Drain and shutoff valve assembly

In combination, a tank to contain a liquid and having an opening therein, a fitting mounted in said opening, passage means in said fitting providing communication between the interior of said tank and the exterior, manually operated valve means for opening and closing said passage means, said passage means includes a first passage having an inner end communicating with the interior of said tank and having an open outer end communicating with the exterior of the tank, said passage means also including a second passage having an inner end intersecting said first passage and having an outer end communicating with the exterior of the tank, said valve means including a valve seat disposed in said first passage between the inner end of said first passage and the intersection of said first and second passages, said valve means including a valve member mounted for axial movement in the outer portion os said first passage and disposed to engage said seat to prevent flow of liquid from the tank to the exterior through said first and second passages.

In combination, a tank to contain a liquid and having an opening therein, a fitting mounted in said opening, passage means in said fitting providing communication between the interior of said tank and the exterior, said passage means defining a valve seat and having a threaded portion spaced from said valve seat, rotatable valve means having a valve member disposed to engage said seat to close said passage means, said valve means having a threaded portion disposed to engage the threaded portion of said passage means to provide a threaded connection, and stop means disposed in said passage means and disposed to be engaged by an abutment on said valve means for preventing complete displacement of said valve means from said passage means as said valve means is unthreaded from said passage means, said threaded connection being constructed and arranged such that continued rotation of said valve means after engagement of said stop means by said abutment will disengage said threaded connection to permit said valve means to freely rotate relative to said passage means.

A method of installing a drain and shut-off valve fitting in a water pressure tank, comprising the steps of forming a water pressure tank with an opening in the lower end thereof, forming a fitting having an outer section shaped to be received within said opening and an inner section with a larger cross-sectional area than said outer section, inserting said outer section in said opening with said inner section located in said tank, positioning an annular sealing member between said inner section and the inner surface of the tank bordering the opening, assembling a flexible diaphragm transversely across the tank to divide the tank into an upper gas chamber and a lower liquid chamber, pressurizing the gas chamber to force the diaphragm into engagement with said inner section of said fitting to thereby compress said sealing member against said inner surface, and engaging a retaining member with said outer section adjacent the outer surface of said tank while said gas chamber is pressurized to thereby retain said fitting within said opening.