Tub supply line draining for *hours*

I need to service the cold water faucet on my tub. It's leaking under the handle. I turned off the main, opened the cold water supply to the tub to drain the line. Four hours later, and it's still draining, and with at least i'd say half the normal pressure (this isn't a dribble). No water is available at any other tap in the house. What's going on?

Valve isn't holding

Is the water that's draining cold?

Mikey said:

Is the water that's draining cold?

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Yes, the water is cold. I thought about that too.

Edward Rowe said:

Yes, the water is cold. I thought about that too.

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Drat. Well, the water is coming from somewhere, which means the main shutoff isn't shutting off, but doesn't explain why there's no flow elsewhere, unless there's gravity getting involved somehow. Can you plug the leaky faucet to stop that leak, and see if you can encourage flow elsewhere? Open the nearest-to-the-shower cold-water faucet, stop the leaker as best you can, and see if you can divert water to the nearby faucet. You might also try shutting things off at the meter. If you do determine that the main shutoff is leaking, this would be a dandy time to replace it. How old is the house?

I thought about shutting off at the curb, but the Town's meter befuddled me - at least in the 30 seconds I spent looking at it. The house is only 12 years old which makes me really hope the main valve isn't failing. I'll try force-diverting the flow to another faucet, and give another try at the curb when I get home.

Is it a ball valve or gate valve that you shut. If it is a gate you could try to put a wrench on it to tighten it a little more. Be gentile though

CT18 said:

Is it a ball valve or gate valve that you shut. If it is a gate you could try to put a wrench on it to tighten it a little more. Be gentile though

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It's a gate valve.

Throw some channel locks on the handle and give a little tighten carefully, you could snap the stem. Or cut the pipe down stream and pop on a sharkbite ball valve to try and stop the flow

Be careful tightening the gate valve like ct18 said. They also are noted to stay in the valve when you go to open it back up. Can you pull
the handle off and see if there is a packing nut that you can tighten up. You don't need to turn the water off to do this.

Out of curiosity...
Is that tub faucet the lowest CW outlet in your house?
And you said, "No water is available at any other tap in the house"?
With those other CW taps open, can you put your hand over the tub flow and stop it?

I would rather be twitterpated than befuddled

your water meter on/off valve most likely looks like this
it is a 1/4 turn valve
insert a screwdriver as shown [handle] into a crescent wrench
use as a t wrench to turn valve

I thought the OP said he has a gate valve.

Send a picture of your main shut off valve.
Thanks.

it is not uncommon for a building to have 2 valves
a curb stop
then a valve after the meter. which belongs the the home owner

If he's in NC, the curb stop is probably buried pretty deep. He might have to find a meter valve wrench. Handy to have anyway, and only $15 at the big box store.

In my neck of the woods, only the water department is allow to access the curb stop.
And the valve located just upstream of my, basement located, meter, is my responsibility.
It is a good idea to have 2 main shut off valves around the meter, though.

Diehard said:

In my neck of the woods, only the water department is allow to access the curb stop.
And the valve located just upstream of my, basement located, meter, is my responsibility.
It is a good idea to have 2 main shut off valves around the meter, though.

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AH....Down here We do not have basements, and the frost line is only a foot
the meter is out by the curb in front of the house
we install a ball valve so the home owner can turn the water on /off with out pissing off the city

true story
many years ago, I was topping out a house, the water line was run but not tied into the meter on the rough in
the meter was in a mud hole and was crooked on a 22 degree angle.
99.9% of the city water lines to the meter are soft copper. So I grabbed the meter and pulled it up level
LOL This was hooked up with plastic and I said OH F____K !!! as I head the plastic break
woooooooosh.....I grabbed a dresser coupling, nipple and valve
Installed it on a live line drove a 2x4 in front of it and went to the house

frodo said:

AH....Down here We do not have basements, and the frost line is only a foot
the meter is out by the curb in front of the house
we install a ball valve so the home owner can turn the water on /off with out pissing off the city

true story
many years ago, I was topping out a house, the water line was run but not tied into the meter on the rough in
the meter was in a mud hole and was crooked on a 22 degree angle.
99.9% of the city water lines to the meter are soft copper. So I grabbed the meter and pulled it up level
LOL This was hooked up with plastic and I said OH F____K !!! as I head the plastic break
woooooooosh.....I grabbed a dresser coupling, nipple and valve
Installed it on a live line drove a 2x4 in front of it and went to the house

Click to expand...

Funny!
Thank goodness you had that dresser handy.
Although you would have thought of something else. Like squishing the pipe closed with something.