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    Johnny75's Avatar
    Johnny75 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #1

    Jan 10, 2011, 03:38 PM
    Well Water shutoff
    Have a home in the country on a well. This home is for senior citizens so it also has a fire sprinkler system. I need to remodel a bathroom and the water shutoffs to the sink are badly corroded and I have to replace them so I have to shut the water off to the house. IT has a water softener and a filtration system after the main shutoff. Do I have to shut the pump down too or just shut the water off for the brief period it needs to be off. What do you do on restart? Does anything need primed or will flow start automatically. Done a lot of work in city but this is first venture with a well system.
    ma0641's Avatar
    ma0641 Posts: 15,675, Reputation: 1012
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    #2

    Jan 10, 2011, 03:55 PM
    Do you have separate supplies for the domestic water and sprinkler system? If not, and you cannot shut the water off for the specific bath, DO NOT shut off the water to the house. You would have a MAJOR liability exposure with the property being occupied by seniors and the sprinkler turned off. Fire department would probably force you to evacuate the house. I have worked on some cases where the people had to be temporarily relocated to another location, even if it means being taken to a mall for a couple of hours. It might only be a minute but then something happens and then when you are soldering a fire starts and...
    jlisenbe's Avatar
    jlisenbe Posts: 5,020, Reputation: 157
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    #3

    Jan 10, 2011, 04:04 PM

    Surely the sprinkler is not running through a softener and filter. Bound to be a separate supply for that.
    Johnny75's Avatar
    Johnny75 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #4

    Jan 10, 2011, 04:07 PM
    Comment on jlisenbe's post
    I should have been more specific. The main inlet branches in two directions with separate shutoffs for the sprinkler system and the house system.
    ma0641's Avatar
    ma0641 Posts: 15,675, Reputation: 1012
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    #5

    Jan 10, 2011, 04:21 PM
    Comment on jlisenbe's post
    It could have been split into 2 separate lines inside the house. Straight for fire supply and treated domestic
    ma0641's Avatar
    ma0641 Posts: 15,675, Reputation: 1012
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    #6

    Jan 10, 2011, 04:29 PM
    Well then, that's a lot of difference. Make sure the sprinkler system stays on, turn the domestic water off, install new shut off valves for all supply lines for the remodel and then turn the water back on. However, I would maintain some back up water in case of difficulty. Keep 4-5 5 gallon pails for toilet flushing etc.
    massplumber2008's Avatar
    massplumber2008 Posts: 12,832, Reputation: 1212
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    #7

    Jan 10, 2011, 04:52 PM

    Hi Johnny...

    Shut the domestic water off... sprinkler stays on.

    Drain water from the system so that you can do your work. If you find hot water flowing into the cold water then you'll need to shut the cold water shutoff going into the water heater... this would mean the water heater was being siphoned so shut that down.

    Do the work as needed.

    Upon start up, shut all faucets that you opened to drain things and shut the valves you installed and then just open the domestic water shutoff.

    Now, open some outside faucets or any faucets without aerators and purge the system of air and fill the system. The system will probably run dirty due to sediment being disturbed so run the water out the outside (or similar) faucets until all runs clear and air free. Then go to all the other faucets and remove the aerators if possible and purge air through them.

    If you have any flushometer valves I would recommend shutting these down at the flushometer shutoffs as they don't do well on a restart and can be a lot of work to fix... especially if you have 100 toilets in a nursing home. Go ahead... ask me how I learned that one... :)

    Double check the flow to everything and you should be all set after that!

    Good luck~~

    Mark
    Johnny75's Avatar
    Johnny75 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
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    #8

    Jan 10, 2011, 08:06 PM
    Comment on massplumber2008's post
    Thank you all for your help.
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