Hose bib
This is the page where I show you step by step of how a plumber will remove an old dripping hose bib and solder on
a new one. What you will find here is an amazing amount of pictures (approximately 44) so I hope you noticed the
warning on the lessons page. The plumber starts out with seeing that the hose bib won't stop leaking when he turns off the
handle. When he removes the stem to examine the possibility of changing the washer he notices that the handle stem is slightly
stripped and decides it would be better to replace the hose bib than attempt to fix it. In this case the hose bib is the sweat
type instead of the screw type.
Highlights of this lesson
After he tightens the handle he determines it is not going to stop dripping, heck the customer knew that.
Okay so he unscrews the packing nut with the blue handled channel lock pliers.
He knows he has to unscrew the handle as he unscrews the packing nut so he does both simultaneously.
After a little resistance he gets it with a good tug
He examines the washer and notices the threads are worn.
He notices it is still dripping so again he tightens the gate valve to shut it down.
Time to start soldering so he gets out the sandcloth to get the paint off from where he will seperate the existing hose bib.
Here we see him getting the sandcloth wet so that it keeps the paint dust to a minimum. This is the beauty of open mesh sand cloth
you can get it wet without compromising its performance. Unlike regular sand paper.
The hex part of the hose bib and a spot of old solder is in the way to sand any further so he gets out the torch. He uses map gas
and a turbo tip to get maximum heat.
Okay this is going to take all day because there is too much water trapped in the hose bib. Time to get the sawzall out and put an end to that
little dilema.
This demonstates a very important plumbing principle. Water seeks it's own level. In other words water will spread out evenly
according to it's own mass or supply. So don't ever think that you might just have a little water trapped. You need to look at
the piping closely to understand just how much water you may be dealing with in a given situation.
Getting through this brass is not tough with a new metal cut blade. Using a reciprocal saw like this one is a science in itself. The
biggest tip is not to bind the blade and always use sharp blades.
Once that is done it's back to the torch and gently using the pliers so that he doesn't compromise the shape of the pipe.
It only takes about a minute this time and the fitting comes right out.
He prepares the new piece of pipe and existing fitting by cleaning and then brushes on some flux.
Rather than configure all of the pieces now he uses a long piece of pipe to make this solder joint. He has to be careful
here not to let the pipe sag which will make his solder uneven.
Holding the flame on the lower side of the fitting he starts his solder at the top, watching closely to see it flow all the way around the
pipe.
Making final touches with a little flux cleaning. Not shown here is the plumber wiping his brush off with a paper cloth so he doesn't
get the rest of the can of flux dirty.
Now he cuts the pipe to the size he needs to accomodate the fitting that will hold the hose bibs.
Going around and around with the tubing cutters.
Some people call these wheel cutters.
Once that is done it's back to cleaning the pipe end with the sand cloth.
Now it's time to use the other part of the wheel cutter. The reamer, to get the grooved part of the pipe out. Leaving the pipe tapered
will create turbulance when the water flows through it which will restrict flow and shorten the life of the pipe. This is a big
deal folks and a lesson in itself I hope to illustrate in detail at another time.
Back to top.
The gloves come in handy here when checking the inside of the pipe because it can be razor sharp.
Now it's time to put the configuration together.
He slips on the tee and it actually goes to far. If the pipe remains in this far it will create problems. Usually there is a built in stop
in fittings that won't allow this.
He brings it back to where it should be.
He puts on the female adapters and gets ready to solder again.
Same as before he holds the heat below where he intends the solder to flow to. Heat rises.
After letting the fittings cool down he applies teflon tape to the threads of the hose bibs before he screws them on.
After screwing on by hand until it is hand tight, he uses his smooth face open end wrenches. One two tighten with the other to hold the
other part of the piping so that it doesn't get stressed. This is another big deal. Notice, he does'nt apply pressure to the
other fittings when tightening the hosebib.
Back to top.
He finishes up tightening the hose bib. One crucial part of plumbing is getting screwed joints tight but not too tight.
It would be nice to have calibration tools like mechanics but so far plumbing hasn't been that exact in its techniques. Rule of thumb
on fittings this size is using 2 ten inch open wrenches will do it with a maximum of force. Now I know the force will vary
with the user but you will know when
you can't get another turn out of it and that's where you stop. Somewhere in the unwritten code of plumbing you should give it one
full rotation after hand tight but I usually keep going until it stops. There are exceptions to this as when I am working with
compression fittings or on parts of a fixture. In those cases I will stick close to the one turn rule, or in some cases 1/4 turn. If there is
specific manufacturer's documentation on a specific job the plumber should go by those recommendations.
