Posted earlier about a different problem with a new bathcock for a clawfoot tub.

I replaced the old beveled-end elbow connectors, as suggested, with flat-face-end and gasket elbow connectors. I also removed the new faucet to check to see if the shanks had cracked from trying to use it with the old beveled ends. No cracks were found.

Unfortunately, the cold water connection continues to leak, badly. The tub is in a corner and I cannot see what is happening, only feel the water -- which is leaking from the place where the gasket meets the end of the shank.

1. Home Depot suggested wrapping the shank ends with plumber's tape first. Will this be enough to stop the leak? Also, do I need to tighten the nut more, or maybe I had over-tightened it before?

2. There are surface imperfections -- shallow pitting -- on the metal flat-face ends from the parts being cheaply made in China. Could this be the problem, and these new elbow connectors need to be exchanged?

3. I used small amounts of Crazy Glue to hold the gaskets in place on the metal flat faces while installing the elbow connectors since it can be a struggle to find the threads on the shanks, particularly the cold one, and I don't want the gaskets to drop off. Could the glue be disrupting the ability of the gasket to form a perfect seal?

Thanks again for everybody's help.



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#1 will do NOTHING to stop the leak
#3 should not be the problem, but,
#2 Will be a problem if the gasket is not soft enough to conform to the imperfections while still sealing the rest of the joint.
#4. remove the supply line and faucet and connect them to a garden hose. Then turn it on to see if it leaks, and if so, where.

Thank you for your quick reply, HJ.

Your last suggestion got me wondering if it would be possible to connect the shanks directly to the supply pipes using short FAUCET CONNECTOR HOSES that screw on over the threads at both ends. This would appear to negate the need to use any sort of elbow at all.

The width of the faucet shank is greater than the width of the supply pipe, but I have seen faucet connector hoses at Home Depot where one end's coupling is bigger than the other end's coupling to enable the connection of different-sized pipes.

Do you have access under the floor or through a wall where you could install ball valves? If this connection is so problematic and inaccessible, is it possible to make the drops out of Pex, and attach them to the bathcock, then cut them to length and attach them to the water lines. I think that if you had some access, you would be able to remedy the problem. I have to wonder if the problem isn't exactly what you think it is since both connectors are leaking at the same place irrespective of what type of connection you have installed. Maybe using a mirror, or a cell phone taking video would help. Just throwing some ideas out here.

Hi KCRoto. Thank you for the response.

Unfortunately, the bathtub and the bathroom it is in are situated in an otherwise inaccessible location. Behind the adjoining side wall is the basement stairwell. And the other wall, which the pipes are next to, is the exterior wall. As to your suggestion to make my own drops, I am afraid that may be beyond my limited skills. As much as I would like to call in a professional, money is very tight. It is a heck of a thing how having to replace a failed hot-water stem has spiraled into this, but it comes with living in an old house with antiquated plumbing.

My best hope is that I can hook up the faucet shanks to the existing supply pipes using FAUCET CONNECTOR HOSES with different-sized couplings at each end. Else, find better-quality flat-face and gasket elbows.



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The reason I mention it is because I wonder if you have a pinhole in the pipe near the junction of the supply and the elbow and not past. If the pinhole is large enough to spray, it can be spraying onto a higher surface and running down. I would consider cutting access from the stairwell.. The flex hoses would probably work fine.. but may not solve the problem if the leak is in the supply line itself.

I see what you are saying now. Unfortunately, not able to observe what is going on down there directly. From feeling with my hand, the leak appears to be coming from the juncture of the shank and the elbow, not the elbow and the supply pipe -- but I could be wrong about this. Never had a leak there before with the old faucet, but I suppose the end of the supply pipe could have been damaged during the removal process.

Hitherto, I had considered the main problem to be that I could not get behind the tub to see if the shank and elbow were meeting up properly to form a good seal.

I don't suppose there would be an easy fix even if I could see that it is a pinhole: No way to tape or seal it shut with that amount of water.

Thanks for your patience in explaining the potential pinhole problem. Not a professional plumber, just a desperate homeowner needing to conserve money.

If you were able to get access, you could install new stops and supply lines without much expense, but it would involve some 'sweat equity'. I don't remember, did you say in the other post whether the old lines were copper or galvanized?

Actually, I did not mention this in my previous thread. The house was built in 1919; nearly all of the plumbing (including tub and toilet) dates to the house's construction -- so I am guessing that the pipes are copper.

I may try using the flexible hoses first. If that does not resolve the leak, then your suggestion of a pinhole in the supply pipe is most likely the problem. At that point, I will have to bite the bullet, forego Christmas, and call in the cavalry (professional plumber). As much as I am not averse to investing "sweat equity" into a project, not sure that I trust my handyman skills enough to risk making a bigger mess than the one I already have. But I would be certain to pass on your suggestion to the plumber.

Will head to Home Depot for the flexible hose, see if it works (a relatively cheap fix if it does). Will let let you know how it goes.

Thank you.



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The shanks SHOULD be 3/4" pipe thread, so a water heater supply hose may connect to them but then you a reducer of some kind to connect to your water line.

1919 house would probably NOT have copper piping.

My post from your last thread:

"Find a local plumber that buys from Wolverine Brass and purchase one thru them. You will pay four to five times the import price you are paying for what you've got but you will be getting a solid brass construction faucet body that will allow you to use the system you now have."

The advice remains the same.



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Here, as far as I know, there are NO LOCAL PLUMBERS who buy Wolverine Brass. I haven't seen a Wolverine faucet of any kind in two decades, and maybe even longer.

No problem. Wolv. Brass is readily available up and down the East Coast.

PLEASE SEE NEW THREAD:

"UPDATE: Bathcock now leaks from hot connection, but not from cold"



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wolverine brass faucets may be readily available but repair parts are as scarce as hens teeth.
supply houses don't carry them.