Whose idea was this FlowTite valve?

[wbnethery3]

Had our house built 9 years ago, and this type of valve was used for all our toilets and sinks. I had never seen them before that. Whose bright idea was this anyway?



I have recently noticed a slow drip from this one and was going to replace it, but had no idea how to get it off the CPVC supply line. I went to the hardware store to look at what they have on the shelf, and nothing looks exactly like this. They have some which appear to be push-fit that say they're for different line types (copper, CPVC, PEX). Also found a compression fit valve. None have the crimp fit hose included (which seems like a bad design to me anyway). I've found several videos describing how to get the leaky valve off, but not real clear on the best choice for replacement.

Is one of those valves that I put the links to the correct kind to use as a replacement? Saw one video that said if you use the "unscrew and pull" method to remove, you'll have damaged CPVC that won't get a good seal with the replacement valve. Advice from a pro here would be much appreciated!

 

[Jadnashua]

Those use an O-ring to seal to the pipe, and a spiked spring ring to hold it onto the pipe...the spikes are arranged to prevent it from being pulled off, but allow you to push it on. It looks like you might have enough length to just cut the old one off and then install a new, better valve. The paint might be an issue but you should be able to clean that off. How much length is there on the stub sticking out? Any new valve would need to be inserted entirely to the bottom of the opening to seal properly and to be supported. Trying to pull it off might work, but cpvc can get brittle with age, and then you'd still have to worry about the scratches on the pipe. You might try a hacksaw to cut part way through, then splitting the case of it. It should then be possible to remove the steel ring without damaging things. Even if you had to cut off the scratched area, you might have a bit more length to work with since it isn't totally at the end, it sits a little ways inside the valve.

 

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[Smooky]

To remove it all you have to do is hold onto the valve and pull back on it while you are twisting it. It will sort of unscrew off the pipe if you keep turning it and pulling back. It may damage the end of that pipe and if so you need to cut that off.

 

[wbnethery3]

Thanks guys... there are videos that explain how to take it off. I saw one guy that used a tubing cutter to avoid damaging the end of the pipe that looked like the best route to go. My real question was what's the best valve to use to replace it with.

 

[Jadnashua]

A compression valve (most are designed to work on CPVC) is probably the easiest. A high quality valve company is Dahl, but Brasscraft and others are viable. You should look into a 1/4-turn one because a multi-turn one will often end up with a washer that leaks when you eventually need to turn it off for maintenance. That company makes versions that can be glued on, or use a compression fitting.

http://www.dahlvalve.com/product-search.php?search=cpvc

 

[wbnethery3]

Thanks for the link. I ended up getting one that glues onto the CPVC like this one (just got it Lowe's so not so fancy). Definitely agree on the quarter-turn valve. By my count, I have 17 more of these cheap push-fit valves... hoping to not have to change many more out.