Taking pride in his work the plumber checks the position of the hose bib with a level.
Using a mild soap solution and then a clean water rinse
he drys the pipe off with a paper towel.
And voila the job is complete.
After he tightens the handle he determines it is not going to stop dripping, heck the customer knew that.
1st thing to do is shut the water off to the house so he can remove the stem. If this shut off valve won't do the trick he will
need to use the shut off at the meter.
He knows he has to unscrew the handle as he unscrews the packing nut so he does both simultaneously.
After a little resistance he gets it with a good tug
He examines the washer and notices the threads are worn.
Time to start soldering so he gets out the sandcloth to get the paint off from where he will seperate the existing hose bib.
Here we see him getting the sandcloth wet so that it keeps the paint dust to a minimum. This is the beauty of open mesh sand cloth
you can get it wet without compromising its performance. Unlike regular sand paper.
The hex part of the hose bib and a spot of old solder is in the way to sand any further so he gets out the torch. He uses map gas
and a turbo tip to get maximum heat.
Okay this is going to take all day because there is too much water trapped in the hose bib. Time to get the sawzall out and put an end to that
little dilema.
This demonstates a very important plumbing principle. Water seeks it's own level. In other words water will spread out evenly
according to it's own mass or supply. So don't ever think that you might just have a little water trapped. You need to look at
the piping closely to understand just how much water you may be dealing with in a given situation.
Getting through this brass is not tough with a new metal cut blade. Using a reciprocal saw like this one is a science in itself. The
biggest tip is not to bind the blade and always use sharp blades.
Once that is done it's back to the torch and gently using the pliers so that he doesn't compromise the shape of the pipe.
It only takes about a minute this time and the fitting comes right out.
He prepares the new piece of pipe and existing fitting by cleaning and then brushes on some flux.
Rather than configure all of the pieces now he uses a long piece of pipe to make this solder joint. He has to be careful
here not to let the pipe sag which will make his solder uneven.
Holding the flame on the lower side of the fitting he starts his solder at the top, watching closely to see it flow all the way around the
pipe.
Making final touches with a little flux cleaning. Not shown here is the plumber wiping his brush off with a paper cloth so he doesn't
get the rest of the can of flux dirty.
Now he cuts the pipe to the size he needs to accomodate the fitting that will hold the hose bibs.
Going around and around with the tubing cutters.
Some people call these wheel cutters.
Once that is done it's back to cleaning the pipe end with the sand cloth.
Now it's time to use the other part of the wheel cutter. The reamer, to get the grooved part of the pipe out. Leaving the pipe tapered
will create turbulance when the water flows through it which will restrict flow and shorten the life of the pipe. This is a big
deal folks and a lesson in itself I hope to illustrate in detail at another time.
Back to top.
The gloves come in handy here when checking the inside of the pipe because it can be razor sharp.
Now it's time to put the configuration together.
He slips on the tee and it actually goes to far. If the pipe remains in this far it will create problems. Usually there is a built in stop
in fittings that won't allow this.
He brings it back to where it should be.
He puts on the female adapters and gets ready to solder again.
Same as before he holds the heat below where he intends the solder to flow to. Heat rises.
After letting the fittings cool down he applies teflon tape to the threads of the hose bibs before he screws them on.
After screwing on by hand until it is hand tight, he uses his smooth face open end wrenches. One two tighten with the other to hold the
other part of the piping so that it doesn't get stressed. This is another big deal. Notice, he does'nt apply pressure to the
other fittings when tightening the hosebib.
He finishes up tightening the hose bib. One crucial part of plumbing is getting screwed joints tight but not too tight.
It would be nice to have calibration tools like mechanics but so far plumbing hasn't been that exact in its techniques. Rule of thumb
on fittings this size is using 2 ten inch open wrenches will do it with a maximum of force. Now I know the force will vary
with the user but you will know when
you can't get another turn out of it and that's where you stop. Somewhere in the unwritten code of plumbing you should give it one
full rotation after hand tight but I usually keep going until it stops. There are exceptions to this as when I am working with
compression fittings or on parts of a fixture. In those cases I will stick close to the one turn rule, or in some cases 1/4 turn. If there is
specific manufacturer's documentation on a specific job the plumber should go by those recommendations.
Taking pride in his work the plumber checks the position of the hose bib with a level.