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So I was troubleshooting why my outdoor water flow is so weak, and under the sink that is on the opposite side of the spigot, there's this. It leaks. Badly. Problem is it doesn't seem to want to stop leaking. I've tried turning and tightening, but to no avail. It also does not come off.
The copper pipe goes up to the sink faucet. That's all I know though. I've shut off water until I can figure this out.
Question is, what in the yellow hell is it and how can I get it to stop leaking?
Unfortunately, because my computer is on it's death bed, I am using my phone. The photo isn't clear when I enlarge it, so I'm of little help.
I have an old house with issues similar to yours where I can't tighten/loosen connections, because they are so old. I also don't have the strength, sometimes not the right tool and/or I'm afraid I'll break it and be worse off!
Anyway, I would take as many pictures as you can, them take the pictures to a home improvement store or neighborhood hardware store. They will likely be able to tell you how to fix it and have the right tools for the job. My only other suggestions are to solder the leak (since it's copper piping) or call a plumber.
I also had a guy friend who lives hundreds of miles away help me over the phone with a plumbing issue. I would take a picture, text it to him, and he would tell me what to do next.
It looks like a shut-off valve for something. Does the sink have a separate sprayer attachment or something? If the leak is coming from that fixture, it will probably need to come off and be replaced. If you can't get it off, a plumber is needed. If you use too much strength getting it off, you could break the pipe and then you'd need a plumber even more.
It is a cold water shutoff with a saddle valve for an icemaker or some such in back of it. I would replace both. It appears that there might be a female pipe thread on the valve part leading to the wall. If it was copper, it would likely be soldered on.
If I am seeing correctly, loosen the nut there and the one in the lower right of the red circle, saw the small copper tubing close to the saddle valve. Remove the valve, saddle valve and flex hose as a unit. Hi thee down to a plumbing place or big box store, show them the mess in your hand and have them replace it and give you some teflon tape and instructions on how to re-attach. You might want to use a 5 gal bucket under the spot and a deflector, then burp the water main open briefly to clear out any crud in the line before putting in the new assembly.
Guy at Lowe's identified it, problem is everything is either soldered or rusted in place. With no wiggle room I'm not making progress.
The leak is room the knob. Apparently in the 80's they figured a rubber stopper on the knob would be perfect. Rubber appears to have broken. They don't make that part anymore.
Time to call in plumber on this one. Thanks for the replies.
It is a cold water shutoff with a saddle valve for an icemaker or some such in back of it. I would replace both. It appears that there might be a female pipe thread on the valve part leading to the wall. If it was copper, it would likely be soldered on.
If I am seeing correctly, loosen the nut there and the one in the lower right of the red circle, saw the small copper tubing close to the saddle valve. Remove the valve, saddle valve and flex hose as a unit. Hi thee down to a plumbing place or big box store, show them the mess in your hand and have them replace it and give you some teflon tape and instructions on how to re-attach. You might want to use a 5 gal bucket under the spot and a deflector, then burp the water main open briefly to clear out any crud in the line before putting in the new assembly.
Harry is correct that the "yellow handled thingy" is infact the cold water supply valve for the faucet. He is further correct that the cold water line has a junky saddle valve type tap to supply the instant hot water. The other connections under the sink are a hot water for the faucet and another supply for the dishwasher. Those look to have a clearplastic valve handle and metal valve handle respectively.
To fix this you will need to TURN OFF THE WATER TO THE WHOLE HOUSE as these kind of supply valves would otherwise not be replaceable.
If you are going to do this right it would also be wise to get 1/4 turn shutoff valves with appropriate fittings so the mess of adapters was eliminated. That will prevent leaks from developing in these cobbed-together DIY lines and make other changes down the road much easier.
YOU DO NOT WANT TO CUT A SUPPLY PIPE BEHIND THE VALVES WHILE THE WATER IS STILL ON!
Further if the valves use compression fitting you do not use teflon tape on them.
Plumber came and knocked it out in an hour. One piece flow valve to the sink with copper tubing to the instant hot water dealie. From the 80's as I surmised ("general contractor", he said). He had to install a new ball stop, 1/4 turn (yay) and a separate braided line for the hot water. Watching him work I could have done it if I could have gotten it off. Oh well. $300 tax write off I guess.
Plumber came and knocked it out in an hour. One piece flow valve to the sink with copper tubing to the instant hot water dealie. From the 80's as I surmised ("general contractor", he said). He had to install a new ball stop, 1/4 turn (yay) and a separate braided line for the hot water. Watching him work I could have done it if I could have gotten it off. Oh well. $300 tax write off I guess.
Thanks for identifying it. I couldn't make out where that line was running but noticed the box in the lower right corner and wondered if that had anything to do with it. Instant hot water. I like that idea better than the whole house unit.
I'm starting to wish that you could sue home inspectors.
So I'm swapping out the broken bathroom fan; it was barely functional when I walked through the home but figured it was just a stuck fan. It was...but the fan itself was halfway shattered, so when I did dislodge the problem, it vibrated horribly, and I disconnected it with intent to replace it.
From the attic I cleared the insulation out the way (it was literally buried under about a foot of insulation) and noticed water stains on the drywall near the unit. I figured it was pest urine, I didn't touch it. But I also noticed a pipe that was laying directly on top of the unit, in foam insulation, but still directly on top of this unit, stuck with some weird adhesive. Problem is, the unit was a fan WITH two heat lamps.
You see where I'm going with this.
Now that I've deduced that the "adhesive" was simply the melted material from when the heat lamp was run - and it's been in regular use since the 80's - I now am installing a non-heated unit (I see no point in the heated units anyway, the steam from the shower gets the room hot enough) in the old unit's place.
But in the burned away material I noticed a very slow drip. Tested and confirmed this pipe is running to the shower, so it doesn't leak when I run the shower. My concern is that this could very well have caused major issues with the electrical. It might be one of many reasons the house pops so many bulbs so easily. The inspector was in the attic and never mentioned anything about this setup which leads me to believe he didn't even look under the insulation. I'm half tempted to check all of the recessed lighting because they're in a similar state.
This photo is from the master bathroom looking directly up into the opening where the fan was. There's almost no give with that pipe, maybe a foot upward and half a foot to the left or right, from where it is.
My question is, how can I relocate this pipe to a safer location in the attic so it doesn't continue to be a fire hazard? Or is it a job better left to a plumber? I can call the same guy who fixed the kitchen valve but I'd have to take time off work since I'm not paying another $50 "Saturday fee".
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Correct on the identification WRONG on the fix!!!
