Water Re-Rout Valve (WRRV)

Technical Field

Potable water supply and plumbing in residential and administrative units/apartments in Egypt and elsewhere in the world.

Background Art

Severe water shortageis the most harmful and devastating challenge facing Egypt in the coming decades. Today (March ) the million residents in the country consume billion cubic meter of drinking water. Cost of processing each cubic meter is LE . while consumers pay subsidized value as low as LE per meter. Subsidy of such vital commodity is not a problem. In fact it is very justified must continue. The problem is that of this amount of processed water is wasted unnecessarily. This lost amount cost the government billion pounds Egyptian pounds(USD billion) every year.

There are million buildings in Egypt containing million apartments mostly residential. The majority of these buildings has one or two water meters some are working and some are not. Water bill which is not small amount today and expected to increase logarithmically with time is paid as a lump sum for each building. The total value recorded on the meter is divided by the number of apartments in the building or set as fixed fee if the meter is not functioning or if the water company has shortage of staff.

Under these circumstances there is no incentive to any consumer to save water or fix the lose connections in his apartment so long as he will end up paying the same fee like his next-door neighbor or pay whatever the water company will set as fixed fee regardless.

Bad habits are also one of the main reasons for the waste. The fact that until now most of us as Egyptians in the country side call the Nile “the Sea” summarizes the message.

The only way to cut down most of the wasted Y billion cubic meters and use them for other badly needed agricultural projects is to fix water meter in every apartment but how?

Most of the new buildings erected in the past decade in Egypt (mostly residential compounds)took this problem into account but how about theexisting Y . million buildings? The only currently applicable solution is to install separate water meter for every apartment in the building at the ground floor or basement level and extend tens of meters of polypropylene pipes all the way to each apartment. In this report we call this solution “Traditional Solution”.

Summary of Invention

Residential and administrative units in most buildings are supplied with water through valve called the Water Shut off Valve (WSOV). The function of this valve is to open and shut down water flow into any residential or administrative unit. The valve is usually fixed inside the wall of the bathroom to cm. above the floor.

The Water Re-Rout Valve (WRRV) use half of this WSOV and enableseverywater consumer to install separate water meter inside his/her unit in the bathroom instead of the current traditional routine installation outside the building either at the sky light corridor or at the entrance. This application reduces the installation cost considerably, eliminates pressure loss in the higher floors consequently the need for water pumps, make the installation process much easier and faster, eliminates fatal accidents of installation in the high rise buildings and avoid theugly appearance of the green polypropylene pipes.

The valve is a small tube called the Inner Tube (IT) made of brass (yellow copper and zinc alloy) screwed into a bigger tube called the External Jacket (EJ).

The movable part of the Water Shut off Valve (WSOV) in the bathroom will be removed and the EJ will be screwed tightly in its place (i.e. it will be screwed into the fixed part in the wall). Water will flow from the fixed part of the WSOV to inside the IT and then via few PVC connections, elbows and external shut off valve to the water meter. After measuring the flow, water will return back to the EJ via 1/2 inch slot from which it will flow back into the WSOV to supply the apartment or the unit with water.

The ultimate objective of the valve is to facilitate installations of water meters to make every consumer feel the real value of the scarce water resources in the country and therefore reduce the amount of wasted water particularly in a country like Egypt suffering from shortage of fresh water and exposure to additional threat at the source of the Nile river.

Technical Problem

Consumed water in each building comprising few, several or tens of residential units is sharedamong all residents bi-monthly equally. The amount of consumed water is measured by one or two meters usually fixed in the basement or at the sky line area or in some cases at the entrance of the building.When residents of all units pay the same amount regardless of how much they consumedthis un-fair treatment make those who consume little and those who abandoned their unitsfor different reasons like living and working abroad feel discriminated. When such feeling build up in the societyit will automatically translates into carelessness. Apartment owners and tenants will then think twice before they fix their loose water taps andflushing boxesfor months and may be for years.Similarly those who naturally care and consume little will become earless because they are not sure if their next door neighbor dose the same. This will ultimately lead to wasting this valuable and vital commodity.

The technical and commercial problem therefor is the unfair payment of the water bill in all the million buildings in Egypt. To feel the size of loss resulted from wasted water as a result of this unfair payments, the author estimates loss of water worth billion USD every year subject to annual increase.

