for me!
I returned to the battlefield, redisassembled everything again and liberally applied the TFE paste to the workings of the quarter-turn valve. My infantry screwed everything back together and discovered that, this time, complete and total victory was mine. I gathered up my ammunition, cleaned up the work zone and was able to wash my hands and brush my teeth in a veritable fountain of hot water.
Oh, luxury!
ACE TFE Paste - Pipe Thread Compound