Ask a Plumber.

i would do it all in copper...use a male adptor right in the elbow and valves on both sides of meter.....
and he can get a dresser coupling if he is worried about pipes breaking....

 

So no dialectic union at the galvi incoming pipe? Copper male adapter off the elbow and he's good?

 

Thanks for all the input everyone. The galvanized main coming in the wall should be replaced, but we want to hold off if possible. To many other projects going on. I do tend to get ahead of myself and this is one of those times.

Going back to the beginning, my shut off valve is old and doesn't close all the way. So I need a new shut off installed first. The water company will be turning off the service this Monday so I can swap out the shut off.

The worry is will the galvanized pipe break off and what will I do if it does?

I can easily break out the concrete block enough to put in a temporary compression fitting to allow restoring of the water service. Then at a more convenient time I would have the main line replaced.

The confusing part to me about the dialectic union is that you generally need to provide continuity across the dialectic with a bonding wire. Seems to defeat the purpose? My pipes are currently grounded through my panel, but I also have earth grounding rods at my panel.

 

I like this idea

 

I've read on some plumbing forums that some use brass or bronze as a semi dialectic. Apparently galvanized to brass to copper is less corrosive than galvanized straight to copper. But there is a lot of disagreement it seems from what I've read on the web.

 

Let's wait for brutalguy to chime beck in, my thing would be, avoid breaking that pipe that comes through the wall at all costs, it just opens up a bunch of problems if you do. Even a compression fitting has it's limitations in your case. The reason is that with a compression fitting, there are no threads and the on/off/on/off repetition will eventually start pushing that fitting off with nothing to hold it in place. In my world, I avoid compression fittings on constantly pressurized lines for this very reason. Water, when it hits an elbow, exerts force against it, i counter that force with what's called a thrust-block, usually where the pipes are going to be buried i put large rocks or bricks, something that increases the surface area that the fitting pushes against to hold it in place. in your setup, there is nothing to counter-act this force. Just avoid breaking that elbow off, re-use it if you need to.

 

For sure I'll try not to break it off, I've quite a bit of experience turning wrenches. I routinely assemble and test manifolds for air powered systems at work (10,000 psi working pressures).

If it does break off, I was thinking of using a compression fitting for just a few days. Could this get me by for a week while I line up en excavator and permit to replace the main line?....

 

I wanted to assure you all that well I'm aware of how badly this can go wrong....No water for long time....

I appreciate very much all the help your sending my way

 

few days sure, but it sure won't stay put forever

 

I'm going back and forth on whether to just replace the main first. Really don't have an extra couple grand at the moment. I might try and see if I can find a local plumber who would "work with me"...Letting me excavate and back fill the trench and leave the new line install to him. Not sure if this would save me anything and or if they would be unusually amused with this offer...Or maybe I should try and do the whole thing myself. I've lots of good strong help available....I have a friend that operates a backhoe. I could rent one and deliver it with my Tacoma! The line is 25' long and 4' deep. Not sure how deep it is when it hits the water companies shutoff.

 

You could probably get a plumber to bite for that, do all the excavating yourself, is there a shut off valve in the ground at the street end of the pipe run?

 

While speaking with the guy at the water company I asked about the main replacement. The water companies shut off is between the street and sidewalk and I believe the actual valve is at line depth. The interesting part is that he said they are responsible for the pipe from their shutoff street side to the other side of the sidewalk. He said I would dig down on my side, cut the galvi and splice in the copper with a compression fitting (he showed me the coupler). He suggested back filling initially with some sand and then carefully back fill the rest.

 

That sounds correct, you use the sand to keep the pipe nice and level, sand fills under and to just above the pipe, he is correct in that you could use a compression fitting back at the shut off because the whole thing is going to be buried and shouldn't move.

 

What would you use for the line? I'm partial to copper, I think type K would be recommended? But I think everyone just uses plastic these days due to the lower cost.

And if I go to the trouble to excavate, maybe I should do the replacement as well, provided code would allow for that.

 

IMO, I'd use copper. Not understanding what you mean 'do the replacement as well"?

 

That I could entertain the idea of hooking up the new line in addition to excavation/back filling.

 

Yeah, the compression fitting is no big deal, if you are handy with sweating the copper, then replacing the whole thing becomes a piece of cake, you can skip the dialectic union, rectify the weird angle where it comes through the wall, mount the meter vertically and you're good to go.
Sometimes it's better just to rip all the garbage out and do the whole thing right the first time.
On a side note: When I backfill, I like to compact the material that the pipe sits on so the pipe lays nice and flat, then backfill to above the pipe with sand, gently compact it some more, then backfill with dirt part way, get a hose and partly fill the trench as I add more dirt to turn it into mud, i want to soil to settle and solidify as it dries out.

 

funny I came across this thread today cause I recently had some foul smelling water fill up the bathroom sink after my neighbor flushed his toilet (quad plex is mirrored, bathrooms right next to each other).

They've had plumbing issues over there before (clogging/over flow/back up) so I'm curious if I need to get a plumber in my bathroom or should they get someone to fix theirs which will fix mine? The building is really old so I was thinking they're connected somehow and theirs is getting worse so it overflows up my bathroom sink's drain?

any one?

 

If you are a renter, it's the landlord's problem, all those drains probably go into the same pipe,

 

oh sorry I didn't mean I'd PAY for the plumber...I just don't want to hassle with having one in my house cause I have dogs and need to be present (their rules) or keep them somewhere else if someone comes for service....rather just tell him to send one to my neighbor's! my neighbors are lazy kids who hardly keep up with their rent so not sure if they're on the ball with getting a plumber.

just curious really, it wasn't a major back up in my sink...just thinking ahead