Stuck/Crusted over shut-off valves

[hojo20]

I have a few shut-off valves in my house that appear to be crusted over (see pic). There is one in particular that I would like to turn-off to re-route a spigot from my garage to the exterior of the house. However, when I try to turn it to off, it won't budge. I haven't tried to give it my all though, as I'm fearful of a leak/burst. I am attempting to turn it clockwise to shut it off (I figured I would address that before anyone suggested the most logic solution). My questions are:

1) Is there a good way to clean off this crust?
2) Would cleaning it off help/allow me to turn it off?
3) Does the crust indicate that it might leak once I am able to free it?
4) Will this shut-off most likely need to be repaired/replaced?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

http://home.comcast.net/~tomhabs/DSCN1863.JPG

[pushkins]

man, that's one BIG picture download.

Get yourself a bottle of CLR (or the like) fill a container with it enough so that when you hold it up to the valve the effected area is submerged. Leave it submerged for a couple of hours,(so you might want to put a hook in your jug/container and attach it to the valve). I like to use old 1/2 gallon milk jugs, just cut off the top and attach a simple piece of wire to hold it up.
After a couple of hours the scale should be gone, fill the same jug with clean water and hook it back up to rinse off the valve. It should now be nice and clean and free of the scale/calcium buildup.
OR
Remove the valve stem and replace it with a new valve stem if you don't have the time or inclination to clean the original one.

[hojo20]

Thanks for the cleaning info, that worked great.

It didn't help the move-ability much though. I ended up using a pipe wrench to turn the handle. It won't close completely though and water still trickles to the spigot I want to re-route. What is the best way to remedy that for a weekend warrior type? I know I could shutoff the water at the main branch to re-route the spigot, but I'd like to get this shutoff valve working for winter time. Is it easier to put on a new valve or to replace the washers/stem in the existing? I'd like to be able to replace, as I think that would come in handy for other valves. However, getting to the stem washer seems difficult. Any advice or links on how to do this would be appreciated. Thanks.

[pushkins]

Replacing the valve stem and seat would be the easiest option (rather than replacing the whole valve).
Turn off the water supply to this line or at the mains, then simply remove the bigger nut that is closer to the main valve body. Be careful not to twist the whole valve and put undue stress on the soldered joints.
Once you have this removed you can easily remove the stem and clean this shaft as well of deposits as well as replace the washer.
Make sure before you put a new washer in and re insert the valve stem into the body that you carefully run your finger up in the valve body and make sure there are no big gouges or rough areas on the area that the washer sits against (valve seat). If there is you can buy a tool to "re seat" the valve for about $10 at Lowe's/H.Depot

[junkcollector]

Do you have a propane torch? Have you ever soldered copper pipe before?

If it were me, I'd probably go ahead and replace the whole valve. I've always had a tough time getting something like this to stop leaking after I fix it. You would have to first cut the old valve out, and sweat in a short piece of pipe and slip coupling to reconnect the line back up. If you choose that route, I would remove the valve stem prior to soldering to prevent damaging it from the heat.

[joed]

If you replace the valve don't use the same type. Put in a 1/4 turn ball valve.

[hojo20]

What is a good way to remove the valve stem from a new valve that I just bought? I bought one in case I need to replace it, but I can't find a way to get enough leverage to take the stem out. Does anyone have a special tool or technique to do this?

[junkcollector]

What is a good way to remove the valve stem from a new valve that I just bought? I bought one in case I need to replace it, but I can't find a way to get enough leverage to take the stem out. Does anyone have a special tool or technique to do this?

I've usually done it with a couple of wenches. It might help to clamp the valve body in a vice and use a good tight fitting wrench to loosen it. They usually aren't super tight from the factory.

If you are just replacing the valve stem, make sure that it is an exact perfect match, including the threads being the same. I would use a little pipe dope on the threads when you screw the new one in.