So for fathers day I decide to fix my water pressure problem (technically a volume problem), seeing as this is my only day off for the next 2 weeks. All I need to do is replace the $24 watts 3/4" regulator that's burried in my front yard. Perfect day for a project......its sunny....its about 90 degrees but oh well.
SO I purchase the regulator and a new pipe wrench from home depot and I get started.
I've never done this before but I'm pretty mechanicly inclined how hard can it be?
After about an hour I get tired of digging and break out the preasure washer. WAY COOL! All I have to do is deal with the miniswamp in my front yard to get to the pipes. That problem is solved by an old shop vac that I have no problem ruining.
3 hours into it.....
So now I have access to the pipes and regulator sans swamp.
I take a look and wonder why the previous owner, or builder, used a 6" piece of plastic pipe in between the meter and the shut off valve. I have beer and ponder this for a bit on my first break.
So now I announce the no flushing rule to all the house hold occupants and shut the water off and go to town with my new pipe wrench. I have to say I've never heard the water meter make the sound that it did when I broke that peice of plastic pipe. Keep in mind its after the meter but before the shut off valve.
Gunslinger now owns a swamp again. I dive in head first hoping that there's a shut off before the meter dreading calling the water company and paying that bill for service on a sunday. There is but it's not like one I"ve seen.....it has saftey wire locking it into place. I scrable to find my diaginal side cutters (not sure if the filter will let me say "dikes") cut the wire and try to fit a wrench of some sort on this as my hand power is fading fast and it wont budge.
An hour later the water is shut off and gunslinger has his third beer pondering:
1. how am I going to cook dinner tonight
2. The swamp looks great but it's got to go
3. I need to slow down on the beer for I have to venture back to home depot
5 hours into it.....
I get the new parts and put them all together on my vice in my shed. I take them to the front and fit them in there new location sans the swamp....again....only to discover they are about a 1/2" to long.
Drats So I think I can squeeze that 1/2" out of the threads and fit this puppy in there. NOPE. Thankfully I didn't crack the regulator but I did over tourqe the stop valve and thus another trip to home depot.
Unfortunatly "Hot MILF day" was over but $14 later I get my new parts. To solve my length problem I got two smaller pipes and a coupler to adjust it.
7 hours into it......
I put my new pipes back together, without cracking anything this time, and procede to place them in there new home. THE LENGTH IS PERFECT cept one problem......the angle is off ever so slightly and the metal casting that covers the meter portion does not allow for any adjustment. Now I have to dig out the meter cover as well.
9 hours into it......6 beers later
It finally dawns on my why the previous installer used a plastic pipe......it afforded him some flexability in this very situation.
Everything is aligned....fitted to the best of my ability and I apply the final torque to all the fittings. I do a double check....good
I turn on the hose out front and open up both shut off valves. I hook up my preasure guage to check it......50 PSI. I lower it to the recomended 36-40 and all is well. I run some of the water through the sinks and flush every toilet to help flush the system. I also turn the shower on and finally with both sprinklers running and all the toilets flushing I have more than just a tiny dribble I can take a full blown shower.
After it's all said and done.....$70 10 hours and 9 beers later Mrs. Gunslinger says to me......"our home warrenty company would have fixed that for our $50 deductable......I called them last week to check."
Here's to the hard working fathers out there!
