Petcock rebuild tip

[Ivan]

I have seen a few people in the past talk about rebuilding the petcocks and not getting them to seal. I worked on mine and this is what I found:



Notice the pits and gouges in the surface of the valve. So, I commenced to resurfacing the valve. I used a bit of 300 wet or dry followed by 600.





The result:





It doesn't leak. It is a tad tough to turn though, I imagine from the new o-ring and gasket.

[skids]

I did the same thing to all of mine, except that I used Mothers Milk polishing compound to finish them. Also, I tried to smooth the edges of the holes so that the rubber gasket is less likely to be damaged by sharp edges whille turning. I haven't had to replace the gaskkets since (years).

[Crazcnuk]

strangely enough, I find putting a bit of grease on the o-ring makes them turn a lot easier.

The gas is on the other side, so the grease stays, I think.

[skids]

BTW, you probably know this, but there is a right and a left side handle for the petcocks. They definately don't work right if you mix them up.

[egleaves]

I resurfaced my petcocks this way last summer and it was well worth it! Even in the off position they wouldn't hold 100%, but after this little gem of a repair they hold perfectly.

It's easy to do and I would highly recommend it to anybody.

[oseaghdha]

strangely enough, I find putting a bit of grease on the o-ring makes them turn a lot easier.

The gas is on the other side, so the grease stays, I think.

+1
And it makes getting the O-ring in much easier. I also put a light coat on the sealing face, so it won't distort when you first turn it dry.
I use Chapstick. Don't leave home without it!