"Robert" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Jan 2009 13:16:14 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

On Jan 2, 4:00 pm, Tim Shoppa wrote:
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.

You're describing a "ball valve" and in general, yes. The downside to
ball valves is "service" means "replacement" but it seems that they
are more reliable than stop valves and their service life is much
longer. I don't like the garden hose ones but the brass bodied ones
used inline with your plumbing are great. I've been using them
whenever I need to replace an existing valve. Also you can get a pipe-
to-garden hose adapter in the loose brass section of the plumbing
aisle, I've been using threaded ball valves with one of those adapters
to replace spigots as well (e.g. water heater drain) not only are they
more reliable but they offer much better flow.

nate

I rigged up a regular plumbing type of ball valve on the end of a
garden hose for farm use. I turn it on and off about ten times a day,
it's only one year old and already leaks a little. Not to mention the
handle kept falling off and under the nut the threads were stripped in
short order. I finally used JB Weld to keep the handle in place.
They are more reliable than those cheap plastic ones made for hoses,
but if used all the time they dont last long. No valve used regularly
lasts very long, but at the same time if they are not used they sieze
up and if they have washers the washers deteriorate. For full house
shutoffs, they are better than washer valves adn allow better flow
too. Gate valves are another option, but those things take far too
many turns to open and close. Yet, I think a well made gate valve has
the longest life span. By the way, I am a retired plumber.
Something I have not heard mentioned in any of many threads on valves is
that the lowly globe valve is the only one of the bunch that can be repaired
, even without removing it from the line. I like the ball valves but I am
not convinced that they are any more reliable, whether used often or sitting
immobile for many years developing mineral deposits.

Don Young