Can you get a new stem for a ball valve?

stuartwineberg

stuartwineberg

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Weird one this. My heads sink and shower drain share a skin fitting. Whilst doing the usual regular working of the valve it failed in the shut position. I took the stem out (the thing that connects the handle to the ball) and discovered a mangled pink, dezincified mess - the stem had essentially dissolved. What is weird is that the rest of the unit appears to be CR and having scraped it all over is showing no signs of pink anywhere. OK thinks I, the main thing is to open the valve, I'll borrow the handle and stem off another valve on the boat. I now discover that it is slightly different to all the other valves on the boat so has been replaced at some stage. What I need is a new stem with a square lug on it that will engage with the ball and allow me to open the valve and use it for the rest of the season - access is not great as usual - thoughts please? Has anyone come across CR valves with cr*ppy brass stem?
 
I have had the engine inlet ball-valve fail in the same way, but with the shaft broken inside the fitting with no possible means of turning it. I managed to poke a screwdriver down the valve and rotate the valve so that it was very slightly open (water trickling in as afloat). I quick twist of the screwdriver then opened the valve enough to get me home. (It was no worse than withdrawing the log impeller whilst afloat). On my drying mooring it was then easy to open the valve the rest of the way until I got a chance to replace the fitting.

Strangely, I did feel really uncomfortable leaving the boat with that seacock open .....even though it routinely stays open when away on the boat for weeks on end!
 
Might be less hassle to replace the entire valve. I did this when the stem snapped, leaving the ball in the closed position. My son and I replaced this engine cooling inlet valve while afloat. We could not plug the hole from the outside because of a grill. I did temporarily fit a wooden plug on the skin fitting after I removed the valve so that I could clean the threads and apply some PTFE tape. The wooden plug was then removed and the replacement valve threaded in the open position (so that it would not be pushed away by the incoming water) for two turns, after which it was closed and tightening continued until there was no water weeping and the lever was in the correct position. Total water ingress was less than two glassfuls.
 
PuffTheMagicDragon said:
Might be less hassle to replace the entire valve. I did this when the stem snapped, leaving the ball in the closed position. My son and I replaced this engine cooling inlet valve while afloat. We could not plug the hole from the outside because of a grill. I did temporarily fit a wooden plug on the skin fitting after I removed the valve so that I could clean the threads and apply some PTFE tape. The wooden plug was then removed and the replacement valve threaded in the open position (so that it would not be pushed away by the incoming water) for two turns, after which it was closed and tightening continued until there was no water weeping and the lever was in the correct position. Total water ingress was less than two glassfuls.
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+1
 
Thanks all. In the end it was my wonderful Leatherman multitool and its accessories - buried in the never used section is a whole card of square ended drives and it turned like a dream - all is well. I will replace the whole thing after the boat is out of the water
 
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