Solution to Problem

To solve this commercial and technical problem, apartment owner and tenant must purchase his own water meters and higher plumber to extend tens of meters of 1/2 inch polypropylene pipes all the way from his/her meter somewhere at the ground floor level to his/her apartment and by-pass the main Water Shut off Valve (WSOV) present in the bathroom. With this 1/2 inch pipes, friction loss will reduce the water pressure substantially and may require installation of water pump.

This traditional method is very costly as it involve amount of materials depending on the height of the unit, make the building appearance with dozens of green pipes un- evenly laid on its walls looks ugly, and expose the plumber(s) who fix these pipes in high rise buildings to life threat when they hang up from the roof of the building on robe. Obviously the alternative will be to erect scaffold which is commercially prohibitive. The alternative to avoid loss of pressure is to use bigger size pipes like 3/4 or inch which will add more cost and more ugliness.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

The advantage of installing water meter inside every apartment compared to the traditional way of installation outside in basement or in ground level are: Save cost: If all tenants in one building agree to fix meters for their apartmentstogether in one go (which is impossible), average cost of material (pipes, nibbles, elbows, hooks,... etc.) and labor will be at least times the cost when each uses one or two WRRV. Save original pressure: Pumped water pressure in most networks in cities and towns ranges between approximately and psi at the street level. Pressure loss at higher floors is very little because the supply pipes are usually inch in diameteror bigger but when 1/2 inch pipes are used the increased friction loss of pressure may make water unable to reach the higher level apartments. The WRRV allow direct access to the original water pressure in the network. Save time: Installing each meter inside an apartment using WRRV does not take more than minutes while in traditional way it may take several days depending on the obstacles in the building from outside like windows, AC units, gas pipes, electric cables, telephone lines...etc. Save life: plumbing work with the traditional way will either require scaffolds which will make the cost prohibitive or force the plumbers to work with a very risky primitive way called “robe and belt” by hanging in the air form the roof of the building. Fixing water meter and WRRV inside the bathroom is basically as safe as any plumbing work inside the bathroom. Save the ugly appearance: Most buildings in Egypt looks ugly from outside with cracks, holes, peeled off painting, water leakage stains, dusty and rusted AC units, crocked AC pipes, loose wires running in every direction, shampoo of unmatched faint colors, badly presented advertisementsand drawings, ...etc. Adding dozens of green water pipes stranding each other, crossing beside windows and across balconies will add more to this ugliness, (photos are available at request but there is no room to present them with the required format in this report) Allow independence: The WRRV will allow installation of each water meter independently without waiting to share the job with neighbors or wait for the consent of the building custodians while in the traditional way unless all owners and tenants agree to install all water meters together which is very unlikely, every tenant will have his own schedule and plan which can easily guardable the cost, risk and time. Allow accessibility: When dozens of meters installed in the traditional way, one of the reasons for not taking their readings by the water distribution company is their inaccessibility and therefore the water company may end up charging all tenants fixed fee. Usually water meters - not like electric meters - are located in dark, places home for rats and insects. Because each tenant hires his own plumber to fix his own meter the end result is dozens of meters with tens of connections rest on top of each other some are working, some are broken and many are leaking. The government water company inspector in such cases will cut it short and charge the building one fixed fee completely un-representative of the actual consumption. Allow installation of pre-paid meters: While conventional meters can be installed inside apartments using WRRV or outside apartments with the traditional method, yet it is almost impossible to install these fragile sensitive pre-paid meters outside in un-protected areas in the building. Installation of the WRRV therefore is a must in order to install pre-paid meters in the existing million buildings.

