We woke up to no water in the house, at first I thought that it might be a frozen pipe, but after doing some research it turns out it is most likely the pressure regulator. I was able to unscrew the existing pressure valve but it didn't have any universal which made it a little more difficult to get off.
Secondly the existing turnoff valve was an old style gate valve. I figured while I'm working on it I should replace it with a new ball valve. So I had the city com out and turn off the water. And I removed the old valve.
This meant of course that I needed a torch. So, just three weeks after I thought I wouldn't need a torch I went out and got one. I started with a small one that I thought would do the trick.
It was fun trying to figure out all of the pieces that I needed. Soldered to threaded, and back again, inserting universal joints for quick access in the future and keeping it all in the same space as the original. After about 30 minutes of laying it out on the store floor, I think I have all of the parts that I need.
The small torch worked for getting things apart, but when I went to start putting them together it couldn't generate enough heat with the water that was in the pipe just a few inches away out of reach. So back to store I went and I picked up a Fat Boy...
The new larger torch easily boiled the water out of the pipe and let me put on the valve. I also added a universal joint for easy of replacement for the future. At this point I had the city turn back on the water.
A few cuts and joints later it was all put back together again and we had water :) Oh the little things that make me happy... like running water.
