# Anti-siphon hose bibb stuck NO setscrew



## VIPlumber (Aug 2, 2010)

Looks to me like its just threaded in. What tools did you try to remove it with? I'd use a couple of pipe wrenches personally. One on the body of the hose bib and one on the higher portion of the anti siphon valve.


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## Mr. Bill (Jun 16, 2012)

I did use two pipe wrenches on it, but my nerve gave out before the joint gave out.


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## VIPlumber (Aug 2, 2010)

I can imagine that 15 years of exposure will have seized the threads so maybe a lubricant will help, PB Blaster, WD40, etc... Better yet, first try a little heat on the vacuum breaker body near the threads to the hose bib to help expand it a bit. Remember that slow & steady pressure will work better and cause less grief than explosive, jerky wrenching on it.

Good luck.


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## lws6772 (Jul 30, 2012)

Mr. Bill, did you ever get that anti-siphon hose bib off and how did you do it? I have the EXACT same situation. I have tried brute force and PB Blaster. Did not try heat, because my house has PEX plumbing. I have removed ball joints from 40 yr. old Chevy pickups, but this thing is driving me crazy. Especially when you go to ACE hardware or Home Depot and try to tell them it has NO set screw and they tell you they are 100% sure it does. I am half a mind to saw that @$%^&*% thing off long ways(up & down) in 2 halves just to show it to all the folks that are calling me crazy. Thanks very much for any update.


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## Alan (Apr 12, 2006)

Sometimes they have a spring mechanism inside that prevents them from coming off.

I had to take one off once, but it was a bear. I had to push in on it pretty hard to get it to disengage and rotate. 


I'm not sure how the mechanics of the connection works though.


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## lws6772 (Jul 30, 2012)

Update on hose bib with NO set screw. The plumber came out to my next door neighbors house today and headed for his outside faucet. I ran over to watch. Neighbor had same faucet and same problem as me. So I asked the master plumber, "where's the set screw on that thing?" He said, "there is NO set screw". And what's more, the top half of the unit has epoxy on its threads, so that you CAN'T unscrew it. He had to unscrew the whole unit(faucet and pipe) from inside the wall and replace that whole unit. I got him to give me the old unit and I'm taking it to Ace Hardware and Home Depot to show them that I was right. I don't mind someone being wrong, but when a customer comes in and they act like he's crazy, then I've got a problem with that.


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## Alan (Apr 12, 2006)

lws6772 said:


> Update on hose bib with NO set screw. The plumber came out to my next door neighbors house today and headed for his outside faucet. I ran over to watch. Neighbor had same faucet and same problem as me. So I asked the master plumber, "where's the set screw on that thing?" He said, "there is NO set screw". And what's more, the top half of the unit has epoxy on its threads, so that you CAN'T unscrew it. He had to unscrew the whole unit(faucet and pipe) from inside the wall and replace that whole unit. I got him to give me the old unit and I'm taking it to Ace Hardware and Home Depot to show them that I was right. I don't mind someone being wrong, but when a customer comes in and they act like he's crazy, then I've got a problem with that.


With the caliber of people working at those places, let alone the buffoonery that i've seen in there myself (once caught a guy trying to adapt a closet flange and a 3" abs 90 to an ADS coupling and pipe. WTF POOP IN STORM DRAIN?) they probably chalked it up to another guy not knowing what he's talking about. Give em a break.

Heck, i've had my fair share of people telling me some crazy story over the phone, and I get there and it's nothing like what they described, and ends up being something really simple. :laughing:


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## lws6772 (Jul 30, 2012)

You're right about give em a break. I have always got good info/help at ACE and Home Depot. I think I was just frustrated by the time I got to the store. Those units seemed to be all brass and it seems like such a waste of resources to have to replace the whole unit just because a guy can't find a few simple washers that would rebuild it. And I realize they are on there for a good reason. But I guess a lot of home owners had just been removing them when they started leaking. So making them hard to remove is probably the only way the code folks can try to make sure they stay on the faucet. Thanks very much for everyone's help. :thumbsup:


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## hate antisiphon (Jul 31, 2014)

*Eliminate anti siphon*

Get rid of it. If there is anything that restricts flow, i.e., a nozzle on your hose, then water comes out through your anti-siphon valve.

Remove it!

Option 1. Yours has a 6 oz. brass adapter/series of concentric fittings.

How do you remove it ? With a monkey aka pipe wrench. Then, go to Lowe's or Home Depot and buy PVC irrigation fitting to replace.* You see, when our house was remodeled the plumber gave us this song and dance about changes in the law that prevent contaminants from getting back into the supply of water. Hog wash. Translation: someone figured out a way to profit from applying a new rule to a situation that might happen once in a million years where maybe fertilizer from your lawn ends up in your toilet . . .
* The geniuses who came up with a new law that meant profits for someone who now got to create and sell bibs to replace all the old illegal ones that were going to poison everyone changed the threads so that what used to match now does not. So, you might need some teflon tape, some elbow grease, and you get one shot at forcing the thing on. If you get it right, no more leaks for a cost of about $2. Then go hand the chunk of brass to a homeless man to add to his metal collection of the day.


Option 2. You have a plastic one, probably with a cute octagon cap on it.
Remove the fitting if it is the plastic kind that comes with the cap that is positioned perpendicular to faucet, open it up, and superglue the plastic valve into the fully closed position. You might have to remove the small black gasket first from the moveable valve. Replace the stupid thing, sealing any chance of water going past it and water will now only go through your hose and not gurgle or flow out all over the house/lawn/sidewalk below the bib.


