Long rant:
Fridays project:
This is my water feed coming from the meter. It comes up out of the ground, thru the ball valve, into the water softener, then back into the ground and into the house. Around 6:30pm the eve before last (Thur) it came 1/2 way apart at the glue joint under the shutoff valve and was spraying harder than a double cunted cow pissing on a flat-rock. It came apart at the same place when I installed the water softener (during business hrs.) a year ago. The OG glue joint was only 1/2 way together and made with regular clear PVC Cement. As soon as I touched, it, it blew sky high.
The actual city water worker, Joe, is up and down my street all day during the week, bc their shop is at the dead end of my road & I have a main valve in front of my house. The 1st time it came apart it was blasting full diameter (3/4") 20-30 feet up into the air. I went out to the meter, which is right in the middle of my dirt driveway, just outside of my gate, and I tried to shut it off myself. I say tried bc the meter's ball valve is bad and the water leaks past it pretty bad, even when it's closed. I called the water dept. and a very nice girl said she'd send someone right over.
Joe came by soon enough and I told him what was up (he's a laid back, cool old long haired dude). He said yeah, he knew the meter was bad and it was 'on the list' to be replaced, but they've been on back order bc of supply chain problems (plus "Bob" is a tightwadded idiot). Joe gave me a 3/4' male adapter which I needed for the fix. He got my water shut off a little better than me but it was still trickling through the meter pretty good. I thought I'd be ok with the trickle bc I had some good Rain-R Shine PVC cement. Wrong answer. It only lasted a year, and started coming apart again. (fyi, it's actually illegal to tamper with city water meters in most places).
Some background:
My career was spent mostly as an operator and foreman on a mainline pipe crew, putting in new sub divisions, running hundreds of miles of new mains down the sides of the roads. Done countless hrs of rehabilitation work, replacing old asbestos water mains w/ lead service lines. Both open-cut and minimally invasive. Installed literally 1,00's of water meters, shit in the Vatican sink and kissed the Popes ass and I've never seen a municipality that required a customer valve, just on the home side of the meter. Never.
So I call the emergency # for the city. It's answered on the 1st ring by Bob, the city water district supervisor. I tell him what happened and that I needed an emergency water shut-off, and I'd call the next day when I got it fixed, to have it turned back on. As we were talking, he kept getting shittier and shitier, telling me that I
had to put a new valve in, just my side of their meter, right in the middle of my dirt driveway, in front of my gate, @ only about 14" deep. I told him my background & that I knew what the f I was talking about. He wasn't backing down though and kept insisting I put a valve in next to the meter. So I said well, I'll tell you what
Bob. I'll put a new valve in
Bob. When you have it all dug up to replace your leaking fucking meter that prevented me from fixing my shit properly in the first fucking place,
Bob. How about that,
Bob?. He started stammering and hung up on me. He called back 5 minutes later & said they'd shut it off, but it was the last time bla bla bla... I hung up on him...
When Joe gets here to shut off my water, I tell him what transpired with Bob. I then asked him how many houses on my street have customer valves right next to the city meter, he stammered and didn't say anything at 1st, but then said "a couple" and that he asks customers to install them when the meters are replaced bc it's an old neighborhood and shit is busting both sides of the meter all the time. He said Bob is a tightwad and an asshole and not to worry about him. He also said he's required to inform me that if he has to come out after hrs again it would be a $50 charge, to which I replied fine; show it to me in the city bylaws where it says that and I'll happy to comply.
Moral of the story: If ever In a similar situation, use Shark Bite fittings; so you don't get bit!. I didn't use one the 1st go-round bc I didn't have the time or ability to go get one in the city, plus I figured the Rain-R-shine PVC Cement would be fine. Now that it has a proper Shark Bite on there, it'll never come apart again.
"HOLY SHARK-BITE PIPE FITTING BATMAN!, THAT'S NEVER BREAKING AGAIN!!!"
@PlumberSoCal2 So did I do ok? How much should I pay myself? I'm bud rich atm and can afford myself. Took a whole 15 minutes once I got my tools lined up (2 channel lock pliers & a PVC cutter)... I'm thinking 4 hour minimum @ $100/hr?
Rant over, thanks Joe!...
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