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Posted

Has anybody fixed one of these? It's not splitting the atom, I know, but how tough is it? I've got a small leak that ain't gonna fix itself.

A word of advice: don't turn that knob, especially if it hasn't been turned in a long time.

 

Posted

Cut the main water off, usually at the street. Take cutoff valve off, take to a LOCAL plumbing or hardware store, by new one, usually the half turn, quarter turn, I forget. Plumbers tape, reinstall, turn water back on.

  • Like 1
Posted

Just make sure you have all the steps together.  You'd be surprised how many gallons of water in short period of time one of those valves will discharge if it pops a leak due to a step being missed. 

It happened to an office building we shared with a clinic a few years ago.   They had some plumbing work and whomever replaced a valve under a sink forgot a washer.   Our key employee at that office got a call from the PD early that morning informing her water was running down the wheel chair ramp.  Nice problem to have the day before Thanksgiving weekend too.  

Posted

Like any DIY fix, most of the initial fix takes a while since you're learning.  There are tons of website and youtube videos explaining the process.

If you go to the trouble of replacing one valve, you might want to replace all of the toilet shut off valves in the house at the same time. The second one should take you half the time of the first one.

Posted
3 hours ago, Dewey said:

Cut the main water off, usually at the street. Take cutoff valve off, take to a LOCAL plumbing or hardware store, by new one, usually the half turn, quarter turn, I forget. Plumbers tape, reinstall, turn water back on.

By plumber''s tape, you probably mean teflon tape.  

 

This is plumber's tape.

00630.png

And teflon tape is still wrong, if it's a compression fitting.  It's OK for pipe threads, but I prefer pipe dope.  

Posted
14 minutes ago, luke duke said:

Is the current one soldered on it is it a compression fitting?

Not soldered, thank god.

I just fixed it. Had to go to a plumbing supply place for the part, but it was pretty easy.

Thanks for all the advice. 

Posted
13 minutes ago, Rougarou said:

Don't use Shark Bites; those are band-aids not long terms fixes.

Maybe, but I still keep a couple on hand for emergencies. 

Posted
50 minutes ago, Rougarou said:

Don't use Shark Bites; those are band-aids not long terms fixes.

 

36 minutes ago, Gil Bang said:

Maybe, but I still keep a couple on hand for emergencies. 

Is this just a feeling or is there statistical data to back up the weakness of shark bites, and their competitors, type fitting installations?(assuming they are properly installed)

 

Posted

I know of no evidence that they fail. 

I think it's just a matter of "they're too easy, so they must suck".

I can sweat copper better than most guys, but I've used a sharkbite in a pinch.  One such pinch came on Christmas day a few years ago.  We heard water running in the crawlspace, and sure enough, we had a hole in a 1/2 inch copper line.   I crawled under there, used a sharkbite to make the repair, and was showering off the mud 5 minutes later and made it on time to xmas dinner. 

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, zork said:

 

Is this just a feeling or is there statistical data to back up the weakness of shark bites, and their competitors, type fitting installations?(assuming they are properly installed)

 

Not sure what you mean by statistical data-- are you asking have there been studies done? 

My input is anecdotal; I've used sharkbites from Home Depot and been fine with them, but I've done a lot of DIY in my bathroom and kitchen and I've heard more often than not on YouTube tutorials as well as from professional plumbers I've hired that they love SharkBites for what they are but too many people think they are a long-term solution and they weren't intended to be that (though the quality is very high and you have good odds if you just use sharkbites and don't solder).

Edited by Rougarou
Posted
1 hour ago, Gil Bang said:

I know of no evidence that they fail. 

I think it's just a matter of "they're too easy, so they must suck".

I can sweat copper better than most guys, but I've used a sharkbite in a pinch.  One such pinch came on Christmas day a few years ago.  We heard water running in the crawlspace, and sure enough, we had a hole in a 1/2 inch copper line.   I crawled under there, used a sharkbite to make the repair, and was showering off the mud 5 minutes later and made it on time to xmas dinner. 