Brief Description of Drawings

Plate A

Drawing A: Cross Section in the Main Water Shutoff Valve (WSOV) Fixed parts in green, Movable parts in red Water entrance from outside the building Water exit and entrance into the apartment Circular water outlet Circular rubber plug Moving up and down stem Valve handle in open position Valve handle in closed position

Drawing B: Cross section in the same WSOV after removing mobile part

Drawing C: Cross section in the same WSOV (green) after installation of the WRRV (orange) V Inner Tube T External Jacket

Drawing D: Cross section in the same WSOV (green) after installation of the WRRV (orange) and Water meter (black) Water entrance from outside the building Water exit and entrance into the apartment Water meter PVC pipe joints Plate B

Drawings A Cross Section in External Jacket Cross Section in Inner Tube Cross Section in Inner Tube Side Projection for External Jacket Vertical Projection for External Jacket Side Projection for Inner T ube

Drawings B Dimension drawing for External Jacket and Inside Tube Dimension drawing for External Jacket Dimension drawing for Inner Tube

Plate C

Drawings A: Water Re-Route Valve (WRRV) connected directly to the water meter Water Re-Route Valve (WRRV) External shut off valve (ball valve) to replace the main Water Shut Off Valve (WSOV) Pre-paid Water Meter Water entry point

Drawings B: Water Re-Route Valve (WRRV) connected to pipe joints extended to allow uplifted water meter above bathroom floor

(Connected pipe joints can be directed and extended as long and as desired) k WRRV Connected PVC pipe joints and elbows Pre-paid water meter

External replacement water shut off valve (ball valve) Water entry point

Detailed Description:

The WSOV which is also known as the “buried” valve is composed of two parts, fixed and movable. The fixed part is buried in the bathroom wall covered with plaster or usually under ceramic tiles. This part is either made of polypropylene with inserted 3/4 inch female brass screw in the middle or made entirely of brass if its size is 14 inch. This fixed part connects to the main water feeding pipe rising from the ground floor level of the building to feed all higher floors.

The movable part is a male screw made of brass with its end capped with rubber disk. This movable part is replaceable when damaged.

The Water Re-Route Valve (WRRV) is a simple valve made of two tubes one inside the other and its function is to re-direct the water flow to water meter to measure consumption prior to supplying the unit. The Inner Tube (IT) is a thin pipe made of brass (copper and zinc alloy) capped with open rubber ring screwed into wider tube called the Outer Jacket (OJ).

After shutting off water supply to the entire building the movable part of the WSOV will be unscrewed and removed. The 3/4 inch male end of the WRRV Outer Jacket will then be screwed tightly into the female % inch fixed part of the WSOV. The IT will then be screwed into the OJ until it reaches the bottom of the WSOV. Water flow will then go through (inside) the open IT either directly to the water meter or indirectly through set of PVC joints and elbows. After measuring the water flow in the water meter, water will go back via descending set of similar PVC joints all the way back to the OJ via 14 inch male screw inlet. Water will then make its way in the space between the IT and the inner diameter of the OJ back to the fixed part of the WSOV to supply the residential or administrative unit. In order to replace the eliminated function of the WSOV, replacement shut off valve will be installed either in the middle of the ascending or descending PVC joints.

The WRRV is designed to suite all 3/4 inch WSOV’s currently used in most buildings in Egypt. It is also designed to suite the 14 inch WSOV’s used in buildings prior to the beginning of the St. century.

The 3/4 inch WSOV’s currently used in Egypt are brands all similar with only small differences in measurements. Water passes through these brands in the same way from inlet to small dish made of polypropylene. Dish diameter vary from mm. to mm. and its depth from the edge of the outer propylene valve and its inside female brass screw vary from to mm.

The 14 inch WSOV’s made all of brass were the only valve used in Egypt before ^ until the appearance of the 3/4 inch polypropylene valves in mid- where most plumbing technicians thought that metal brass must be stronger than plastic (polypropylene). In early , the polypropylene valves dominated.

All 14 inch valves have the same measurements with similar water pathway like the % inch but with mm. dish diameter and mm. depth from the edge of the outer female screw. Examples

There are no examples to the WRRV the author is aware of.

Industrial Applicability

The following review describe how the WRRV and its accessories are manufactured and how they will be installed in the bathroom of any residential or administrativeunit. The valve will weigh approximately gm of brass alloy ( *% coper and % zinc) while its accessories are number of short PVC pipes, nuts and elbows in addition to an external shut off valve. The WRRV and all its PVC accessories will be manufactured locally in a factory in the industrial area of the • Th. of Ramadan City while the shut off valve will be outsourced.

