Hi All,

I have three water valves on the outside of my house.
Two for sprinklers and one for my house. They are down
about two feet at the bottom of a plastic pipe. The valve
handle is a rectangle about 1-1/2' long by about 1/2"
wide. It turns 1/4 turn on to off. I use a long
"T" shaped tool with a "U" at the bottom to turn
the valve handle on and off.

I turn the sprinkler values off at night when the
weather service says it is going to freeze at night
and off all winter.

Question: what is the duty cycle on these valves?
As in, should I not be turning them off and on
all the time? Am I going to eventually find myself with
a broken valve?

Many thanks,
-T

On May 1, 3:46*pm, Todd wrote:
Hi All,

I have three water valves on the outside of my house.
Two for sprinklers and one for my house. *They are down
about two feet at the bottom of a plastic pipe. *The valve
handle is a rectangle about 1-1/2' long by about 1/2"
wide. *It turns 1/4 turn on to off. *I use a long
"T" shaped tool with a "U" at the bottom to turn
the valve handle on and off.

I turn the sprinkler values off at night when the
weather service says it is going to freeze at night
and off all winter.

Question: *what is the duty cycle on these valves?
As in, should I not be turning them off and on
all the time? *Am I going to eventually find myself with
a broken valve?

Many thanks,
-T

The valves themselves will likely not break if kept on or off (I'm
guessing since they're on plastic pipes, they're plastic valves?).
Plastic valves last several years (5+) -- metal ones last several
decades. BUT... since you said 'they're down at the bottom of a
plastic pipe', that indicates to me that if you shut off the valve,
that there is still water in the pipe, and that pipe is exposed to the
cold. That will eventually cause you problems when the weather gets
cold, and it could break the valve, or the pipe, and that could be
headaches all around.

You should install a valve on the inside of the house, where the
elements can't get to it. When the weather is going to get cold, shut
this valve off, and open the valves on the outside.

John

In article , Todd wrote:

Question: what is the duty cycle on these valves?
As in, should I not be turning them off and on
all the time? Am I going to eventually find myself with
a broken valve?

Yes, they all break in the end.

However, my experience with outside valves suggests
that regular operation will actually extend their
life.

Don't touch a value for years and corrosion will
likely result in a siezed valve. The force required
to budge it often results in a breakage!

I wouldn't worry about it. Just accept that you'll
need to replace when they (eventually) break or,
even better, when they first show signs of impending
failure.


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