db3058
New Member
I am so grateful I never rebuilt my Watts LFU5B-Z3 and just bought a new one. I had one just off the city water meter in a Christie box close to 20 years old. It seemed to be working but I was remaking the entry to remove a gate valve for a ball and was going to rebuild the pressure regulator since I was redoing that portion of the line. The kit was on backorder everywhere and I just bit the $400 bullet and bought a new exact replacement. After removing it I decided to rip the old one apart just for curiosity. I was measuring 60 lbs from it and could adjust it. It's in California in light snow country in the mountains. The screws holding the bladder portion were mostly welded from age. I could have spared shearing them if I had a couple days with heat and transmission oil soaking it, but suffice to say they were almost impossible to remove intact. After looking at the condition of the insides, the unusable screws and the hassle that would have been involved rebuilding I dodged a bullet just getting rid of it. I would have had the line open and left with the mess it was in to get my water back on. I wanted to post a warning to anyone thinking of saving some money rebuilding one.
