Plumbing gurus, a question

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awp101
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Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by awp101 »

Friday morning we started a bathroom remodel (WHEEEEE! :lol: ). I went out to the cutoff and found it was full to the top of water and we haven't had near enough rain all year to do that.

When I came back in, She Who Puts Up With Me was telling The Old Man about how high our water bill has been the past few months. A-ha! I might have an answer but I don't know why. The Old Man went out and looked and after scooping the water out and the mud away from the cutoff he found this:
IMG_20121125_133419.jpg
I've never noticed that little tube coming out of the cutoff before, probably due to the 40+ years of dirt and mud over it. Even with the water off at the cutoff, water comes out of the tube. While we were doing the plumbing in the bathroom he went and picked up some rubber vacuum line covers from the parts house and clamped it on which is working so far.

So my questions are: what is that tube and why is it there? How hard is it to replace a cutoff valve like that?

Thanks! :mrgreen:
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Rusty
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Rusty »

Looks like you're in for some industrial level digging. If your water bill is already up I think I'd check that whole line. That happened at my grandmother's house, her lines had pin holes all the way from the meter. The pipes were maybe 40 years old. At least make some spot checks.
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Blaine
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Blaine »

There might have been a drip irrigation system long ago? Dig it up, and replace the whole thing....That sucks, but in plumbing, the stuff ya can't see is prolly just as bad as the stuff you CAN see :(
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old06
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

It’s a bleed down I been in the plumbing game in one way fashion or form for 40 years and the old school shut off’s had bleed down so you could work on your lines is it plumbed in copper if it is we would blow the water out of the line to make repairs or add on or to winterize the system
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

I've seen them installed backwards more than once
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Blaine »

old06 wrote:I've seen them installed backwards more than once
They are a nasty cross connection problem however they are installed :wink:
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

There no longer allowed to be installed I worked backflow prevention in a fire sprinkler firm for a while
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Blaine »

old06 wrote:There no longer allowed to be installed I worked backflow prevention in a fire sprinkler firm for a while
Yep......I'm still certified in WA for Cross Connection....not for long, though, I have no intention of doing much of anything except being retired as long as the creek don't rise 8)
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

Yep I hop to be there in 20 months right now I run a water plant and waste water plant and there no ez job in any of it started out as a boiler fitter
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Blaine »

old06 wrote:Yep I hop to be there in 20 months right now I run a water plant and waste water plant and there no ez job in any of it started out as a boiler fitter
Good luck....Had they not have laid me off, I was going to test for Water District Manager II next year. There's a little part time money doing that, and cross connection for a small 10 or 20 connection company. I'm tired of that, though....I'll go wash dishes or fry cook before I get mixed up in utility work again. :lol:
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

Utility work is a young man's game I have had my hand in much of it and I"ll be glad to give the young buck what they crave that all I here LOL
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Ji in Hawaii »

I was the only one in my department in Maui district with a license to test and repair backflow preventers so had to take care of all of them on 3 islands besides my other duties as maintenance supervisor for my 3 island district. I'm happy I don't work for DLNR anymore not just because of the corruption, stealing, backstabbing, etc. but even in the best of times the workload was horrendous for one guy and his assistant. :roll:
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by Blaine »

Friends Call Me Ji wrote:I was the only one in my department in Maui district with a license to test and repair backflow preventers so had to take care of all of them on 3 islands besides my other duties as maintenance supervisor for my 3 island district. I'm happy I don't work for DLNR anymore not just because of the corruption, stealing, backstabbing, etc. but even in the best of times the workload was horrendous for one guy and his assistant. :roll:
I've spent more than enough time standing on my head in mud trying to work on something in muddy water two feet down in a vault someplace cold :twisted: :twisted: In twenty years of the military, they couldn't come up with anything as miserable as utility work. :roll:
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by awp101 »

OK so it's not super important so capping it with a silicon filled rubber cap for a vacuum line shouldn't hurt anything. I hope...

I have 43 other things that need to be done around here (at least 43 :lol: ) so I'll just have to keep an eye on the outside lines.

Thanks! :mrgreen:
BlaineG wrote:In twenty years of the military, they couldn't come up with anything as miserable as utility work. :roll:
That, my friends, may be the line of the month.... :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Re: Plumbing gurus, a question

Post by old06 »

Blaine been racking my brain to think what the valves were called stop and waste
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