How to Replace a Woodford Model 17 Vacuum Breaker on a leaking water spigot

[@DavidWilson-vx9ux]

You just saved me well over $100 just for a service call. Parts and labor who knows how much I would have been out. thank you so much. People often take little videos like this for granted but they are valuable sources of information. Keep up the good work.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Awesome....thanks for the comment!

[@mikevisser563]

Same issue with mine, thanks for the video of taking it apart. I was able to let the center valve bit to come out and then flatten the rubber gasket with my finger, re-installed it and it sealed fine.
So possibly for any others; try that first before buying the part to save you a few bucks.
Also of course after fixing that it started leaking around the valve stem, so now I have to take that apart to check and fix the packing.

[@buddha65281]

Thank you... Just went through a week of single digit temps and one of my Model 17s is leaking from the vacuum breaker cap too... THIS VIDEO JUST SAVED ME 100 DOLLARS to have the plumber come out and replace the spigot... THANK YOU so very much... sending praise.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Appreciate the comment. So glad it helped and saved you some loot!

[@daveshangar6820]

Thanks for posting. I actually did this a couple of years ago on another faucet but needed a recap. Great post!

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Glad it was useful!

[@jessicaruggiero5005]

THANK YOU
Your video was exactly what I needed to fix my facet and just the perfect length, no extra BS! Perfect & much appreciated

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Glad it was helpful!

[@davidhenderson8600]

Thanks for the instructions - agreed that removing the cap was the dumbest part!

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Glad it helped. I need to check mine this year and see if they held up.

[@campfireridge1660]

Thanks for the video and the tip on using the water to 'float' the part into place. For the benefit of your viewers: Sometimes Ace Hardware stocks these locally but in my experience they only keep a few around. $9.99 for RK-17VB.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Thank you for the comment. That float trick took me some time to figure out. I must have tried to get that piece in there at least 20 times but the float part kept falling out. Obviously, I edited that frustration out of the video.
I did put the link to the kit in the description as I couldn’t find it locally here in Idaho.

[@ericsmith3910]

Thanks bro, you rock

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Glad it helped!!

[@carygirl1990]

I cannot for the life of me get the plastic fitting off the hose bib to replace. I used channel locks and it’s just bending the plastic. Cannot get a grip with regular wrench. Any ideas??😭

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Do you mean the clear threaded plastic? Do you have a channel lock or vise grip pliers?

[@carygirl1990]

@@TeslaModelYdaho I used channel locks and they just bend the plastic and can’t get a hold of it. For some reason the fitting is just really tight.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

What if you put something abrasive in between the plastic and the channel locks, maybe a sheet of sandpaper wrapped around the plastic. Just throwing out crazy ideas.

[@miightiimiinii6831]

I had the same issue . I just took a knife and just started to cut into the plastic. Once you get a piece to come off the threads , use a set of pliers and just pull it off.

[@blakefrei3015]

The floats SUCK. Always drip. Do they have to be plastic? Thanks for the video, though, really helped.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

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[@mariana5978]

Just curious - I saw you used plumbers tape, what did that do? Asking because I can’t screw mine back in. Thank you!

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

It typically makes a smoother lubrication for the threads, and stops any leaks around the threading. You can simply unwrap the plumbers tape, but I am guessing there is a problem with your threading.

[@mariana5978]

@@TeslaModelYdahook thank you! Yes I honestly don’t know, I took the existing one out thinking the rubber on floater was worn out or something and replaced the whole thing with a new one, but now I can’t thread it back. 😫

[@SecondhandHeroTM]

My plastic 'body' is broken completely in two coming out of Winter. The top, exposed (clear) plastic piece was sitting ontop, with just a small thread attached to the rest, which it easily separated from when trying to unthread. Any advice on how to remove the rest of the body, which is still threaded in the spigot?

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Ouch that sucks. Is there any piece you can latch onto with some vice grips? Absolute worst case, you could replace the entire hose assembly.

[@dq96708]

Think ‘ace is the place’ has the replacement parts ?
Thank u for the vid!

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

I got mine from Amazon, but they have been selling out with the change of season.

[@Camel_Jockey]

I’ve removed the plastic threaded just replace the rubber float. I can’t get the replacement back on, the metal threads chewed up the new and old one.

[@mariana5978]

Same thing! My threads got all messed up and I can’t get it back in. Any advice? Thank you!

[@stevenzeck]

Should it screw on fairly easily?
When I went to unscrew the old one, it ended up breaking where the threaded part was still in there, while the top half came off.
When I removed what was still in there and put the new one in, it doesn't want to screw in at all. Guessing the metal threads are deformed enough.

[@TeslaModelYdaho]

Oh man...yeah mine was also difficult to remove...not as bad as the experience you had though. The new one screwed relatively easily, but I still needed to use the channel lock pliers to tighten it down completely. Good luck!

[@denniss264]

I'm having the same problem. These valves are supposed to be the best you can get and I've had nothing but trouble with the valve. The plastic piece completely crushed in on itself while I was trying to unscrew it. I'm in the process of trying to remove it but it's not going well.

[@carygirl1990]

@@denniss264were you able to get it off? My channel locks are just crushing the nut and the reg wrench won’t grab it. Ugh!!

[@carygirl1990]

@@TeslaModelYdahoany tips to get that plastic nut off? Mine is mangled a bit from the channel locks and I don’t want to split it from the threaded portion. Wondering if a heat gun will make it pliable and I can just pull it out. Ugh!

[@denniss264]

@@carygirl1990 I got it off and the threads were mangled. I uninstalled it and got a different one. I've accepted that nothing can be repaired anymore and everything is disposable.