Options for replacing this valve?

 The main valve to my house needs replacing. Here's a pic

http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/11/1809238/valve.jpg


Any helpful tips I should be aware of first - other than shutting off
the water co. valve first obviously and opening up some faucets to
bleed off pressure.

Since the one pipe is set into the stucco, I wonder if I'll need the
pipe to be moveable and need to break the stucco around the pipe
first? Or should this not be necessary?

Thanks for all input.

  On 7/13/2008 6:29 PM Doc spake thus:


Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks as if you could cut the riser (the
pipe going into the ground) below the valve, then unscrew the valve from
the ell to remove it.

To replace, you'd need to thread the top of the pipe, then use some
combination of nipples and a union to install the new valve.

Disclaimer: IANAP (I am not a plumber).


--
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It drags itself out of the dark abyss of pish, and crawls insanely up
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- With apologies to H. L. Mencken

 wrote:


IANAP, IANAQ, IANAR

Maybe you can just remove the big nut, and replace whatever needs
replacing.  

Is the problem that you can't turn off the water?  
Or is the valve leaking to the outside?

Maybe you'll have to take off the handle, the small nut, and the stem
first.  Maybe not.  Or maybe this won't work at all. IANAS.

 

When I attempted to turn it off, it won't tighten. It feels like the
internals have corroded away.



Even if that were possible, the valve is 20 years old, I think I'd
like to go to a more modern ball valve.

 wrote:


http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/3/11/1809238/valve.jpg


OK.   Or it may just need a new washer  -- how long will it take to
check? --  and it feels the way it does because it now tightens beyond
its intended depth.   Or maybe it needs a new stem, which they sell at
HD or at least real plumbing stores.

20 years old is nothing.  There are loads of such valves that work
fine that are 50 or 100 years old.  

What difference does it make if the valve is modern or if it is new?
How often do you turn this valve on and off?  I turn mine off maybe
once every 5 or 10 years.    When I replace the water heater and once
when I went away for 2 months during the winter and drained the pipes.

But even if you used the valve every day, don't go looking for
trouble.  You're likely to find it.

Do it the easy way, and if for some reason you can't replace the
rubber washer, or maybe it even needs a stem and you can't find one,
then you have plenty of time to cut out the whole valve.

Not counting turning the water off at the street, the easy repair is
as little as 20 minutes.  

I expect replacing the valve is a mimimum of 2 hours for someone who
doesn't do it frequently.

Use the other 100 minutes to 8 hours for some other house project.