The WRRV will be installed together with the pre-paid meter at the request of any customer. If the customer approves installation of the WRRV directly at the commonly low level of the main water shutoff valve (WSOV) in his bathroom there will be very little PVC pipes, nuts and elbows connected and used This is not recommended as the water meter will be difficult to reach at to centimeter above the bathroom floor.

If on the other hand the customer request the water meter to be fixed at higher level say centimeter above the bathroom floor to protect the delicate Pre- Paid meter from damage and water leaks and also to make it accessible for easier re-charging, then there will be more pipes, nuts and elbows extended between the WRRV and the meter as shown in (Plate-C). In both cases the replacement shut off valve will be installed either in the ascending or descending pipes connected to the WRRV to replace the cancelled function of the WSOV.

Manufacturing the WRRV inch:

The WRRVmade of two brass pipes. The Inner Tube (IT) is screwed into and inside bigger pipe called the Outer Jacket (OJ).

To manufacture the Inner Tube, a mm long pipe will be cut from imported brass tube mm long with mm diameter and i mm thickness. After cutting the tube into pieces, each piece will be lathed. Two mm in thickness from the top mm of each piece will be lathed. The next mm will be lathed by eroding mm layer from the original outer diameter to become with mm wall thickness. mm from the remaining mm will be lathed as male screw with Y I mm diameter (Plate-B).

The remaining mm interval will be lathed by eroding mm from the original diameter. The back end of the Inner Tube will be cut with mm deep groove which will be used to screw the Inner Tube into the Outer Jacket when ready to install.

To manufacture the Outer Jacket, a mm long brass tube with mm in diameter will be heated to approximately v degree Celsius in a furnace using blowing mixture of natural gas and air. When each piece reaches % of its melting temperature it will be moved manually (or automatically) to a high power hydraulic pressing molding machine to be hot forged to the predetermined shape of the Outer Jacket. After pressing into the jacket cast the forged pieces will be left to cool to room temperature.

Each of the cooled forged pieces will then be subjected to step lathing. The first is to lathe the outer end of the jacket into mm long male 3/4 inch screw. This end of the Outer Jacket will become later when installed the screwed part of the WRRV into the fixed part (buried in the bathroom wall) of the WSOV. The second lathing step will be to lath mm nibble 34 inch male which will become the water inlet coming back from the water meter. The third lathing will be to lath an mm female screw in which the Inner Tube will later be screwed into when ready to install the WRRV. The last lath will be a mm long female 3/4 inch in the back side of the Outer Jacket where the water meter (or the connection PVC pipes) will be screwed into.

Manufacturing the WRRV 1/2 inch:

To manufacture the Inner Tube, an mm in length pipe will be cut from imported brass tube mm long with mm diameter with mm wall thickness. After cutting the tube into pieces, each piece will be lathed. The top . mm of each piece will be mm in diameter, the next mm will be lathed by eroding mm layer from the outer diameter to become with mm wall thickness. mm from the remaining mm will be lathed as a male screw with mm diameter.

The back end of the Inner Tube will be lathed by eroding mm layer from the outer diameter to become with mm wa ll thickness and will be cut with mm deep groove which will be used to screw the Inner Tube into the Outer Jacket when ready to install.

To manufacture the Outer Jacket, mm long brass tube with _m m diameter will be heated to approximately degree Celsius in a furnace using blowing mixture of natural gas and air. When each piece reaches % of its melting temperature it will be moved manually (or automatically) to a high power hydraulic pressing molding machine to be hot forged to the predetermined shape of the Outer Jacket. After pressing into the jacket cast the forged pieces will be left to cool to room temperature.

Each of the cooled forged pieces will then be subjected to step lathing. The first is to lathe the outer end of the jacket into mm long male 34 inch screw. This end of the Outer Jacket will become later when installed the screwed part of the WRRV into the fixed part (buried in the bathroom wall) of the WSOV. The second lathing step will be on 34 inch male nibble which will become the water inlet coming back from the water meter. The third lathing will be to lath a mm long female screw with mm OD in which the Inner Tube will later be screwed into when ready to install the WRRV. The last lath will be a mm long female 3/4 inch in the back side of the jacket where the water meter (or the connecting PVC pipes) will be screwed into.

