these are the issues:
1)how to finish old 3/4" copper tube cut ends I'll be putting into the valve bores after using the tube cutter 2)which of my two valve assembly methods to use for sliding the valves' bores onto the tubes' cut ends, and ease of sleeve manipulation 3)disconnection/unscrewing at the water meters "out" connection and if there are any seals or fittings of any material I need to obtain, and if I can (safely) use a galvanized cap temporarily to stop the leaking water flow, with or without Teflon tape or plumbers dopeI purchased a B&K 3/4" Ball Valve with compression fittings (on both ends) which I want to install in a vertical stretch of 3/4" copper tubing JUST AFTER the horizontally mounted ("Trident Canada/Neptune") water meter. This is because my current original main water shut-off valve, near front of house, up through slab, located JUST BEFORE the water meter is faulty. It is faulty in that it does not shut off the water completely when it is fully closed - it still flows at a rate of about a 12oz. glass of water every minute. It is also a "poor" shut-off valve because it very stiff to close the old hand wheel handle even with a wrench. I have some repair soldering to do elsewhere in the house, so I need to be able to shut off and drain the lines completely. My water company could come out and shut the water off at the street ($15 charge each time either to turn the water off, or on, or both, if extremely fast). The faulty old valve is installed with very tight proximity on rusty old/ painted "pipe" or tube, with hex fittings, and is too difficult to fix or replace without more experience and having to call the water company.
In order to fit the new valve into the vertical run I have bought a wheel-type mini tube cutter. The valve installed will be about 3-7/8" from end to end, including outer nuts and compression sleeves installed. I have measured both sides for the distances from the outer edges to the bottoming points (.967" & .835", plus the 3/8" sleeve and 1/16" edge of locking nut), and subtracting from the 3-7/8", the valve will displace 1.282" of 3/4" vertical copper tubing, which I have to cut out.
After I mark and cut out the 1.282" of 3/4" tubing with the mini wheel tube cutter (Brasscraft T007 from HD), do I need to touch up the ends of the freshly cut tubing? I have never done this before, so I can only assume that the outer edge will be chamfered from the wheel of the cutter, and that the end will be straight, and any burr will be on the inside, and irrelevant, except it may chip off in drinking water. The water will be running through the tubing at an estimated 12oz./minute, so should/could/would I try to touch up the ends in any way with a file, or sandpaper, or brush? Its the inside of a compression fitting, remember.
Next, there are 2 ways I can insert the valve into the displaced area of the tubing. The first is to cut the gap larger than the calculated 1.282", so I can slip the nuts then sleeves on both pieces of Vert. tubing, and slide on end of the valve up to the bottoming point, then align and slip in the other end of the valve, and center it all. This means that neither end of the tubing would be at the bottoming point of the valve. I would just have to position the valve so it was centered and have an equal maximum connection join on both sides. I haven't calculated how much of the 3/4" tube ends would be mating in the bores this way, but I also have a little flex in the V-H-V pipe/meter/pipe/tube assembly too. I do not know how tight the sleeves will be on the tube, and how easy it will be to adjust their position during assembly. Am unsure if it would be advisable to put the sleeves in boiling water, or something for a minute to expand them prior to assembly to make them easier to slide. Another way is to unscrew the water meter compression fitting on the "out"-end connection with the nut, which gives me the ability to snuggly butt the tube ends to the bottoming points (or best possible) in the valves bores. I like this idea. I am at a standstill because I am not sure if there are going to be rubber seals or compression pieces which would need replacing, either I would have to get them beforehand or not use this method. I do not know if a permanently leaking problem will make it hard/impossible to re-connect it the nut and any washers or seals inside. To take the pressure off me, I may be able to stop the flow instead of using buckets/trays. I bought a 3/4" galvanized cap in the plumbing dept of HD which seems to have the same thread as the thread on the out"-end connection of the water meter. In pondering, the guy at HD did check it against another thread coming off something. I am out of my depth w/r/t the thread types, like NPT vs. NC, but I viewed 4 threads (5 crests) in 4-1/2" or 4-2/3" sixteenths on a steel rule and a major diameter of 1.044" on a dial caliper, which is an estimated 1"-14, regardless of thread type The cap I got has a similar visual distance between 5 crests (4-1/2+), and a minor diameter of .934". That's a .110" (1.76/16ths) diff b/t meter's max and nut's min thread diameters, and a visual tpi equality of
+/- 0.1/16". Still I am in no way sure if the cap will fit, or even if I should disconnect the water meter "out"-end connection. ALL hardware before the Vertical 3/4" tube I intend to splice into looks like pipe fitters "pipe" type components vs. copper "tube", but I'm not sure. Also, the HD guy said to use Teflon tape to seal the cap, but what about re-assembly and whether to clean or add Teflon tape, with or w/o seals or fittings. .