# city key



## PlumberJ (Dec 12, 2011)

Went to do a job today and the valve on the city side broke off so we cant do nothing with out shutting the water off. Errrrr:furious:!

This ever happen to you guys?


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## 130 PLUMBER (Oct 22, 2009)

This is the main reason i'll have the village/ city turn the B-box off. In my neck of the woods the customer would be responsible for any repairs


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## deerslayer (Mar 29, 2012)

130 PLUMBER said:


> This is the main reason i'll have the village/ city turn the B-box off. In my neck of the woods the customer would be responsible for any repairs


Here too! I try a gentle turn but anything more than an easy turning valve and the city is called!


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## JK949 (Mar 18, 2009)

Happened once a couple years ago. Thankfully no water leak, just had to reschedule replacement of the PRV and ball valve.


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## johnlewismcleod (Apr 6, 2012)

It's happened a few times over the years...it's sucks every time :yes:

I've never had the city try to hold me responsible for one of their valves failing yet, but that may just be luck on my part. 

I certainly understand why some would call for the city to turn off their own valves, but I just don't have the time or the patience personally.


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## affordabledrain (Nov 24, 2009)

havent had any problems here. i just take my time and be gentle


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## mightypipe (Dec 22, 2012)

Yep... Once, when I was still a dumb "service tech" I snapped off an entire 2" meter below the stop with a giant meter key that a welder buddy made me. 60ft geyser for an hour waiting for the city to respond. It was an apartment complex, and when the guy showed up there were about 50 tenants out watching.


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## Hillside (Jan 22, 2010)

Whenever we shutoff a meter on the city side we use Pb blaster penetrating oil on it, some are sitting in soil for years,try and soak it a day before if possible and others try atleast for 30 min.... sometimes we shutoff 10-15 at a time to do new copper water mains for condos, I've snapped a FEW off out of 1000's but that's what's gonna happen sometimes in our trade


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## TallCoolOne (Dec 19, 2010)

I have had a handful over time that would not shut off or just froze up

City came out within hour and fixed it


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## cincy plumber (Jun 14, 2009)

Had one once where I could not find the curb box, called water works to locate, 
came back two hours later they had it marked, put my street key in and it was
only 24"s deep I said WTF supposed to be 48"s deep they marked the gas 
curb box as water.


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## Gettinit (May 9, 2012)

Most of our meters are easy to turn and shallow. I have had some old meters that wouldn't budge. I call them in. They use to try and turn them off and leave until I would call them back to turn it back on. Then, a big mofo came out with a heavy duty key and snapped the piping. Now they usually schedule a time to replace the aged setters.


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## BigDave (Mar 24, 2012)

In my neck of the woods, the can and the meter inside it, both belong
to the city's water department. By law, you could be charged with a crime
to even open it. You could certainly be handed a repair bill if you break it.

I've been breaking the law for years :innocent:
I use the city's meters to shut off my customer's water on almost every
call I make. I have stopped standing on my big wrench without first
trying a little WD 40 though, the number of curb stops I've snapped off has
dropped dramatically since :whistling2:


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## rjbphd (Feb 5, 2010)

Around here, when the city are called to close the b box.. they wanted to see the permit first, for what?? Permit for toilet or faucet repair and can't turn the crappy gate valves off inside that the city supplied with water meter??


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## Plumbbum0203 (Dec 14, 2011)

When they break here in st louis we have a tax payer funded program that pays for a replacement.


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## johnlewismcleod (Apr 6, 2012)

Plumbbum0203 said:


> When they break here in st louis we have a tax payer funded program that pays for a replacement.


A commie enclave right in the heart of our nation!!! :furious:








:jester::laughing:


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

Here it's called a curb stop. The meters are all in the basements. When a valve doesn't hold inside, I call the cities water department to shut off the curb stop. If you brake it, you bought it. I don't want to have to pay for a 70 years old valves replacement. Occasionally they complain about having to go out. I've had one dispatcher say "well aren't you a plumber? Why can't you turn it off" I told her if I brake it, who pays for the repair? She responded that I do. I then said that's why your sending someone out here to shut it off.


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## Plumbbum0203 (Dec 14, 2011)

Yea ours are at the curb to. In other counties that dont have a program if I break it the customer pays not me.


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## 89plumbum (May 14, 2011)

I broke one 20 years ago at 4:30 on a Friday

Old dude from city came out(easy mid 60s)... he was super cool about it! Kept calling me rookie!:laughing:

He told his helper to bring him a new stop and his helper said he wanted to find main shut-off for street. Older guy said forget that and changed it live! Dude was hard core for his age... I was impressed!


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## Plumberman911 (Dec 23, 2012)

Here if we brake it we pay. So I call them if its to hard. They pull out a massive pipe key and pipe wrench and turn it off. Then leave. It's like hey dude whose going to turn it on. Change the stop. No no that is smart and work. Against city policy lol


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## JDGA80 (Dec 9, 2012)

A real 3/4 key and a couple galvanized 2' cheaters will open any meter. Never had one break. The new WD40 professional rust penetrate by the way. Better than PB. Go to the site and see the test results. I've tried it and its good stuff


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## jc-htownplumber (Feb 29, 2012)

Here in Houston you break it guess what you just bough it. Lady from the city comes over and saying that the meter replacement was 150$ and they were going to bill us. Then proceeds to say that their should be a homeowner valve on the other side of the meter also to prevent this from happening. She swaps out the meter live throws it in the concrete and says since the glass is broken on it she can't charge for maintace.


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## RW Plumbing (Aug 16, 2010)

The thing to keep in mind is here most curb stops are 10' or more below grade. It's a major project to fix those.


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## KCplumber (Dec 31, 2009)

We can't touch them anymore, 20 years ago we always had street keys on the trucks . Our curb stops are also between 6 and 10' deep


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## jc-htownplumber (Feb 29, 2012)

Some here al almost 4 inches bellow the grass


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## DesertOkie (Jul 15, 2011)

Here it's no big deal if a lic plumber turns it off, no big deal if it pops. 
Heaven forbid a customer turn it off and breaks it. They even through a fit if the 1970s gate valve handle breaks.


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Here you have to have your Journeyman license on file with the water department before you touch it. Get caught doing it without permission and it's $2,500.00 fine and that goes for the homeowner, too.

Most shut-offs are 4' deep and assessable through a 2-1/2" diameter hole (pipe actually). We have special keys--6' long with a skinny end. We try to do it for 3.50 minutes, then call the water department and they are out in 15 minutes.


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## john_mccormack (Feb 27, 2010)

*Nantucket*

On Nantucket I apprenticed under my Master-P brother. Seasonal house and restaurant turn-ons/drain downs required that the plumber manipulated the curb stop at the street (only a small handful of city water workers could not keep up with the demand).

We once popped a curb stop off on the street side of the valve and it amazed me how quickly a 1" main will fill a 4' hole in the ground. Called the city, two workers came out and pumped out the hole, then used a tool to crush the copper main closed. After we installed a new stop, they reversed the tool and opened the pipe up again. It was now a 1" square pipe at that point! Cool stuff!

The home owner gets billed for the new stop.


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