Should Ball Valves Leading to Water Heater Be "Lead-Free"?

[cloves]

Hi all,

You know it just dawned on me to check the cut off ball valves that I have going to my hot water heater. They do not appear to be lead free. So my question is should these ball valves be lead free.

Also does that mean all ball valves not connected to my closed radiant heating system also be lead free?

 

[Terry]

Do you plan on drinking from the water heater or the heating system? That would be the only reason it would matter.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[cloves]

Thanks for the reply Terry. Further looking into the ball valves in the house and also saw that the ball valve coming off the city supply does not say lead free and looks pretty new. So based on what you mentioned, I should change all the valves that are used for drinking water.

My concern with the hot water valves are, wouldn't folks sometimes use hot water from the facet and heat it up? I always grab cold but could be of concern.

Anything in the books/code about this?

 

[Dj2]

Here in CA, we've been installing lead free fittings for a few years now, because we are forced to.

Trouble/irony is: city pipes under the streets are not lead free, and will remain like this for years to come.

"Do as we say, not as we do"

 

[Reach4]

"Do as we say, not as we do"

Like tap saddles?

 

[MACPLUMB]

Only if you live in Ca. no lead in the valves mean they will not last as long,
as posted above you would have to go all the way back to the water source to get all lead sources out of the system,

 

[Terry]

People are warned not to drink from the hot side. All kinds of bad stuff can happen when water sits in a warm tank over time.

Pipes will get coated over time. Test your water and then decide if you even have to do anything.
In Flint they changed the source to a more caustic water that removed the patina that had been acting as a protection. Most pipes are fine.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

Thanks for the reply Terry. Further looking into the ball valves in the house and also saw that the ball valve coming off the city supply does not say lead free and looks pretty new. So based on what you mentioned, I should change all the valves that are used for drinking water.

My concern with the hot water valves are, wouldn't folks sometimes use hot water from the facet and heat it up? I always grab cold but could be of concern.

Anything in the books/code about this?

you got to be nuts to worry about this....
leave all the ball valves alone and be happy ..... it wont matter because it
leaches such a minuscule amount into the water anyway....
and what about all the copper in your home with solder containing lead>>??
If your house was built before about 1985 it probably has copper pipes with lead
solder binding them together...

The state of california lives in another reality than the rest of the country and
they have forced this nonsense upon everyone....and driven the cost of plumbing
materials through the roof....

 

[cloves]

Thanks everyone, seems like I shouldn't worry about it. Good to know.

 

[hj]

If you were to check ALL the solder joints in the system and ALL the brass valves, you would probably have to really have a good tester to find any "free" lead.

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

If you were to check ALL the solder joints in the system and ALL the brass valves, you would probably have to really have a good tester to find any "free" lead.

HJ.... do they actually make that good of tester ???

They claimed that the local inspectors would have some special kind of "metering device" to be
able to go around and tell if you were still installing the old stuff after the cut off date...
Was that back 4 years ago? I think it was more of a threat than something that was going to be enforced...

I dont think that anyone has actually enforced this law anywhere in the country. I guess that they are just expecting the old supply to dwindle down to nothing over time and their will only the new stock left to use....

I remember when they made the change over to lead free valves and the supply houses
literally had to throw away the old stuff or sell it off fast...
They had a fire sale and I bought tons of the stuff
for pennies on the dollar... Its all gone now.