plumbing

When good valves go bad

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That handle is tighter than Dick Tracy’s hat brim. Barry Samsel.

Sunday. Noon. 100 degrees. No shade. Of course.

Fourteen hours after he left in the dark, Barry Samsel from Custom Plumbing is back at Sea Eagle View to cut out the Pressure Relief Valve that he suspects failed, to replace it.

Did fluctuations in pressure caused by the dying PRV trigger the water heater to blow out? Did a water heater failure cascade back to the PRV? Two systems separated by 50+ feet broke down in the same 24 hour period, connected only by water; that’s a mystery wrapped inside an enigma.

Barry at right contemplating how to lever a washer between the pipe assembly and the water meter. New shutoff valve with yellow lever handle in the middle, new Pressure Relief Valve at left.
Barry at right contemplating how to lever a washer between the pipe assembly and the water meter. New shutoff valve with yellow lever handle in the middle, new Pressure Relief Valve at left.

Dig. Wrench to remove. Send Steven to Lowe’s to get a replacement for the butterfly shutoff valve that is not loaded on Barry’s personal Ford 350. Squeeze the new assembly into place with a 2×4 lever applied to city meter, carefully. Wrench to install. Test. Test again. Test a third time.

We have water! We have water pressure! There will be hot showers. There will be a bill …

Barry holds the pressure relief valve that failed, left, and the shutoff valve with butterfly handle that froze and locked, unmovable, forcing replacement.
Barry holds the pressure relief valve that failed, left, and the shutoff valve with butterfly handle that froze and locked, unmovable, forcing replacement.

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