What's the best way to deal with gate valves that don't turn completely off. None of mine do and it makes plum

I have spent the better part of 15 years opening and closing gate valves of sizes from 1/4 inch to 100 inches. Generally there are only a few reasons that they leak. Either the seat (plastic gasket where the gate slides into) has been damaged by someone closing it too hard or there is something stuck in there. Depending on the size you will want to open the gate completely and then reclose the gate slowly. this will flush any muck out that has accumulated at the bottom. When you reclose the valve, close it completely and you will feel it "seat" when that happens back off the valve about 1/4 turn to keep it from ruining the seal.



If for some reason it is too far gone and you can to a union to get it off, you may be able to get an inflatable plug in the line while you change it out. They are available at most do it yourself places and can be hooked up to a compressor.



Good luck!

What's the best way to deal with gate valves that don't turn completely off. None of mine do and it makes plum
Gate valves do not have washers they normally have a metal plug the screws in and out the most common cause of not shutting off is a build up of sludge under the valve take it to pieces and clean it out
Reply:your best bet is to change to ball valves but if you cant then keep working the gate and maybe you will luck out
Reply:It is called a gate valve because you close a gate when you turn it off. If you look at the shape of the valve you will see a recess where the gate fits into on the bottom. What happens is this recess gets dirt accumalating in it after a while and the gate fails to close completely. You can replce them for new, or remove them, and clean them out
Reply:Gate valves fail because the slot that the gate goes into to shut off the flow gets filled with deposits. The gate cannot seat properly when this happens. When faced with "having" to install a gate valve, I place the handle horizontally to avoid this. Ball valves are the best thing to use though.
Reply:Replace the gate valves .Sell the plums to pay for it.
Reply:Happy Plum. Change Gates To Balls.
Reply:Gate valves are just plain bad. Replace them with 1/4 turn ball valves.
Reply:domestic gate valves are ok if they are installed on a vertical line as any sludge tends to flow through rather than stop

for horizontal lines ball valves are better

if you need to maintain good flow get full flow ball valves (gate valves are good because they offer little resistance to flow as the moving part is out of the way when the valve is open)