How Do I Loosen A Ball Valve’s Stiff Handle?
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at
3:39 pm
I recently bought a 2″ PCV ball valve adapter thing to connect two pipes. This is not for plumbing purposes, but I’m making a potato cannon for a project, so are there any methods to make it easier to turn? IN THIS CASE, A STIFF HANDLE IS NOT GOOD.
Tagged with: Ball • Handle • Loosen • Stiff • Valves
Filed under: Articles-Home Repair
The best way I can think of is to spray all the moving parts with lube and work the handle repeatedly (constantly adding oil) until you get the desired stiffness.
Ball valves are supposed to have a nice tight fit so water doesnt leak through when closed. You can try a little never-seez but thats pretty expensive. You can also try a little graphite. NO guarantees though.
spray wd 40 inside and work the handel back and forth
I am not sure about a PVC ball valve but I know a brass ball valve has a packing nut under the handle. You can take off the handleon a brass ball valve and see a small nut there, loosen it about 1/4 turn, the valve will turn easier, but don’t back it off so far it leaks there. You can try that on a PVC ball valve but I am not sure if it has a packing nut or not, Best of luck.