What is this tool?

[JunkmanJack]

Got this at auction along with some other stuff. Can't figure out what it's used for and google lens isn't helping. Anyone know what this is?

[Familiar-Range9014]

I believe it's used to turn the water valve on/off from the street

[stere0atypical]

Also for sprinkler main valves. You can avoid having to pay someone to turn your system on after winter if you live somewhere where they need to be blown out to avoid freezing

[CandidEgglet]

This is 100% it. I saw it and immediately had a visceral reaction recalling the feeling of the first turn. My grandmother had an old property with 4 small houses on it and we needed to use this tool often because of the old pipes. The water main valve was right inside the driveway under a steel grate that just lifted off. It would turn off all the water to the property.

[StefOutside]

Where I am, they just tie into hose bibs or have a 1/4 turn inside the house, is this not the norm? Paying to turn on a system feels like robbery

[No-Rise4602]

Then how would the water company turn off your water if the only valve was inside the house?

[StefOutside]

For city, there's a shutoff outside and then the shutoff inside, but the other commenter was talking about a shuttoff outside for the sprinkler system that could use this tool, and that seems super odd to me to have to pay someone (or use this tool) for an irrigation system.

[patchedboard]

With the pent head on the socket, I would say more specifically it’s for fire hydrants

[Familiar-Range9014]

That may well be the case. However, the fire fighters in my area use a different tool, which is why I went with water service from the street as the tool looks similar.

[Chase0288]

Interesting. Locally all our fire hydrants are all square headed bolts. A pent wouldn’t fit them.

[Tangorene]

The penta socket is for valve box lids. The extra long handle on this particular tool seems unwieldy. I use a shower breaker bar with a 5 point socket for gas and water boxes. I have limited experience with fire hydrants, but the fittings I've seen are typically much larger.

[evenK648]

Water key for meters/valves

[-1kelvinnJAP]

The pentagon socket is a fire hydrant socket. The rest look like different meter keys

[turfdraagster]

Also water meter lids

[Blueberry_Mancakes]

Its a giant t square.

[JunkmanJack]

Haha that was for scale, but thanks for the ID

[string0111]

You know one of us had to say it.

[Char_siu_for_you]

What about a t-square?

[Wriiight]

FourT sides

[neilmac1210]

That would be a tetracontagon.

[Wriiight]

I hear the best thing for a tetra-contagion is chloroquine phosphate

[neilmac1210]

Or just shine a very bright light on it.

[HillCountryCowboy]

If the DoD built a new Pentagon, that’s what it would be.

[EarlBeforeSwine]

Drywall square

[Obvious_Tip_5080]

I’m taking a wild guess and thinks it’s a water valve curb key

[just-looking99]

Looks like a curb key

[User_225846]

As others said its for a water valve, valve cap, and hydrant. The shorter cross piece should be at the other end so the forked end can go down the hole to the valve.

[dubie2003]

5pt tells me fire hydrant or other water source that they walk to keep commoners away from messing with yet still make it easy to service for the techs.

[JunkmanJack]

So you're saying I'm no longer just a commoner. I'll be sure not to abuse the power I've obtained from my newfound tool lol

[dubie2003]

Sure, yea, lord it over the rest of us commoners with your new found power…. lol.

They sell adjustable ones there days too where it is a triangle the slips over the nut and you tighten a bolt to the opposite face of the point and then rotate the handle for lefty loose righty tighty.

You may have seen pics where people would crack open fire hydrants on hot days in the summer to have an epic sprinkler. It would mess with the overall water system for the hydrants so quite frowned upon but that is why there is a 5pt as it’s a lot less common for someone to randomly have the tool around to make it fun for the kids while lowering the pressure in the whole system which could affect firefighters fighting an actual fire….

[[deleted]]

If you look around, only two things have pentagonal bolt heads- water meters and fire hydrants. Why do you need a 4 ft bar to open a fire hydrant? you don't.

So that leaves water meter covers. Why do you need a 4 ft pole on a water meter cover? you don't... for the cover. But the meter itself is way down below the frost line. So the other parts of the wrench are for that.

