Greetings,

My wife and I are in the process of updating 1957 side by side split level. The previous owner (OK, my Mom as I bought the house I grew up in from her) said that when they moved in they had to install a pressure reducer into the line.

I have searched high and low but, I can't see any thing resembling what appears to be a reducer, other than the main shut off looks suspiciously like it isn't a gate valve. Could this be the culprit?

I am thinking of having the city turn off the water so that I can replace the main shut off with a ball valve (my valve of choice for any shutoff). I am also thinking of raising the main shutoff form 2" above the floor to 2' above. This would involve taking the same amount of pipe off the other side of the water meter or am I just being anal?

Speaking of being anal, whenever I have to replumb a fixture I have taken to placing a ball valve in the run prior to where it runs into the walls. Does this make sense or am I just wasting money. My reasoning behind this is that if I need to work on a plumbing run, I can isolate that section and allow the water to be available in the rest of the house.

Finally, we have a sprinler system installed for watering the lawn. Every year I turn off the water to the outside faucet, open the sillcock to allow the water to run out and then purge the system. However, in 3 of the last 4 years I have had to cut out and replace a section of pipe that burst due to freezing. Any idea as to what I may be doing wrong? The water line to the faucet is 1/2". The guy who installed the sprinkler put in an expander to bring it up to 3/4" from where it comes out of the exterior wall. It then goes to a vacuum breaker. Coming out of the breaker is a 1" PVC line.

Thanks, Dan

speedball1

Hi Dan,

You're looking for something that looks like the Watts Pressure Regulater Valve pictured on the first picture. If you wish to change the house shut off you can shutv the water off yourself at the meter shutoff.

http://www.nextag.com/buyer/outpdir....e&node=2700400

This should be located at the area where the water enters the house. In my opinion ball valves last longer and are more dependable then gate or seat and washer valves. Since code mandates shutoffs on every fixture a branch shutoff is redundant. We don't freeze in my area but we have plenty of sprinkler systems. Since you can't get away from "low spots" that trap water in the system I would attach a air tank to one end of the sprinkler system and open up the other end and blow the water out for the season. regards, Tom

dherman1

Tom, in my city, the main shutoff is near the street. The next shut off is before the meter, right where it enters the house, and that is the one I want to replace.

I looked and I didn't see the Watts regulator in the system at all. Phew.

Thanks for all the help, Dan

speedball1

One other reason for your low pressure might be the galvanized piping in your house. My house was built in 1955 and I've noticed a pressure drop myself but not severe enough for a repipe job.
I've seen 3/4" galvanized pipes build up iron oxide, (rust) on the pipe wall to the point where it chokes the inside down to the size of a pencil. You might want to check the pipes in your house. regards, Tom