Geobrick
Member
I have a brass gate valve in the main sprinkler line, 15 years old, that's currently functioning fine but had a small leak around the packing nut. I tightened the nut and it seems better now but I have several questions going forward.
1) On a 15 year old valve, will tightening the packing nut be a long term solution or should I replace the packing washer (or replace the hole valve)?
2) If I replace the valve, should I go with a ball valve (it's a 1" valve).
3) If I need to replace the valve, can someone provide a link to a description of how to insert a new valve into the line in this situation?
The brass valve is coupled to PVC so if I cut the valve out, I'm not sure how to assemble it back with a new valve without being able to move one side of the pipe enough to slide it into a PVC coupler. The line has already been assembled (underground) so it's unlikely I could move either side of the pipe. I assume a union is required. Do they make a union for this purpose?
The picture was taken before I tightened the packing nut.
1) On a 15 year old valve, will tightening the packing nut be a long term solution or should I replace the packing washer (or replace the hole valve)?
2) If I replace the valve, should I go with a ball valve (it's a 1" valve).
3) If I need to replace the valve, can someone provide a link to a description of how to insert a new valve into the line in this situation?
The brass valve is coupled to PVC so if I cut the valve out, I'm not sure how to assemble it back with a new valve without being able to move one side of the pipe enough to slide it into a PVC coupler. The line has already been assembled (underground) so it's unlikely I could move either side of the pipe. I assume a union is required. Do they make a union for this purpose?
The picture was taken before I tightened the packing nut.