Installing an angle stop valve

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PAV

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I am installing a compression angle stop valve on a new, capped off 1/2" copper stub out for a toilet. Never done it before, but I know it is not that difficult for the average homeowner. My three questions:
1) Can I cut the the copper stub out to size with a hacksaw, or should I buy a pipe cutter for this one job?

2) How tight should I tighten the nut with the compression ring? I am always worried about overtightening, which is what I tend to do.

3) The toilet literature says to use a 3/8" to 7/8" flex. Shouldn't I use a 1/2" to 7/8" flex, to allow a faster fill? Does it really matter?

Thanks so much!
Pete
 

Jadnashua

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You can use a hacksaw, but you'll get a cleaner nub with a pipe cutter. You want it to be squared off and no burrs which is possible without a pipe cutter, but more work.

If you put a little oil on the threads, it seems to snug up easier, but isn't required. You shouldn't need much after finger tight. The valve should not easily be able to be rotated on the pipe, nor should it pull off. Use two wrenches, one on the nut and the other on the valve body.

Seems most of the hoses for toilets are 3/8". On a 1.6g flush, that's plenty to get it to fill quickly; go with what you can find. It has nothing to do with the quality of the flush, so who really cares.
 

Basement_Lurker

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3) The toilet literature says to use a 3/8" to 7/8" flex. Shouldn't I use a 1/2" to 7/8" flex, to allow a faster fill? Does it really matter?

Thanks so much!
Pete[/QUOTE]


You might have trouble finding a 1/2x7/8 flex toilet supply line, and even more trouble trying to find a 1/2x1/2 angle stop valve at your local hardware store. You'll probably find that you are confined to using the regular sizes.

I wouldn't worry about overtightening it too much (you should be able to tell when it's getting tight...you can turn the water on again and if it leaks a bit you can just tweak it a bit without any major mess), but I would worry about wrenching on the valve and twisting whatever joint is in the wall behind it...make sure you have one wrench on the nut and one wrench on the valve when you are tightening to make sure you don't twist anything....this especially imperative on smaller lines!
 

Gary Swart

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Cutting with a hacksaw does not tend to leave a very true end. It also will have considerable burrs that will have to be smoothed. Buy a decent tubing cutter, it will come in handy again I assure you.
 

Geniescience

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PAV said:
... Shouldn't I use .... to allow a faster fill? Does it really matter?
use small.

Toilets make hissing noises when they fill as they are never designed in terms of their fill noise. More water volume, faster, from the pipe, just means that some other part in the filling up process will be the bottleneck and it'll make an even bigger hissing noise. It'll be a part in the toilet.

When you and I and others from this site band together and make a Plumbing Comfort Code for manufacturers to follow, within five years they'll produce new product to fill the need. For now, it's not life threatening and nobody has any way to complain in any organized fashion.

All of this to say that you'll probably want to turn that valve halfway off just to get the toilet's fill noise down to a reasonable level. Don't increase the valve size.

David
 

lars

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I am a novice but just redid a bathroom.
1. Use a pipe cutter it is easy to use. Buy a round wire brush cleaner, it works well to polish the copper.
2. I would solder on the valve if you can. I soldered on a mixer( to stop sweating) and then screwed on my valve. It was 3/8 and then used a flexible metal hose. Worked well and no leaks.
 

hj

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valve

Whether you use a cutter or hacksaw depends on how much copper is sticking out of the wall. I tighten them as far as they will go, but would never trust one if it were only a little more than hand tight. The hose is the same for all the connectors so it makes no difference what size the valve connection is.
 

Jadnashua

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When installing a compression stop, the instructions just say wrench tight. When done properly, the valve should be firm on the pipe, it should not wiggle or turn. You don't need a 2 ft extension on your wrench, and you don't need to go as tight as you can get it. The action is smoother with a drop of oil on the nut's threads, but again, is not required. It gives you an eaiser idea of how tight the thing is rather than it binding a little. It is hard to over do it. The problem if you do, is you'll create a depression in the pipe making the ring really hard to remove, and if it is moved at some subsequent service, because the pipe is no longer a nice cylinder, could leak when installing a new one. But, you have to really work on it to do that.
 

Terry

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Chrome sleeve?

What he has is a 1/2" copper pipe with a soldered on cap.
Like hj and jadnashua mention, he can cut off the end of the pipe and install a compression shutoff, using two wrenches to tighten.
 
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