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## efrin38 (Dec 6, 2018)

Hope it's okay to bump this old thread, it describes my problem perfectly. 

I have two older hose bibbs with leaking anti-siphon valves attached as shown. There is no set screw, I stripped one down to metal and no screw. But on both valves the at the 6:00 position the metal flange of the anti-siphon valve has been bent in by a hammer blow to prevent it from being unthreaded. Straightening out that bend is near impossible due to position. I tried untightening with a pipe wrench and large crescent wrench but it's just too tight.

Anyone ever encounter this issue and is there a solution? The hose bibb is so close to the wall that I don't want to mess with replacing it. Thanks.


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## 195795 (May 24, 2013)

Unless you can just unscrew that faucet head and replace it, you'll have to replace the entire sillcock - it's easy


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## efrin38 (Dec 6, 2018)

Thanks. The pipe extends less than 1" out of the wall, makes me afraid to tackle replacing the sillcock.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

efrin38 said:


> Thanks. The pipe extends less than 1" out of the wall, makes me afraid to tackle replacing the sillcock.


These types of problems is why I keep a 6" Rigid forged steel pipe wrench in the tool bucket pouch because the jaws are 9/16" wide.

If I were to replace the silcock I'd back a hex flat with an anvil ( large hammer ) or other object with some weight, and smack the opposite hex flat, then progress around and do as many flats I could get to. Then with a 2 ft. cheater pipe on the 6" pipe wrench holding back-up take it off. Some folks like to try tightening just a smidgen first to break the bond. Putting Teflon tape on the threads prior to assembly will solve all this nonsense for you next time or the next fellow 20 years from now.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

I'm chiming in to subscribe..... I have the very same problems.... stucco home and can't get a counter torque wrench on the stub out...

I'm thinking our only choice is to chip away the stuccco and do a stucco repair.

I've tried the wd and blaster, but still do not feel good "over" torqueing that faucet connection without a counter wrench on it.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

Wonder if I could just carefully saw away, and loosen the valve body....????


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## 195795 (May 24, 2013)

efrin38 said:


> Thanks. The pipe extends less than 1" out of the wall, makes me afraid to tackle replacing the sillcock.


Can you remove it from inside ? Sure, a bit of drywall work afterwords but no big deal right. That's how I did mine on both the front and back porches.


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## 195795 (May 24, 2013)

MTN REMODEL LLC said:


> I'm chiming in to subscribe..... I have the very same problems.... stucco home and can't get a counter torque wrench on the stub out...
> 
> I'm thinking our only choice is to chip away the stuccco and do a stucco repair.
> 
> I've tried the wd and blaster, but still do not feel good "over" torqueing that faucet connection without a counter wrench on it.


Can you remove it from inside ? Sure, a bit of drywall work afterwords but no big deal right. That's how I did mine on both the front and back porches.


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## efrin38 (Dec 6, 2018)

SeniorSitizen said:


> These types of problems is why I keep a 6" Rigid forged steel pipe wrench in the tool bucket pouch because the jaws are 9/16" wide.
> 
> If I were to replace the silcock I'd back a hex flat with an anvil ( large hammer ) or other object with some weight, and smack the opposite hex flat, then progress around and do as many flats I could get to. Then with a 2 ft. cheater pipe on the 6" pipe wrench holding back-up take it off. Some folks like to try tightening just a smidgen first to break the bond. Putting Teflon tape on the threads prior to assembly will solve all this nonsense for you next time or the next fellow 20 years from now.


That sounds possible, but how do I know it's not a soldered connection? I've seen sillcocks with hex flats that can be soldered as well.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

Another option I've used is to cut a kerf in a flat with a Dremel cut-off disc until a thread is visible then insert a large screwdriver in the kerf and twist breaking the bond. A Crescent wrench on the screwdriver blade is sometimes useful. If replacing, 2 kerfs can be cut and that section completely removed if necessary.


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

efrin38 said:


> That sounds possible, but how do I know it's not a soldered connection? I've seen sillcocks with hex flats that can be soldered as well.


I would first remove the paint to determine if I could see any sign of threads on the pipe. If no threads are then visible the fitting is either soldered or the threads are called - (_buried_) - by some Bubba. If necessary you could go as far as removing about an 1/8 or 3/16 inch of a hex flat to see if threads were then visible.


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## AzWoodWarrior (Nov 22, 2021)

lws6772 said:


> Mr. Bill, did you ever get that anti-siphon hose bib off and how did you do it? I have the EXACT same situation. I have tried brute force and PB Blaster. Did not try heat, because my house has PEX plumbing. I have removed ball joints from 40 yr. old Chevy pickups, but this thing is driving me crazy. Especially when you go to ACE hardware or Home Depot and try to tell them it has NO set screw and they tell you they are 100% sure it does. I am half a mind to saw that @$%^&*% thing off long ways(up & down) in 2 halves just to show it to all the folks that are calling me crazy. Thanks very much for any update.


Home depot was my recession job. Some of the advice I heard given was beyond pathetic. What was worse my immediate supervisor reprimanded me for correcting a fellow associate in front of a customer. Who was telling the gentleman that it would be fine to screw through OSB into the side of another piece of OSB for garage cabinets. Then management got all pissed off when I tried to educate my coworkers about the difference between materials a d best practices. He claimed they had a training program in place for those things. 2 weeks later they gave me a 22¢ an hour raise (which didn't match inflation) that ended my employment with the orange morons. Don't get pushed around by an apron. Just look at them with a straight face and ask if he has 2" nipples


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