Shower valve leak but only under pressure

[wingit]

ShowerValve

• wingit
• 3 Jun 2016

I've got a concealed shower valve plumbed in, I connected up the shower arm and decided to use a blanking nut to stop it off and turn the water on to pressure check it, not sure that's a good thing to do, but it seemed so at the time. Anyway, the valve leaks very slightly under that test. I've circled the part that leaks in the photo attached.

I realise that when the shower is on and operating normally that the pressure on that section will be very much less and so it probably won't leak as it has done in the test, but I thought I'd get opinions from people that know, rather than guess and seal it all up in the wall and hope for the best.

Much appreciated.

 

[oldbuffer]

Would you really risk it? If it leaks now it will most likely leak when in operation, and you'll end up taking the tiles off to get to it.

Remove top nut and pipe. Undo lower nut (probably actually a hollow bolt) . It may well have a fibre or rubber washer between the lower nut and the body of the shower. If so, replace it, wrap thread of lower nut with Loctite 55, replace and retest.

 

[wingit]

Would you really risk it? If it leaks now it will most likely leak when in operation, and you'll end up taking the tiles off to get to it.

Remove top nut and pipe. Undo lower nut (probably actually a hollow bolt) . It may well have a fibre or rubber washer between the lower nut and the body of the shower. If so, replace it, wrap thread of lower nut with Loctite 55, replace and retest.

Yeah, you're right. I'll do just that. Thanks. The reason I was unsure was because I didn't know what to expect opening up the shower valve, in case I couldn't put it back together or needed special seals or something. Having opened it up, it was very straight forward, Loctite 55 and the job's done.