How to unstick a frozen ball valve

[Rudy]

I went today to check the anodes on my 80 gallon hot water tank. When I went to close the 2 inch ball valve that feeds it.....FROZEN.

I removed the regular handle, and used a Crescent wrench to gently rock the stem back and forth. The stem moves a little each way....so it's not frozen. The interior ball has to be what is stuck. I'm worried if I apply to much pressure, the stem will break.

And.....Of course, it's located where it'll have to be cut out and replaced with unions (if it doesn't come loose).

Any ideas on how to get this thing free?

 

[MEP001]

The ball valve body threads together in the middle. I had one stick closed while checking something and couldn't get it open, ended up breaking the stem off. Luckily that one doesn't need the handle to seal, and there was a union I could break loose, then I was able to loosen the valve body up a little and get it open. If you can't do that, you'll have to replace it.

Only use Nibco or another quality valve. The idiot who did the plumbing used cheap stuff. When I looked inside the valve later I saw the ball is badly corroded which is what made it stick.

It's not a difficult job to replace a ball valve on a straight line - there are slip unions with no stops in the middle so you can cut out just the valve and a few inches of pipe on either side. If it's close to a wall, get an exhaust pipe cutoff tool from Harbor Freight for $8.

 

[Earl Weiss]

You can try:

Spraying some WD 40 at the stem and letting it sit. Applying a small amount of heat with a torch. Put a wrench on the stem and tap so the vibrations loosen it. None of this will work if the insides are badly corroded.

 

[PaulLovesJamie]

I was told many years ago to open/close all ball valves a couple times a year to prevent it freezing up, after which your only choice is to replace the valve. I usually remember once a year - when I'm cleaning/testing my weep system in the fall.
Thats not helpful to you Rudy but maybe it will help others in the future.

 

[Rudy]

Thanks MEP for the idea about using sliding sleeves. I hadn't even considered that. I wasted a lot of time trying to figure out how I was going to "spread" the pipes wide enough to get unions to be able to slide in. Besides that....have you priced copper/brass fittings lately...especially 2"?

This idea just cut hours off of the repair.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

This works great.
You can get it at Home Depot or Lowes.
I also use it on locks that won't open.

http://www.blastercorp.com/

 

[MEP001]

I doubt any lubricant is going to help, but it isn't going to hurt. I'll post a picture of what happens to a ball valve that makes it stick and you'll see why.

Some of them also have a seal that's held in by the handle, so lubricant won't get in. If you think about taking the handle off to spray it, you should probably turn off the water to everything first.

 

[mjwalsh]

And.....Of course, it's located where it'll have to be cut out and replaced with unions (if it doesn't come loose).

Rudy & others,

http://jetswetstore.com/?gclid=Cj0K...DerLnsz25nvyazBUzr7L8s3b2G0fSCeDtwaAsIS8P8HAQ

The above toolkit has been a great help to us for over 8 years now ... if the unions are to prevent steam pressure during copper soldering it might be practical to find a friend who can borrow it to you. 2 inch copper tends to require more heat ... sometimes a small torch on 2 sides .. or one good Acetylene with the right flame. 2 inch copper unions are very expensive & can be a pain sometimes to seal perfectly.

With the toolkit we usually can avoid unions as it prevents steam going into the "work in progress" soldering of the copper fittings together.

mike walsh www.kingkoin.com

 

[MEP001]

http://jetswetstore.com/?gclid=Cj0K...DerLnsz25nvyazBUzr7L8s3b2G0fSCeDtwaAsIS8P8HAQ

The above toolkit has been a great help to us for over 8 years now ... if the unions are to prevent steam pressure during copper soldering it might be practical to find a friend who can borrow it to you. 2 inch copper tends to require more heat ... sometimes a small torch on 2 sides .. or one good Acetylene with the right flame. 2 inch copper unions are very expensive & can be a pain sometimes to seal perfectly.

With the toolkit we usually can avoid unions as it prevents steam going into the "work in progress" soldering of the copper fittings together.

mike walsh www.kingkoin.com

That's not what the kit is for. It's to stop a small flow of water reaching the fittings being sweated during the work. If any water at all hits the fitting, it won't seal. A loaf of bread works just as well. As far as pressure, you don't solder copper fittings without an escape route for the heated air.

This approx. $40 torch with MAPP gas will solder 2" fittings:

 

[MEP001]

Corroded ball valve I had to loosen the body to get open after breaking off the handle:

 

[Earl Weiss]

Just had 2 water tanks with 2" copper replaced. Plumber used Crimp on Copper fittings. No more sweating.