"Tim Shoppa" wrote in message
...
I often find that oldish shutoff valves (toilet, sinks, garden hose)
around the house have a tendency to go leaky if they are turned on or
off after they are about 20 or 30 years old. Leaky in the sense that
water drips out of the step and no amount of adjustment will correct
it. Inspection inside shows that the washer inside is no longer
pliable at all. Sometimes I will put a new washer inside... but most
often I just replace the shutoff valve with a new one.

New ones I've been buying are "quarter turn" shutoff valves, and they
are obviously different construction inside (no compression washer).
The ones I'm getting are metal outside but the inside is a plastic
piece with a hole that goes from being "on" (holes line up) or
"off" (holes don't line up) without a washer. Are these generally
superior to the washer-type ones?

Tim.

I have one of these in my main water inlet in my basement (quarter turn
shutoff valve). If I close it and open it, it will drip out the stem and no
amout of adjustment will stop this. So I just let it drip. So, my answer to
your question is NO, they are not superior in this respect. YMMV...