# Do I have to cut my valve to remove?



## Daugela (Nov 24, 2019)

I'm building my first underground sprinkler system. Bought all the supplies from a sprinkler store in my area and am piecing it all together. But it dawned on me that if one of these valves breaks, I would NOT be able to unscrew it but rather, I'd probably have to cut one side of the PVC to and then unscrew it. The valves are Rainbird DVF. I've seen some prebuilt Orbit valves that have unions on both sides for easy removal.

Are unions the way to go??? Seem silly to glue everything in and not be able to remove without cutting pipe? Do they make union adapters for these valves? Any advice would be great. thanks


----------



## hsvtoolfool (Jul 23, 2018)

True unions are rather expensive, so I used an old aquarium hobby trick to save money. My valves are above ground, so my method would likely be a pain to pull off with underground valve boxes.

I used cheap 1" slip-thread fittings on either side. First, I assembled all the threaded parts using Teflon tape and the correct amount of torque. Second, I cut and trial-fit stubby 1" PVC connector sections between the threaded parts. Third, I glued the parts together....



The basic idea is that *all PVC above the slip-threads going into the ground is disposable*. When a valve must be replaced, the stubby PVC glue-joint on either side of the valve is cut. It's then easy to unscrew the female/male thread parts on either side. To reassemble, you just rebuild it like the first time it was installed.

My approach was tons cheaper than buying 10 True Union Connectors for about $80. More important to me is that these parts are common and easily sourced at the local Home Store. Finally, True Unions have rubber o-rings which leak in a few years (I know from experience). Glue joints and teflon threaded joints are less likely to leak over time. That assumes the Teflon tape was used properly and the slip-thread parts were torqued snugly (but not too tight!).

The main negative to this approach is that it may be messy to pull off underground. You must have 90° elbows to allow room to re-glue the joints. True Unions are designed to be installed and removed straight in line, so they don't need the extra space. A secondary negative is the time required to build and fit all the parts, but that's a rather trivial issue for home DIY-ers.

Before anyone asks, the thing on the right end of my manifold is a 100-mesh screen. This keeps my MP Rotators working reliably. The black pipe below the screen is just space for the blow-out drain. The thing to the manifold left end is a male slip-thread with a brass ball valve hose-bib installed on top. This provides a blow-out and curb-pressure water supply. I took this photo during my install, so a gauge was screwed on the hose-bib while I tweaked the pressure reducing valve.


----------



## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I use this.

https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/dura-sprinkler-valve-manifold-parts-329-011

I also use the one that connects to polypipe. I like to use a screw jar top valve that allows replacing all of the inside parts if something is not working.


----------



## ktgrok (May 25, 2019)

when I've had to replace valves I just leave the bottom half in place and switch out the insides and top part and that fixes the problem with no cutting.


----------



## Ballistic (Mar 19, 2018)

g-man said:


> I use this.
> 
> https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/dura-sprinkler-valve-manifold-parts-329-011
> 
> I also use the one that connects to polypipe. I like to use a screw jar top valve that allows replacing all of the inside parts if something is not working.


I'm surprised i haven't seen those ever, i have been doing unions.. May have to pick a box of those up.

Thanks!


----------

