How to release a valve mounted on a through hull?

[B_Hunter45]

The ball valve mounted on the through hull that is the direct discharge of the head is stuck. Before I go through the trouble of replacing it I would like to know if there is a solvent that will release the valve?
Tried cider didn't work.

Thanks

[jmorrison146]

What is it made of?

[B_Hunter45]

Brass

[paulajayne]

Try paraffin - give it time to soak in and apply little and often.

[jmorrison146]

Take a look at these ideas:

https://hisplumber.com/stuck-plumbing-fixture/

Is the boat out of the water? If in the water, be very careful with a thru-hull that might break apart.

[B_Hunter45]

The boat is on the hard, so i can seal the bottom of the through hull and fill the valve with a solvent.

[Scubaseas]

PB Blaster on the stems and a heat gun to the body of the valve.

[Taipe]

Btw, very unlikely that your valve is made of brass, but marine alloy bronze. Space permitting, you may also find it useful to use a short brass pipe nipple (easy to find in a good hardware store and can be kept onboard with very little corrosion) on the valve handle for increased leverage and to make it easier on the hands. Try to avoid using longer pipes for increased leverage due to risk of breaking the valve handle from the valve stem. And, patience is key to success. Penetrants even when combined with heat may require daily applications for several days before the need to apply a lot of torque on a ball valve. Good that you are on the hard because when all else fails, dismantle the whole assembly in one piece with a few wraps of inner tube rubber for padding w/a pipe wrench on it, and have a friend turn the outboard mushroom fitting with a thru-hull wrench (the steel ones are a lot less costly than the bronze Groco model).



Btw, a question to all: Does PB Blaster consistently work better than Kano Kroil? I would like to know, because I've used the KK (with heat when necessary) for twenty years with fair success on threaded fasteners that don't loosen with other older brand chemical penetrants such as Knockerloose and Liquid Wrench. This, since a friend who has a machine shop and restores antique rifles told me that it his favorite. When the part begins to loosen, I add a lubricant such as WD40, as the KK is not a lubricant.

[S/V Alchemy]

If you are on the hard, is it possible to remove the whole through-hull and work on this on a bench? If you can use the release chemicals in concert with gravity, you'll get better and faster results. A complete disassembly (the better seacocks can be fully serviced) will tell you if it's worth repairing (a Groco, Appollo, Spartan or W-C probably is).

The outside part may have "lugs" in it that can be jammed with a bar while the seacock body can be wrenched off. This reduces the time to get the job done.

Here's a bit of light reading to guide you: https://marinehowto.com/replacing-th...-and-seacocks/

[Scaramanga F25]

Do not let the through-hull turn. Pipe wrenches on both the valve and the through hull. Should it turn, remove and re-bed.

[geoff3nebel]

REPLACE IT...
If a valve becomes too tight it's due time for replacement.
Avoid so called alloys MS58 or CW617 typically named 'Marine Brass'.
Brass valves can suddenly fail without any warning - they don't 'leak before failure' - and the result can be a catastrophic loss of your boat.
Remove your stuck valve, and the skin fitting if it shows any sign of dezincification.
Replace both with bronze/gunmetal alloy fittings to EN9093-1 standards and bearing the EN CW706 material mark - this is usually called 'Admiralty Brass'. The colour will be reddish brown, not the visibly more yellow colour of brass.
Avoid stainless steel unless it's to AISI316 and you only sail in the cold, relatively low salinity seas above (or below) 50 degrees latitude. Stainless steel fittings are subject to crevice corrosion in high salinity warm tropical and sub-tropical seas.
Plastic valves should be to 9093-2 and care should be taken not to crack them by over-tightening. I do not recommend fitting a plastic thru-hull ever, as even a gentle 'encounter' with a hard object can result in it cracking or shearing off... if you go plastic valve, combine it with a flat faced Admiralty Brass thru-hull.

[NorthCoastJoe]

When I got my boat I replaced all thru hulls and valves. Cheap insurance everything below the water line was replaced. Seems to me if its stuck it's time to replace. Why risk it for the cost of a valve and thru hull.

[breezydays]

If it's stuck then replace it. Also probably a time to check and possibly replace all thru hulls.