Replacing my reducing valve

speedster1 · 10-16-2010, 10:49 AM

I need to replace my Watts 25AUB valve and want some advice.

I've included 2 pictures of my setup. I've labeled 3 points in the picture that I'm curious about.

I believe I need to begin disassembly at points A and C. And then take the valve off after I get the pipes disassembled. What I'm curious about is "B". What exactly is that? It has a directional arrow on it.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1871/watts.jpg
http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/2396/watts2.jpg

jc60618 · 10-16-2010, 11:40 AM

It looks like a check valve

BlueBSH · 10-21-2010, 11:23 AM

since it has a flow direction arrow, I'd say its a check valve... do you have a water expansion tank on your hot water heater? if not and you have a check valve, I'd get one put on becaus that can cause problems with devices like water meters and reducing valves causing them to fail if you have a check valve and the pressure gets to high in the system

secutanudu · 10-21-2010, 12:30 PM

It's hard to tell - is the valve too close to the wall to be able to spin it all the way around? If not...why remove anything other than the valve?

If it is too close to spin, then you probably need to disassemble the half union on the left part of the valve (C), and the union on top (A) like you said.

the_man · 10-21-2010, 04:51 PM

Yep thats a spring check valve. Don't touch it. It'll keep the water from coming back out of the lines, which is a big concern with the old galv. pipes. Undo the union on the inlet of the prv, unthread it from the pipe on the outlet, then take off the old union and replace all the parts. You won't have to break apart the galv. union or drain the system. I love service calls like that

speedster1 · 10-22-2010, 06:42 AM

The PRV is too close to the wall to simply rotate it. Even if I unscrew the coupling at the inlet of the PRV I still won't be able to unscrew it at the outlet. The riser pipe that has the check valve is rigid and I don't believe it will pull away from the wall enough to accomplish that.

Also, why is the check valve even there? I thought it was a good thing for water to move back into the main line when the pressure in the house increases...... Thats the whole reason I want to replace the prv. I believe it has been compromised by debris introduced during a water main break.

BlueBSH · 10-22-2010, 07:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedster1

The PRV is too close to the wall to simply rotate it. Even if I unscrew the coupling at the inlet of the PRV I still won't be able to unscrew it at the outlet. The riser pipe that has the check valve is rigid and I don't believe it will pull away from the wall enough to accomplish that.

Also, why is the check valve even there? I thought it was a good thing for water to move back into the main line when the pressure in the house increases...... Thats the whole reason I want to replace the prv. I believe it has been compromised by debris introduced during a water main break.

you arn't allowed to let pressure go back into the city lines anymore, thast why you have to have a check valve and then an expansion tank above the water heater on the cold line to compensate for the pressure increase

secutanudu · 10-22-2010, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueBSH

you arn't allowed to let pressure go back into the city lines anymore, thast why you have to have a check valve and then an expansion tank above the water heater on the cold line to compensate for the pressure increase

I've never heard this. And it is not true for my town...

Also - if backflow prevention is required (maybe due to a sprinkler system?), usually something more rugged than a spring loaded check valve is required.

If the OP does have a sprinkler system, the backflow preventer can be on the sprinkler branch, not on the main line.

BlueBSH · 10-22-2010, 08:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secutanudu

I've never heard this. And it is not true for my town...

Also - if backflow prevention is required (maybe due to a sprinkler system?), usually something more rugged than a spring loaded check valve is required.

If the OP does have a sprinkler system, the backflow preventer can be on the sprinkler branch, not on the main line.

Really? our water company will not allow you to send pressure back into their system... they've told us before its becoming a national rule over time... all new houses here to be connected to their water mains must have a check valve after the meter

secutanudu · 10-22-2010, 08:42 AM

speedster1 - I'd call your town water dept. and ask them if local code requires a check valve at the meter. If not, I'd get rid of it.

Do you have a lawn sprinkler system?

If debris in your water pipes is a common problem, they do have strainers you can put upstream of the PRV, like this one:

speedster1 · 10-22-2010, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueBSH

you arn't allowed to let pressure go back into the city lines anymore, thast why you have to have a check valve and then an expansion tank above the water heater on the cold line to compensate for the pressure increase

I'm not aware of any regulation like this in my community. My father and my sister both own homes in my area and neither of them have check valves in their homes.

We had a water main break that introduced a large amount of sediment into our lines. Ever since that break I have been dealing with a burst of water pressure in both my hot and cold lines when I open my faucets. I've read that is usually an indication of a faulty prv that may have been caused by sediment.

Prior to the water main break I had zero issues with water pressure.

**TheEplumber** · 10-22-2010, 10:10 AM

@ speedster1- you mentioned depris in the water line. Have you cleaned the strainer in the PRV? Remove the nut on the left. Pull out the screen, clean it and reinstall. Might help

secutanudu · 10-22-2010, 10:11 AM

I didn't realize some PRVs (well, that one at least) have a strainer built in. Good to know!

speedster1 · 10-27-2010, 08:27 PM

I called my local public service district and they suggested I use the checkvalve. They said they have a checkvalve outside on my meter but they can fail and by installing one in my house it was double redundancy. He said without a check valve a water main outage could cause my house water supply to drain with potentially bad side effects for my water heater.

He asked me what my problem was and and after explaining it he agreed that my regulator was probably bad. He said probably a broken spring. He recommended getting another Watts.

BlueBSH · 10-27-2010, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speedster1

I called my local public service district and they suggested I use the checkvalve. They said they have a checkvalve outside on my meter but they can fail and by installing one in my house it was double redundancy. He said without a check valve a water main outage could cause my house water supply to drain with potentially bad side effects for my water heater.

He asked me what my problem was and and after explaining it he agreed that my regulator was probably bad. He said probably a broken spring. He recommended getting another Watts.

Sounds about like what our water company says around here