Anyone had this happen?

[fromct]

I'm visiting in TV and the house I'm staying at has developed a strange 'quirk' in the plumbing.

After a load of laundry or two, some of the sink faucets stop working. The first time, the kitchen faucet didn't have hot and the guest bath didn't have cold. After much head shaking and a few unkind words, I noticed that the shut-of valves had 'writing ' on the handles that said 'push to open'. Sure enough, giving them a push restored the flow. It happened again today but the gb faucet shut off completely. Pushing both valves 'fixed' it again.

Went to Home Depot and asked if they had replacement valves and was told that these are 'Villages versions' of the valves - they are made to shut off in case of a rupture in the hose supplying that connects the valve to the faucet.

I've never seen valves like this before - I could probably use duct tape to hold the valves in but I don't want to compromise the safety aspect.

So, has anyone found a good, 'permanent' solution for this??

[fromct]

Further research uncovered the folllowing:

These are 'easy install' valves that are supposed to last 10 years. They don't prevent damage in case of a hose failure. So if yours won't stay in (on) you could use duct tape until the plumber arrives.

I called the warranty department who gave me the name of the plumber who did the work. They told me the valves weren't under warranty (after 7 years) but they would replace at $70/hr for service and $15 per valve.

The link below will give you some more perspective:

http://www.terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?7990-Flow-tite-valves

[Bill-n-Brillo]

Thanks for the info/update in your second post. I've never looked at the shut-off valves in our house. Your info is good to know - thanks for posting!

Bill :)

[Larry Wilson]

I agree with Brillo. Thanks for posting this info.
I hope they are not using these valves in new homes as it seems to take awhile before they cause problems. ( after home warranty runs out)

[fromct]

Bill, Larry,

You're welcome - hope you don't have to learn more about them. The link I provided didn't copy correctly but the valves are called ACCOR flow tite valves if you want to google them. The easiest place to see if you have them is on the toilets or the utility sink.

Pete

[getdul981]

I thought these were something new. Our prvious house had valves that you had to turn on or off. Seems to me like it was about 1/4 turn. That house was built in 2010. This house has the push/pull type cut offs and it was built in 2011. If we ever have to have them replaced, I prefer the valves that you turn.

[THE NEWCOMER]

Further research uncovered the folllowing:

These are 'easy install' valves that are supposed to last 10 years. They don't prevent damage in case of a hose failure. So if yours won't stay in (on) you could use duct tape until the plumber arrives.

I called the warranty department who gave me the name of the plumber who did the work. They told me the valves weren't under warranty (after 7 years) but they would replace at $70/hr for service and $15 per valve.

The link below will give you some more perspective:

http://www.terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?7990-Flow-tite-valves

Thanks for the information, as soon as I saw the picture of that valve I know we have then in our new CTV. I'm in VA so it something else to check out when I get back to TV!

[fromct]

Thanks to a suggestion from BOMBERO, I called ACCOR, the company that makes these valves. There is a 10 year parts and labor warranty on them for the original purchaser. However, they will still send you FREE replacement valves up to 10 years. They were very pleasant to deal with and offerred to talk me thru replacing them. I'll post again when I get the new ones........