Oooooh a festivas miracle     

Posted
By plumber''s tape, you probably mean teflon tape.  
 
This is plumber's tape.
00630.png
And teflon tape is still wrong, if it's a compression fitting.  It's OK for pipe threads, but I prefer pipe dope.  

We always called that plumbers strap.
Posted
2 hours ago, Rougarou said:

Not sure what you mean by statistical data-- are you asking have there been studies done? 

My input is anecdotal; I've used sharkbites from Home Depot and been fine with them, but I've done a lot of DIY in my bathroom and kitchen and I've heard more often than not on YouTube tutorials as well as from professional plumbers I've hired that they love SharkBites for what they are but too many people think they are a long-term solution and they weren't intended to be that (though the quality is very high and you have good odds if you just use sharkbites and don't solder).

 

3 hours ago, Gil Bang said:

I know of no evidence that they fail. 

I think it's just a matter of "they're too easy, so they must suck".

I can sweat copper better than most guys, but I've used a sharkbite in a pinch.  One such pinch came on Christmas day a few years ago.  We heard water running in the crawlspace, and sure enough, we had a hole in a 1/2 inch copper line.   I crawled under there, used a sharkbite to make the repair, and was showering off the mud 5 minutes later and made it on time to xmas dinner. 

What I had read/watched on the topic was that they have lasted 15 to 20 years if installed correctly and that is all they know since that is all they have been around.  So perhaps the jury is out, beyond that time frame due to unknown, but they seem to work fine.

Just don't have a crooked cut, don't forget to sand the connection point and you should be fine.

Posted

Google and the plumbers I’ve known disagree. Either way, I hate that shit. Too many memories of being in attics hanging ductwork with it.

 

What are the shark bite things you are talking about?

Posted
15 hours ago, Rougarou said:

Not sure what you mean by statistical data-- are you asking have there been studies done? 

My input is anecdotal; I've used sharkbites from Home Depot and been fine with them, but I've done a lot of DIY in my bathroom and kitchen and I've heard more often than not on YouTube tutorials as well as from professional plumbers I've hired that they love SharkBites for what they are but too many people think they are a long-term solution and they weren't intended to be that (though the quality is very high and you have good odds if you just use sharkbites and don't solder).

A friend of mine who supervises the plumbing for the pools at a large Las Vegas casino and another friend who is a general contractor both recommended sharkbites for re-piping the lines from the wall into my hot water heater. So, I took that as a strong indicator that they work just fine.

Posted
you were always wrong. 
Interesting that every plumber and supply house I've encountered in my 25 years as a plumber have been calling it the wrong name all these years. The more you know...
  • Like 1
Posted
Definitely want to replace it with a quarter turn ball valve.


In theory, this is correct. From my experience from replacing all shut offs with quarter turn ball valves in my house, I can say they will perform the same in the long run. I have valves that are less than 10 years old that won’t completely shut off. I learned that when I installed the bidet.
Posted

It sprays water on your butthole to clean the poop off. If you install a needle or globe valve, they will allow you to adjust the flow without doing any damage to the valve. Since the bidet has a constant sized orifice, adjusting the flow should allow you to adjust the pressure of water spraying your butthole.

Posted

Back to the original point (sorry).

Take the part to the local hardware store/plumbing supply shop. There are way too many variations of this stuff. Threads/no threads, compression fitting/not a compression fitting, 1/2, 3/8, whatever. Plan it out beforehand. Having the water turned off for the whole day may cause problems.

Peace out.

Posted
19 hours ago, Asithappens said:

Back to the original point (sorry).

Take the part to the local hardware store/plumbing supply shop. There are way too many variations of this stuff. Threads/no threads, compression fitting/not a compression fitting, 1/2, 3/8, whatever. Plan it out beforehand. Having the water turned off for the whole day may cause problems.

Peace out.

why ?

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