This time of year in the Midwest brings many changes to our lives. Changing the clocks means going out and coming home in the dark. Another change is the quality of indoor air in our homes. The cold, dry air of winter reminds us that it’s time to turn on the humidifier.
I just got a call from a family member who just turned on the water supply to the humidifier and now it was leaking. After a couple of questions, followed by a suggestion, the problem was fixed in a few minutes. This phone call got me thinking about those troublesome poppet valves that supply water to so many humidifiers and ice machines.
Safety first, NEVER EVER use a poppet valve for any type of gas, only water. A saddle valve gets its name from the way it looks, like a saddle on a horse. They are an inexpensive way to get water to humidifiers, ice machines, etc. There are several slightly different versions, but they all have the same parts and are installed the same way.
You will be working on a live water pipe, so before you begin locate the water shutoff in your home, in case you need to quickly shut off the water.
Take a look at the image below and look carefully at the parts of the valve that I have labeled. The saddle is the part that wraps around the pipe and is held together by 2 screws or bolts. The valve seat is where the needle valve (or valve stem) passes through and pierces the pipe. Between the seat and the pipe is a rubber gasket that seals the area around the needle valve bore. The needle valve works well on copper and plastic pipe, but not very well on galvanized pipe.
The first step in installing the valve is to clean the pipe around the area where the valve is to be installed, usually with light sanding. Next, place the valve around the pipe, with the outlet connection and the top of the needle valve in a position where you can easily access both. Note where the starting line has to go. When placing the poppet valve around the pipe, take care to ensure that the gasket is seated correctly. One trick is to screw in the needle valve until it just touches the pipe, which will allow you to properly center the gasket. When you have the gasket properly seated, tighten the poppet valve evenly, alternating a couple of turns on each side until snug.
Next, connect the outlet line to the poppet valve, leaving enough extra length, and place the end into a bucket or floor drain. You are now ready to turn on the water. Slowly turn the needle valve so that it goes through the pipe. When you can no longer turn it by hand, slowly turn it back. Water should now start to come out of the end of the spout. If not, repeat turning it to pierce the pipe.
Once you see water coming out of the outlet pipe, close the valve and connect the outlet line to your humidifier, ice maker, etc. now turn it on one last time, checking for leaks.
If you have a leak from the needle valve stem, you need to very slowly tighten the nut (packing nut) that surrounds the needle valve (see picture). If you have a leak from the gasket area, make sure the bolts holding the poppet valve to the pipe are tight.
A common practice is to close the poppet valve when you turn off the humidifier in the spring. If you do this, chances are in the fall when you turn it back on you will have a needle valve stem leak. Don’t worry, just turn the packing nut slightly until the leak stops.
If you ever need to replace the entire valve, turn off the water and turn on the faucets at a lower level sink to drain the water from the pipes. Remove the poppet valve and take it to the store to make sure you buy a new one with the same size needle valve. Follow the steps above to install the new poppet valve with one additional step. When placing the poppet valve in the pipeline, aligning the gasket and needle valve will be next to impossible unless you extend the needle valve, then apply the gasket and insert the protruding needle valve into the existing hole. Then continue following the steps outlined above.
Follow the steps above and you will have a successful poppet valve installation.