Desperate for Brnz. Seacock Help

[redsky49]

Originally Posted by witzgall

When i worked as a service manager, the rule was no more than 10 minutes, then cut off the thru-hull. When taking into consideration the hourly rate, it was cheaper then working an out to get it off.

Chris

Agreed. In hindsight I wasted too much time trying to coax the cone out. For once, a bigger "hammer" worked a trick.


In my case, the thru hulls seemed to be quite robust and had lost little, if any, material. They also were a happy yellow color and had not suffered from dezincification.


Once the stuck seacocks were free from the boat, a rap on the threaded end knocked the cone right out. Here is one of the previously stuck seacocks, cleaned and lapped, and ready for grease and reinstallation. The pic was taken late in the day. The bronze is actually a yellow color.


Thanks to everyone for their input.

[redsky49]

To correct any misunderstandings, the purpose of lapping the valve is to eliminate the shiny spots where friction has polished the surfaces, and to reduce the gap between the tapered cone and the seacock body, thus reducing the chance of leaks.


The lapped surface has a matte finish with slight grinding marks visible (depending on the abrasive level of the lapping compound) upon inspection.


Here is a pic of a seacock being lapped. You can see the left side of the cone has a 1/2" band of lapped surface, and a 1" wide lapped surface on the right side. The valve body has matching lapped surfaces on the bore. The middle of the cone is just starting to show lap marks.


I hope this clears up any questions.

[Orion Jim]

That seacock should be replaced. The cone is “wasp waisted” and it will always leak.

[sanibel sailor]

Originally Posted by Orion Jim

That seacock should be replaced. The cone is “wasp waisted” and it will always leak.

Disagree. While you cannot tell central narrowing from the picture, I think you are seeing the hole thru the center. The fact that it has lapping marks in the middle suggests it is just fine. Even with some corrosion, they hold OK if well greased.

[sdowney717]

Originally Posted by redsky49

Agreed. In hindsight I wasted too much time trying to coax the cone out. For once, a bigger "hammer" worked a trick.


In my case, the thru hulls seemed to be quite robust and had lost little, if any, material. They also were a happy yellow color and had not suffered from dezincification.


Once the stuck seacocks were free from the boat, a rap on the threaded end knocked the cone right out. Here is one of the previously stuck seacocks, cleaned and lapped, and ready for grease and reinstallation. The pic was taken late in the day. The bronze is actually a yellow color.


Thanks to everyone for their input.

I would silver braze the broken handle back on, it will easily braze and be like new.
I have a torch, and I am not afraid to use it.
That is a good quality sea-cock.

[onestepcsy37]

we had seven wc seacocks on our csy 37. the previous owner probably hadn't serviced them in ten years. six came apart reasonably easy. one wouldn't budge. fortunately it was pretty accessible.


i eventually got it open with a gear puller. soaked the heck out of the body with the usual solvents - pb blaster, wd40, etc - then applied pressure with the gear puller and let it sit. every day i would soak it some more and put another turn on the handle of the gear puller. on the fifth day i was working on something else when i heard a loud bang. went to check and sure enough the cone was out.



the seacock that was stuck was the head overboard discharge. don't know if that's significant or not.


wilcox crittenden seacocks are the best, but need to be taken care of.

[j.g.evans]

I was able to remove a similar sea cock by grinding off the flange on the outside. I have a 1.5 “ spare identicalsea cock. Won,t be home until March. Jim

[sanibel sailor]

Drain screws are 10-24 bronze

[Sailorboy3]

I have Blake’s bronze sea cocks in my boat and had the same issue (mine had no handle to start with and we’re completely seized)

I found that the easiest way was to remove them from the hull, remove any retaining nuts to in theory free up the cone. I then put the whole thing in a vice, heated it with a heat gun (could also use blow torch) then used a metal bar and small club hammer to tap the cone out of the housing.

For renovating I used valve grinding paste for engines and lapped the cone back into the housing. I then cleaned it up and used Blake’s sea cock grease to build it back up.

You can heat the seacocks in the hull but have to be very careful not to damage the hull. Constant cooling would be recommended. Or preferably remove them from the hull completely.

Hope this helps

[sdowney717]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

we had seven wc seacocks on our csy 37. the previous owner probably hadn't serviced them in ten years. six came apart reasonably easy. one wouldn't budge. fortunately it was pretty accessible.


i eventually got it open with a gear puller. soaked the heck out of the body with the usual solvents - pb blaster, wd40, etc - then applied pressure with the gear puller and let it sit. every day i would soak it some more and put another turn on the handle of the gear puller. on the fifth day i was working on something else when i heard a loud bang. went to check and sure enough the cone was out.



the seacock that was stuck was the head overboard discharge. don't know if that's significant or not.


wilcox crittenden seacocks are the best, but need to be taken care of.

A propane torch to expand the outer housing would have gotten it apart easier.

[Jimmyhenry]

Replace all the thru hulls with plastic. If this one has failed the others will probably fail short order.

[Bill Seal]

Some thoughts:
First of all, his seacock didn't "fail", it was frozen in the open position. I'd rather have a frozen bronze one than a broken plastic one.
I have a frozen one with a broken handle like that, I think I'll make a puller using a 1/2" aluminum plate bored out to slip over the fat end of the cone and seat on the body and a couple of threaded rods to a plate to push (pull) on the loosened nut on the back side, sort of like a steering wheel puller.

[Jimmyhenry]

I guess the answer lies in the type of plastic fitting. The marine ones are up to survey standard. I have been using for over 30 years. I doubt I could break one.
They never seize. They never corrode. They do not require maintenance.
I think the bronze ones are okay if you maintain them and are religious with the sacrificial anodes.
Not for me though.

[capt.tmb]

Try to loosen the nut on the opposite side of the handle. Before you try hitting it with anything put a bung in it from the outside of the hull. Fill the seacock with vinegar and let it sit for a few hours. Remove the bung and rinse with warm water; Tap lightly on the nut that you previously loosened and try to turn the valve. Repeat process if needed.

[CFS Klopas]

Is there a high risk of snapping something by sliding a pipe on your wrench handle to increase the torque? That's how I have had the best success with stuck bolts and a stuck seacock, but I may have been lucky.