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last week I had to scramble to remove the backflow preventer valve from my in-ground sprinkler system before the freezing temps hit our area. I learned the hard way last year when I had to pay to replace a *cracked* valve due to it being left on over the winter season. I’m not letting THAT happen again. Fortunately, the sprinkler guy showed me how to remove the valve for the winter so that I could do it myself. Paying a guy to “winterize” the sprinkler system isn’t really worth it. I’d rather just pay for a service tech to come out just for the spring checkup.

anyway, here’s a quick rundown of how to disconnect the valve –

1) There should be a main water shut off valve near the backflow preventer valve. Turn it off.

2) Use a flathead screwdriver to turn one of the four outlet ports open to relieve the pressure on the system.

3) use a pipe wrench to loosen the nuts on the two main pipes.

4) remove the backflow preventer valve. be sure to shake all the water out of the valve and then store securely in garage.

5) cover the exposed pipes with either rags or secured plastic bags to protect from debris or loose dirt.

and that’s pretty much it. Since our winters are typically mild, draining out all the lines isn’t necessary.

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my 12 year old came home last week with a blown out bicycle tire. he wasn’t that forthcoming about how he did it so I’m not really sure if he ran over something or if he did some crazy stunt and busted the tire with sheer force. anyway, I wasn’t really keen on replacing the tube in the tire especially since it’s the back tire but thankfully it wasn’t too hard. bought a replacement tube at walmart for $3.50 and got started…

Since the back tire already separated from the rim I didn’t have to worry about using tire levers to pry open the sides of the tire. that was a good thing since I didn’t have tire levers on hand.

anyway the first thing you have to do is release the brakes so that they don’t interfere when removing the tire from the frame. My son’s bike has V-brakes so it was simply a matter of disconnecting the cable on one end of the brake.
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