Sunday, May 26, 2019

A Leaky Garden Hose Faucet


This whimsical turtle-handled faucet has begun leaking badly around its stem.


It leaks worst when it's shut off with a pressurized hose attached. The back pressure from the hose forces water past the stem's gland.

Stem leak aside, the faucet was due for a new washer. I took the faucet apart and replaced the washer. Here's a view of that with the old washer alongside.


I don't have a replacement for the stem's gland, but I do have an assortment of O-rings. So, let's try something -- an O-ring on the stem to go under the gland, like so.


I reassembled that with silicone grease applied, and it partly worked. The O-ring works as a stem seal, but the gland nut's thread leaks.


So, let's try an additional O-ring -- a bigger one for the perimeter of the gland nut.


That appears to be working. Here's the revised faucet with a pressurized hose attached.


We'll see how that holds up.

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