Ball type shut off valve

[Centurian]

My home water shut off valve is a lever ball type...it is very stiff to turn..after working it back and forth it gets looser but after a few days back to stiff again..any ideas ..I'm afraid to use too much force in case I break it somehow...I have tried tightening the holding screw on the lever as the lever was a wee bit slack ..but it's still the same

[akaothermick]

On some ball valves the nut under the handle is the packing nut, loosening it could ease it but it then could leak, why do you need to use this valve at all unless you to turn off the water regularly. The best solution is remove it and replace it. But that means shutting down your service for a day, contact your water department or a local plumber for that. Or shut your water at this ball valve, and add a second one downstream for your use

[Centurian]

This one is actually a secondary one..as the first one is in the crawl space ..this one is handy as it was installed on the first floor and in a closet so to shut off the water you don't have to go down and crawl around...the first one also is a lever type but is no problem..the trouble one does not have a packing nut..it just comes straight out of the body of the valve and the lever fits on and is held on by a nut

[Centurian]

More info..he valve is a lever KITZ No.58.... 600WOG/150WSP 175PSI A31

[akaothermick]

That model does not have dedicated packing nut, just O-rings, turn off your water and replace it, it's really is not that serviceable, or give it a shot of WD, do you have hard water? that could cake it up. Lastly it is soldered in?, so possibly the plumber cooked it when sweating it in and melted the Teflon seals inside slightly, making it not smooth any more, a little too much heat to the body and it happens, done it myself, so I know that it can happen sometimes. Get a nice Apollo ball valve or a Watts, both good brands, some box stores have some cheap looking offshore units for sale, that are probably OK for other than regular use.