Hi All
I am posting with hope that the collective might have a better solution for a water main shut off that is accessible during the winter months. The situation is a mountain cabin in the Sierra Nevada at about 7,000 ft. The cabin has water, power, septic, etc. but is generally shut down during the winter months. As part of the winterization process, water is shut off at the main water shut off outside the cabin and all the water is drained from the plumbing by 4 ball valves at key low points in the plumbing. Any standing water such as the drain traps is treated with anti-freeze to prevent freeze up. This has worked well for 40+ years
The current challenge is during winter visits. The current valve is a gate valve about 3′ underground. Also this is a secondary shut off valve. The main valve is near the paved access road. This vavle is installed downstream near the cabin to facilitate the winterization process/ In the winter in order to turn on the water, this necessitates a dig out of the snow to ground level.to access the vault that has the extension key to open the valve. Sometimes this may be up to 5′ or more of snow. Being that this was installed 40 years ago by my grandfather I was looking for a better solution. It seems there may be a better way to manage the main water valve.
Diane
Replies
Where is the valve located relative to the cabin? I would want the secondary valve located under the cabin, but there is not enough information to know if that's possible.
I would cover the valve if it's impossible to locate the valve under the cabin. If that's not desirable, a motorized valve could be wired. This would work inside the vault. Item 4729K12 at mcmaster.com
Another option is to simply build a shed over the valve. Depending on the location this could be a garden shed or a corner of a gazebo or what-have-you.
Install a curb stop valve, and use a long access pipe above it, rising several feet above ground. You'd need to somehow plug the pipe with insulation when not being accessed. (And, of course, you'd need a long T handle.)
Install a valve similar to a fire main shutoff (not sure what these are called). It's a vertical post about 3 feet tall with the workings of a curb stop valve below it and an internal shaft to operate the valve. On top is a fire-hydrant-style nut that operates the valve. (I've seen these, but not sure where you'd find one, though.)
You still need some way to drain the lines below your drain valves. You might be able to find the #2 option in a version that incorporates a drain function.
[In my original post I also mentioned an electric valve as a possiblity, but the Gollum ate that, and I forgot to mention it when I re-keyed everything.]
In general, an "electrically
In general, an "electrically actuated" valve (vs a "solenoid operated" valve) will stay in whatever position it was last in when power is removed.