Garden tap repair

[Gareth]

Stupidly I forgot to turn off a garden tap for a few hours and left a hose sprinkler plugged in. The back pressure has damaged something in the tap because I now can't stop the water flowing from the tap.

The water is flowing from the spout with more than a drip - the flow is a constant stream.

Before I start making the problem worse I'm wondering whether or not the problem is likely to be with the washer or with the gland. If water is flowing from the spout is the problem more likely to be washer or gland?

I'm also wondering if it is simpler to just buy a new tap from Wickes and screw it on to the existing fitting and use some thread tape.

[DIY]

I would dismantle the tap and examine the washer and jumper, then proceed as appropriate. From your description it sounds like the spindle has come unscrewed from the jumper which holds the washer, I don't see how back pressure can damage the washer or jumper.

[The Medway Handyman]

I'd agree with that. Sounds like its unscrewed itself, but I can't work out how back pressure could do it either.

[Roger Mills]

It's not the gland. If it were, water would be coming out round the spindle - not through the spout.

Something has become deranged inside - most likely the washer has come off - it probably stuck to the seat when you first opened the tap, and pulled away from its fixing.

You'll have to dismantle it (having first turned off the water at the main stoptap!) to find out - but it should be be easily fixable without buying a new tap.

[Reentrant]

After you get the tap fixed, and before the hosepipe ban, you might want to get a clockwork hose timer. Just a fiver or so on eBay

[Old Codger]

£20 from Wilko, bought one yesterday, it has an additional manual outlet and valve as well.

[Alan]

You can get fully programmable timers for that price although places like Aldi/Lidl only have them for sale on an infrequent basis.

And before anyone mentions crap brands and you get what you pay for. In my experience they are lot better than the timers made by Hozelock where a few drops of water collect in the corner of the plastic case resulting in corroded electronic components.

[Gareth]

Thanks for the replies.

Oddly, it did seem to be a problem with the gland - removing the tap handle and first (small) nut and then tightening the spindle without the nut being in place (beyond where the nut would allow it to go) cured the problem.

This was just as well because no way could I move the large nut which would allow me to access the washer. It was completely fixed/seized in place. I would have been scared to force it anymore for fear of damaging the pipe and turning a £50 job in to a £200 job.

This is a common problem that seems to put me off diy: every time even a job seems to be simply there is always some complicating factor such as a seized nut or a seized tap which no amount of WD40 can help with.

In this case I guess I would have had to try to remove the whole tap although I bet that would have been seized as well.