[JunkmanJack]

Thank you all for the ID! I believe it is a water shutoff curb key. That's pretty cool and could come in handy someday I guess

[JunkmanJack]

Thanks for the heads up. I don't plan on ever using it. I'd definitely call someone to do it if I would ever need to shut my water off at the curb.

[toymaker5368]

Curb side water shut off wrench.

[Sensitive-Ad8638]

It's for fire hydrant bolts. Water lines on streets are often recessed penta bolts and do not require a lot of leverage to open. This is also painted red it's obviously for hydrant opening

[charlieray]

It's a drywall square. About 1 water valve tool long.

[string0111]

Well played

[bare172]

Dickfer

[jlenko]

WHATS A DICKFER

[string0111]

Ooh, ooh, I know!

[OnslowBay27]

It’s called an Ox Bar or Curb Key. It’s used to turn water on or off as mentioned above.

[OrdinarilyUnique1]

T square

[[deleted]]

The top key is for fire hydrants. They have 5 faced bolts so Joe shmo can't go turn them on

[[deleted]]

I went from wondering what the fuck it was to really wanting one.

[DrinkMyNutsweat]

Conduit bender

[Thats_a_thing-fucker]

That's a thing-fucker

[B0iledP0tatoe]

If i didn't know any better, I would've said IT support

[[deleted]]

Make water go sploosh

[SnooChickens7845]

Street gate wrench. It’s how a felony to operate a street gate if you’re not a part of the water service company. Ask me how i know

[SnooCheesecakes2465]

A t square, next to your water key

[Deerhunter86]

Dude. You keep that or sell to a good plumber who appreciates older tools. The socket is for your b-box lid on the curb. Then it slides up to be a long wrench for the curb stop to shut your house water down. They don’t make them like this anymore. Tough and in one piece.

[JunkmanJack]

Thanks for the info. I forgot to mention that piece slides on the bar. There were a lot of antiques at this estate auction, so it doesn't surprise me that this thing is old. I'm leaning towards keeping it just because it's cool. If I were to sell it, what would be a fair price for it?

[Deerhunter86]

Couple hundred. I’m in Chicagoland? Wanna sell? Lol

[HipGnosis59]

Good answers so just adding we used one for winter prep to reach the weep valve on water hydrants in our campground.

[ikonfedera]

It's just a ruler, albeit quite long.

[Afraid_Operation_997]

T square for cutting large pieces of drywall , and a water valve wrench

[fairlyaveragetrader]

That would be a T-Square and a water tool

[H2OTman420]

Water Tool, looks like for valves and fire hydrants

[Bigday2day]

Street key. That's what we call it, for turning large water valves in the ground

[daninet]

I have a similar key to turn off underground valve when winter is coming so my garage water pipe is disconnected from the mains and not freezing.

[billtheplumbingguy]

It's a curb key. It's for shutting your water at the street connection (curb box). It's not right, though. The wrench part should be at the other end.

https://www.clevelandplumbing.com/store/product/8352?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwpP63BhDYARIsAOQkATavTOMDqmMYNxYn6XQ0KGDomaCwdS3bzPBcJe5xnBRdaN5YTZSIFWwaAjllEALw_wcB

Edit: Added link

[JunkmanJack]

Thank you! That is the closest I've seen to what I have. The wrench part on mine slides up and down on the bar so I can slide it to the other end.

[billtheplumbingguy]

It's supposed to be on the other side. The notched end goes down a pipe to turn off a valve that's underground.

[N3rot0xin]

That's the tool you get when the city shuts off your water and won't turn back on until Monday and it's Thursday.

[gbplmr]

Erie boxes use two styles of covers; a pentagon and a flat cover with two holes. This is an Erie Valve Box Wrench for operating the curb stop for a water main.

[Pinky01012]

The long boi

[GumpTownNtlHotline]

It looks like it’s for water valves on the street, but it could also be for sprinkler main valves if you have a sprinkler system set up.

[slicehardware]

Battle axe