Manufacturing the PVC accessories:

Injection molding machine will be used to convert the polyvinyl chloride pellets into mm long, mm OD pipe molds with Y mm wall thickness. One end of each PVC joint will have mm long male 34 inch thread while the other end will have mm thick lib. Each connecting nut will have mm long female screw to tie two pipe joints together one with male screw tied to one with lib.1/2 and 3/4 inch elbows with mm lib on one end and mm long 1/2 and 3/4 inch male screws on the other end will also be manufactured in the same injection molding machine.

External Shut off valve:

The external 1/2 inch shut off valve with female thread on either side will be outsourced locally or imported from abroad.

Manufacturing water meter holder:

The water meter holder will be made of mm thick stainless steel or galvanized steel sheet. The sheet will be cut on a laser cutting machine and bent by a bending machine on right angle. holes will be perforated in the holding part of holder.

Installation and assembly of the WRRV and its accessories:

To install the water meter, WRRV and its accessories, the first step will be to cut off water supply to the entire building in which the WRRV will be installed. The second step will be to drain out all water volume filling the pipes above the MSOV level by opening all taps in the apartment. The third step will be to unscrew the movable part of the MSOV shown in (Plate A-A) and let the remaining water to drain. When un- screwed it will become obvious whether the MSOV is 3/4 or 1/2 inch.

The male screw of the External Jacket described above will be screwed into the female fixed part of the MSOV which is usually buried inside the bathroom wall.

PTEF Teflon tape and sealant liquid will be applied to the male thread of the External Jacket before screwing into the WSOV to ensure tight connection.

After tightening the WRRV, the Inner Tube will then be screwed into the female mm screw of the External Jacket using Teflon tape until the open head of the Inner Tube with its rubber ring front can’t move forward any more. This will indicate tight connection with the water inlet of the WSOV.

The first PVC pipe will be screwed into the female 3/4 screw outlet of WRRV followed by the required number of joints connected with each other using elbows and nuts rising up all the way to the required level into the inlet of the water meter (Plate-C). The descending PVC joints will be similarly connected starting from the outlet of the meter all the way to the water inlet of the WRRV which is the external 1/2. inch male screw nibble on the External Jacket.

Either the ascending of the descending joints will be interrupted by the external shut off valve to replace the cancelled function of the WSOV.

All PVC joints, elbows and nuts will be glued with each other using Cyanoacrylate sealant to ensure maximum sealing and to avoid illegal un-screwing attempts to by- pass the water meter. Threads of the water meter will be sealed with PTEF Teflon tape and sealant. Important notice:

All dimensions of the presented WRRV and its accessories mentioned in this report are based on measurements taken for proto-type models manufactured and assembled with primitive materials and technique. Professional manufacturing on commercial scale will lead to refined design, lesser weight and lesser dimensions.

What will never change is the 3/4 or the 1/2 inch water inlet diameter of the WRRV (depending whether the WSOV in the bathroom is 3/4or 1/2 inch) and the 3/4 inch back end diameter of the valve in which the water meter or pipes leading to the water meter will be connected.

Reference to Deposited Biological Material

Un-applicable.

Sequence Listing Free Text

The following steps summarize the sequence of installing WRRV and water meter: Shut down water supply to the building Removed the bras mobile part of the Water Shut of Valve Screw the Outer Jacket (OJ) of the WRRV. Use Teflon tape as sealant Glue rubber ring on top of the open Inner Tube Screw the IT inside the OJ until it can’t go any further and reach the bottom of the WSOV. Use Teflon tape as sealant. Screw PVC elbow into the back side of the OJ. Use permanent sealant. Connect PVC pipes, nuts and elbows to build up approximately cm. height above bathroom floor or the height required by the client. Use pregnant sealant in all PVC connections and materials. Use PVC elbows and nuts to choosethe most convenient route on the walls of the bathroom and select the most suitable location to fix the pre-paid water meter. Use permanentsealant with all PVC materials. Drill holes if necessary to fix pipe holders for the PVC pipes . Drill at least r holes in the wall to fix the galvanized steel water meter holder. Fix the water meter on its holder base. . Install ball valve in handy position in the middle of the ascending or descending PVC joints.

Connect last PVC elbow into the 1/2 inch water inlet of the OJ. . Re-connect water supply to the building and test all connections. . Charge the meter with its card. Measuring water consumption is now functioning.