Martik wrote:
Robert Barr wrote:

I've just gotten to the point where I won't buy plumbing parts if
they're made in China.

I do a lot of my shopping for home repair items at Menard's, and it's
pretty rare anymore to find anything American-made (or at least
decent) in their plumbing department -- especially for the pipe &
fittings.

The last straw was a few pieces I bought since I was there anyhow --
just a 3/4" tee and a 90. Assembling it, the 90 threaded in very
easily (too easily) with no progressive increase in force required,
and then tightened abruptly. I used tape, but when things don't feel
right, you just know there's going to be rework & cursing. With
properly made fittings, this job would have been no challenge at all.

Sure enough, it leaked just enough to **** me off. One droplet every
45 seconds, maybe. No amount of torque & teflon tape would keep it
water-tight. Rework with US-made items, and everything's fine.

I had to replace some ball valves a while back, and I had already had
bad experiences with Menards' "LDF" brand of garbage valves. I went
to an Ace Hardware instead and paid through the snout for some Italian
made ball valves. It was worth it, because the job had to be done
only once, and they've held up just fine since. (I'd still prefer
American...).

I've seen these LDF pieces of crap crumble upon installation. They
can't even take the force of normal tightening with a wrench. I've
seen one with a pinhole leak at the body of the valve! Nowhere near a
moving part. That's how thin the material was. Damn! What are they
using for quality control?

What these retailers probably don't understand is that for plumbing
(and probably many other areas of home maintenance), labor is the
deciding factor. If I buy the Menards Chinese crap, it's almost 100%
certain that I'll be doing the job twice. Therefore, I'll shop
elsewhere, and I'll buy whatever else I need at the same place. So
Menards loses the whole purchase, not just the plumbing.

But as for Chinese plumbing parts -- man, I've had it. No more.


Are there not Minimum standards required for electrical and plumbing
supplies?

The answer to that question varies by locality. In Maryland, USA for
example it is unlawful to offer electrical supplies for sale that are
not listed by an electrical testing laboratory.
--
Tom H