Leaky old gas valve, now what?

[240sxguy]

Alright, with the help of you guys I got the gas lines installed to the garage without any problem. I left the old shutoff in the utility room and added a shutoff behind the heater.

The old shutoff is leaking. What is the solution here? Another shutoff? Or pull it and put a union in? Or can I repair the old valve? Its the type that has the bolt that goes all the way through with a nut on the opposite side from the handle.

This valve was not leaking when I bought the house, I was here when they did the inspection.

Thanks guys.

Evan

 

[rickairmedic]

Evan yank it and put in a union no need for 2 shutoffs .

Rick

 

[35mastr]

That old style valve is just going to continue to leak.Pull it and use the union.

 

[240sxguy]

Thanks Rick!!!

Project is coming along nicely. Wiring is all finished so I now have an outlet above the heater AND my drill press. No more dragging out extension cords for that thing now. Yes!

Now, to get some vent pipe! Thank god its pretty warm right now (oddly enough) so I can work on it.

Evan

 

[240sxguy]

My basement has several of these, should I test them all for leaks with the foaming solution?

 

[35mastr]

It would not hurt.I would just swap them out to newer style valves.

 

[rickairmedic]

Yep pretty much what 35 said . Just replace them they are cheap relatively speaking .


Rick

 

[Gary S]

Many of the old gas valves no longer meet building codes. If you have a leak, or even suspect a leak, replace it with an approved one while you still have a house and garage.

 

[Yak22]

240's huh? Ka24 or sr?

 

[240sxguy]

Yak, RB25DET.. with a t3/t04e turbo etc... its my daily driver actually.

Guys, I swapped that leaky valve for a union and finished the installation yesterday. It came out really well. Thanks for everyones help. That heater size is more than adequate for what I need it for. I am currently uninsulated and it had no problem raising the garage temps 30f.

Evan

 

[rickairmedic]

Evan thats good to hear once you insulate you'll be out there in shorts a tank top and flip flops .

Rick

 

[kbs2244]

That style of valve has tapered internals.
You should have loosened the nut, and taped the end of the bolt up into the body of the valve a bit, before you ever turned it.
If you didn't and just forced it, you may have scratched the internals to the point that it will no longer seal.
Before you replace it, try loosing the nut and turning in on and off a few times.
Then set it the way you want and tighten the nut.
You may get lucky.

 

[240sxguy]

I never turned it, it leaked right off the bat. It was a redundant valve, and un-needed so I just installed a union there.

Thanks for the tip, hopefully someone else will run across this and find it useful.

Evan