Broken threads on check valve cap

Hi there folks,

I've spent the past few days struggling with the plumbing in the mechanical room of a small house I've built. I'd fixed everything until all that was left to repair was one joint near a check valve. I figured out that water was pooling in the check valve (it has a rounded, bulbous shape) and that it was bubbling up from the nearby heat of soldering, running toward the joint I was soldering and, of course, ruining it. So I removed the top of the check valve by unscrewing the cap, dried everything thoroughly (it seemed to "hide" water in its flap, too, requiring a ton of compressed air to get totally dry), and re-soldered successfully.

Then--predictably, after all the missteps I've had--the cap to the check valve made a funny noise as I was seating it into place. I opened it back up to examine and found that a half-round of the female thread of the valve had broken off. I was a bit stunned--I really hadn't tightened the cap that much. I hoped that it wouldn't make a difference, so I put it back on, tightened again, and POP! The cap snapped in half along the male threads.

Argh.

So my questions are:

1.) Is there any way to fix the female thread that snapped off? Is it absolutely necessary? The cap seals with a little plastic ring at the base of the threads. Removing the valve and replacing it seems impossible at this point. I'd like to just get a new cap and put it back into place. I think *I* might snap in half if I have to remove and replace the whole thing...

2.) What did I do wrong? Do brass threads just snap apart sometimes? Did I overtighten it? It really didn't feel like I was applying too much torque--I was really surprised by what happened...

Thanks for any advice.

Doug

 

I would bite the bullet and replace the check valve - it would only take a little time and would be done right...

 

Alright... I'd figured as much. I looked at the pipes this morning with fresh eyes, and it looks like it won't be as difficult to remove it as I feared. Thanks for the advice. I'm off to the hardware store...

Doug