Greetings everyone, I hope you can offer me some advice.
I’m having the water shut off at the street so I can have my valves replaced before and after the meter. (1 inch in size) A friend of mine is doing this and I told him I’d go buy the valves.
I want excellent valves, I don’t mind paying more for them. I have seen Mueller ball valves at Home Depot for about $14.00 each. Is this a good valve or what should I look for? These will be my main water shutoffs to the house. One before the meter, and 1 after the meter. Is ball the type I want or maybe butterfly? The crap I have now won’t even shut off.
My friend is also going to replace the 2 to my water heaters and those are 3/4″
Thank you in advance for your response.
Edited 11/27/2006 9:06 pm by CoreyIL
Replies
I know Apollo makes a good valve, but so do many other manufacturers. I think you could judge the quality by taking a good look at the appearance -- how hefty the construction is. At $14 it sounds like a better quality valve.
Definitely choose a ball valve over a butterfly valve.
Ford Meterbox Co, Wabash, IN. Look for a waterworks distributor in your area. Superior to Mueller.
Wolverine.
Exercise your balls at least once a year.
Ahem, I mean, your ball valves - exercise their balls.
Umm, the valves, close/open/close/open - at least once a year.
Oh forget it. . . .
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Ok new question and I hope I can explain this.
I've got a Mueller (Home Depot) valve and a American Valve (Lowes) in front of me.
Something I just noticed. The American Valve, the inside is solid. I can't see any part of the handle mechanism. On the Mueller, I can see part of the turn mechanism. (The inner ball is not solid at the top, there's a hole there for the crank.)
I like the solid of the American Valve, it is made in China.
The Mueller is made in Italy.
The American Valve weighs much more but is shorter in total length.
Right now everything looks better about the American Valve unless someone says to me that their seals on each side is junk, don't use it.
Valves have rating standards, look for 600 WOG on the valve. This stands for 600 psi, WOG stands for water, oil, gas. Good quality valves use a teflon seal it should say on it, if it has teflon seal.
American Valve, it is made in China
<sigh>..............
Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?
Before you replace the valve "before the meter" You should check with the water Co. That valve belongs to them. They may get a little upset with a non standard replacement.
It's right at the meter, one right before the meter and there is one right after the meter. The water company said they are both mine.
City will be here in next 30 minutes to shut off a B-Box and plumber should be here within an hour.
Edited 11/29/2006 11:35 am by CoreyIL
Nibco & Apollo are better than anything you're going to get at Homedepot.
BUT I wouldn't burry a standard ball valve of any brand.
Someone mentioned Ford, those valves are designed to be burried.
I'm sure there is competing brands that work just fine, but that style is the only valve I would install in a direct burry situation.
“It so happens that everything that is stupid is not unconstitutional.” —Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
I saw Nibco valves at Menards, but too late, I'm using these American Water valves I bought a Lowe's.
Thanks for all your replies.
That's too bad.
Nibco is a far superior product to anything else offeres at Blowes or Mainards.
Nibco ball valves are made in USA- others are not. At least the Mueller ball valves are made in Italy and not China.
Funny thing is, they all have roughly the same retail price. Guess who is making more on each valve sold....
HD used to carry Nibco ball valves and Mueller. Mueller were cheaper by a buck or so. Now that Nibco is gone, Mueller prices are higher than what Nibco used to be....
Partly because they're brass, which is mostly copper, which is massively expensive these days. Much like the run-up in electric wire.
-- J.S.
Ball valve price shenanigans at HD took effect before the recent copper price increases. The prices went up simply because they could once the Nibco ball valve product line was eliminated.
Unlike copper pipe and wire, plumbing valve prices haven't changed a whole lot at HD- I guess that means they must be making plenty on them as it is....
I can buy better US made Nibco stuff at Menards for less money than the imported Mueller stuff at HD even today (at least the standard 1/2 and 3/4 sweat ball valves).
I have not priced all of the valves, from I buy stop valves from time to time.Lowes only has ball valves and has almost any and every combination that you think of on the inlet and outlet sides along with straight and angle stops.HD has both the compression and ball stop valves. And it seem that they have a much smaller collection, but I have not tried to compare each of the combinations.The ball valves at Lowes is about 2/3's the price of those at HD.
The supply line stop valves sold at Lowes are made in China junk. Menards has the same ones with a different name on the bag.
The stop valves sold at HD are at least US made, and yes, the selection of the ball valve type is not as vast as the other places. But, they usually have enough variation to get the job done.
Now you know why the Lowes price is 1/3 less than HD.
The one that I want but they (HD) do not stock is 5/8 compression with a 1/4 compression outlet ball valve. I have a plumber buddy that gets them once in a while for me.
Consider going to a dedicated plumbing place like Ferguson or Hirsch. Ferguson, though, can be quirky. They bought out a lot of specialty places, and run them as the previous management did. So, what they stock where can vary a lot from store to store.
-- J.S.
I'll keep that in mind next time I need some of the oddball sizes. I have used a 3/8 to 1/4 compression adapter to get it done, though. Guess I just need to buy a few to have on hand...
Ferguson in Hollywood would have lots of those adapters, but the Van Nuys branch has no adapters at all.
-- J.S.