Leaking gate valve

[Khmer86]

Hello fellow reefer! I need help with my leaking gate valve. I re-did my plumbing and just finished gluing all my pvc but noticed a slow leak inside where the handle is. I would hate to break it down and redo it but before I do that, is there any miracle chance I could take off the handle and see what is the cause of the leak? With the valve open, the handle feels loose and wiggle a bit but with the gate closed, the handle is sturdy without any movement. Please help and thanks in advance!!

[Khmer86]

Here is the exact point where the leak is coming from

[coralbandit]

Try to tighten the screw on the handle .
If that doesn't work I would take it apart and see if the washer/oring is screwed up...
That leak is 'inside' the valve making it seem more like a seal inside....

[Khmer86]

Thanks coral bandit, the screw on the handle is tight but I hope it's a seal or o ring that can be replaced instead of replacing the whole gate valve

[Goldguru]

the stem seal on a valve like that will only be an O-ring under/inside the body nut.
close valve snug,loosen handle screw.
open valve a full turn or more,remove handle.
undo the body nut & unscrew/open valve fully untill stem/body nut assembly comes free of the body.
slide stem from body nut & inspect shaft & seal.
seal will be inside body nut.
standard O-rings from hardware or auto parts stores for replacement.
be very carefull not to scratch the LAND which the O-ring resides in when attempting to "pick" the O-ring from Its Land groove.
look closely @ the LAND grove with O-ring removed for casting line or other iregularities.
check the stem for scores or scratches.
install new O-ring with a drop or 2 of WD40 (fish oil) apply to stem as well.
rotate stem & body nut as you are reassembling the stem to body nut.
reinstall into valve following the removal proceedure.
Good luck

[Khmer86]

That is a very detailed instructions and is exactly the answer I was trying to find, thank you goldguru!! I will try it out and hope it's easy fix

[offended_fish]

goldguru did an amazing job of explaining exactly how to fix the hate valve. But as future reference just use a ball valve. I am a plumber and on any work we do we never instal gate valves they always seem to break and wear. This is because of the rubber gasket they have. As a ball valve does not have any gasket.

[Khmer86]

Offended_fish - I agree that goldguru explained it perfectly. When I purchased this tank and stand the plumbing was already built and I was fairly new to the saltwater hobby so I just left it the way the previous owner did since he had years of experience and his upgraded tank was phenomenal. I had this tank for about 4 years now

[Khmer86]

But I did changed the 29 gallon sump and modified the 40 gallon breeder tank...it was 5 inches too wide to fit so I broke down the tank cut 5 inches and resealed the tank happiest and successful diy I performed so far. It's Been over 6 months now and no leak to the newly modified sump

[offended_fish]

That's awesome! I have freshwater my self and I'm not to knowledgeable on the saltwater side. But maybe you could help me out with your diy skills. I have a 120 gallon and I have been trying to get it leveled for a while. so here's the story. I ordered a tank to fit my stand because I was given a stand and a tank with a crack in it no one locally was able to repair or replace the panel that had a crack in it. Of the tank came a half inch too large for the stand. there for I had to get a piece of plywood and waterproof it so I could put it on top of the stand then put the tank on top of that I wasn't able to set the tank up because I knew I would be moving soon but now I'm living in my new place and I can't seem to get the tank to sit on the stand evenly. The wood was bowed slightly so I took 2 inch screws and drill the piece of plywood into the original stand this pulled the plywood flush against the stand but the tank still doesn't sit on the wood flush.

[Khmer86]

That sounds like a frustrating issue and I was in your shoes when I convinced my friend to switch to saltwater hobby. His stand does not sit flush either and no matter what we tried it never became a permanent fix so I advised my friend to build a stand ourselves and we carefully measured everything perfectly and it looks great!! If you are willing to build a stand...I got the idea from uarujoey on YouTube where he built a stand and canopy and he shows his step in great detail

[Khmer86]

Here is the 55 gallon build of the stand for his freshwater tank before he converted to saltwater

[offended_fish]

That does look great! And fairly cheep! I also have a sump and stuff I would need to hide but I could totally do that. I think I'm going to do that.

[Khmer86]

It is Cheap and with patience and help, overall it is worth it and at the end you're going to say to yourself...yep I built this on my own. Most of everything I learned and built is from YouTube and online forums you will not regret building it yourself