weeping seacocks

[odeapt]

A few of my sea cocks are currently weeping when I open them. they are groco bronze tapered plug valves. I found an article on how to take apart the valve and lap the cone and the valve body to create a better mating surface, however I do not plan on hauling out anytime soon. So I was thinking, would it work if I jumped in the water and plugged the thru hull with a rubber stopper or cone, and then take the valve apart?

Or does anybody else have solutions to weeping sea cocks?

[uncle stinkybob]

the diver I use, use's a toilet plunger.

[Sailmonkey]

Have you tried just tightening the nut on the end of the cone to see if that ends the weeping?

[TacomaSailor]

We just went thru the weeping Groco thing and ended up installing a new 1-1/4" valve after trying to repair the old one. We installed the new valve last week.

Valve was 23-years old. We had lived aboard the boat for 10 of those years.

Valve was passing about 6 ounces per minute water while tightly closed. We put a wood plug in from the outside and it stopped the leak. We left the plug in for several days and 4-miles of motoring until we could get hauled out.

Our valve was leaking around the inboard threads of the Groco where the hose barb screwed into the Groco valve. The old hose barb threads were very tired and no longer sealing well, even after new teflon tape and retightening.

My brother is a skilled amateur machinist (he recently built a very fast SCCA track race car including the frame and much of the suspension from the ground up) as well as a long time boat owner. Brother has vast experience lapping, seating, rebuilding combustion engine heads, valves, valve seats, and valve guides.

He took the old Groco valve apart (no external signs of corrosion, pitting, or other age related damage) and it quickly became obvious that the ball was so pitted that no amount of lapping would stop the leak. The edges of the ball were badly eroded and would never seal properly.

Machinist brother said "Forget it - Buy a new one."

A NEW Groco IBV1-1/4" Valve was only $60 at West.

Problem solved and no need to wonder about the old, repaired valve.

[HopCar]

I don't like the idea of doing that big a job with the boat in the water. Weeping doesn't sound like an emergency. The job can wait.

Are you sure they are Tapered Cone Seacocks? I may be wrong but I don't think Groco ever made tapered cone seacocks. They made a rubber plug seacock that kind of looked like a tapered cone.