Cheap water valve causes $7,000 in damage
Written by Mike Johnson in Repair, Reviews, Water
I was plumbing in Oconomowoc and received a phone call to repair a water leak. Some years back the previous home owner had called a plumber to install a new valve for the Laundry water supply. The replacement part that was used was a cheap Chinese made valve. Over the years I’ve had the chance to review all sorts of plumbing products and America still makes the best plumbing valves in the industry. The difference between an American made valve and a Chinese made valve is about $2.00 but what you get in return is worth much more than 2 bucks – You get a valve that wont explode. Oconomowoc Plumbing uses American made products whenever possible, I search very hard to find the best possible products for my customers so mistakes like this, that are preventable, don’t happen.
lets take a look at what happened to the water valve and the reason for it’s failure.
Below is the valve I removed. At first glance it appears in good shape. The photo was taken inside my service truck after the repair was finished.
Understanding how a valve is made
The nut you see on top seals the valve stem into the valve body. Inside and under the nut is what we call valve packing. The leak was coming from just under the bottom of the packing nut so after removal of the nut and stem I was able to clearly see the problem. The valve had leaked because the valve body had split. The reason the valve body split was because of something called core shift. In order to understand core shift you have to first understand the casting process. When casting a brass part the liquid metal is poured in a mold. The mold is nothing more than a box. The actual part is made out of special casting sand or casting wax. Once the metal is poured in the mold the metal either replaces the wax by melting it out, or in the case of sand-It simply fills the void.
The void is the problem in this situation. When the mold plug isn’t installed properly it shifts and can create a thinner wall for the metal material. Let’s look at the next photo and see if we can identify the problem further.
Do you see the split in the valve body? Take special notice that the split happened at the threads. Core shift is very critical where a part has threads because the threads get thin on the part. If the part is hallow and the manufacturing process isn’t watched carefully the inside of the valve body becomes thinner than normal. This is what caused the failure.
In America we have valves available that don’t have this problem. The manufacturing process is watched with absolute precision to prevent these types of issues.
The valves in my service truck are 100% manufactured, assembled, and packaged in the U.S.A. It cost me about $2.00 more for the valve, money well spent.
The home owner had $7,000 worth of damage done to the home. Besides ruining the wood work, drywall, carpet, and cabinets the family also had photos, documents, and personal belongings that will never be replaced. Water damage is second only to fire damage.
Mike
4 Responses to “Cheap water valve causes $7,000 in damage”
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Doug
Wow, that’s really a good article Mike. It’s amazing how something so simple can cause so much damage.
Mike Johnson
Yes it is. This happens all the time, what’s hard is detecting it before it happens. The better solution is to use quality parts from the start so you don’t have to worry about it.
Mike
Gaye Frooninckx
That is just sickening and it happens all the time in the name of profit margin. Did the homeowners have any recourse with the plumber or was it too late? It’s really hard to find a company with a conscience who you can trust to do a good job. Good for you Mike!
Gaye
Mike Johnson
It’s always too late Gaye. The world has changed and a lot of products are window dressed to look good. It’s sometimes hard to explain this to customers but most people want quality products. Water damage is a terrible thing to have happen and most of it is avoidable.
Thank you so much for asking questions on here. You have an open invitation to ask any plumbing related question you want. Water in a house is under constant pressure, when something bad happens, hundreds, if not thousands of gallons can end up where it shouldn’t be. If you ever have a concern just ask and I will gladly make a blog post to help you.
Remember, anytime you store items of value in your home be sure to keep them elevated at least 4 inches off the floor and in a sealed bin. My wife and I keep everything in Rubbermaid plastic totes.
Mike