flowtite water valve replacement
 

I tried a forum search but did not come up with any thing.
Our home (built 2004) is now 21 years old. I need to change the toilet tank fill valve and have been cautioned by neighbors to be careful of the shut off valves as they are fragile and should be replaced.
Your experiences/suggestions will be appreciated.

There have been threads before so I don't know why you didn't find them. Here is a youTube about replacing this type of valve.

I replaced the toilet fill mechanism just last week and had no problems with the shutoff valve. However, my home was built in 2014 and the ten years might make a difference.

I paid Mike Scott Plumbing about $60 each to replace my plastic toilet valves with metal, quarter turn valves. Now, I can maintain my toilets without the fear of the plastic valve leaking.

If you don't want to turn off the plastic valve, you can turn off the water to the entire house in the garage. Note, that if you do use the plastic toilet valve, it will probably be OK, but if it leaks, you will need to shut off the water to the entire house.

To close the old plastic shut off valves use two hands to pull it shut, and be careful. One hand should hold the pipe and the other to pull the the shut off valve. I replaced all the shut off valves in my house with the metal 1/4 turn handle.

OP, you can stop by ACE hardware, explain your problem and they will explain how to remove the old valve and replace with a new one, very helpful people.

Ya know what they say, "Ace is the place with the helpful hardware folks."

best idea is not to touch the push me pull you valve, just shut off the whole house, replace the toilet tank fill valve, and then turn the house back on. .

Then spend the $60 to get your valves changed out. I did most of mine myself, but had issues on one, so had Scott plumbing install a new one. . . Worth doing to reduce flooding risk. Risk is an intangible concept, so people have different interpretations of risk and the cost to insure. In this case, the risk of failure is low, but not zero, and the damage cost is high if not home, but the cost to insure is low, so pick your response and take your chances.

Pretty easy to do. Turn the main water off. Flush the toilet and hold the handle down to get as much water out as possible. Use an old towel and bucket to get the rest out so you want have a large mess on the floor. Cut the plastic line between the valve and the toilet. Hold the pipe coming out of the wall and with the other hand slightly pull and twist the flowtite counterclockwise. It will come off.


I replaced all 17 of those valves in my house with the all metal: Glue on Brasscraft valve. They are 1/4 turn valves and should it ever become necessary, one can repair or simply unscrew the valve from the glued PVC connection and replace. Never have to cut the pipe or anything in order to repair. A little pricey compared to others but some others cannot be rebuilt. You'll also need a new hose that goes between the valve and toilet.

If you want to do all of them, there will be 2 at each sink (bathrooms, kitchen, utility), 1 at each toilet, 1 for dishwasher, and 1 for refrigerator.

I bought battery operated water alarms to place under the toilets, sinks, refrigerator, washer, and water heater. Eight of these will cost less than $100 from Amazon. Cheap peace of mind, and they have alerted me to 2 slow leaks so far.

It's great that you have these alarms but think about it. You are not home and the toilet supply line bursts. It's all over in a couple of minutes. Better to get this system because it will automatically shut off the main water when there is a leak large or small.

Amazon.com

Thanks. I agree that there are better systems than what I use, but it looks difficult to install and it probably won't fit inside my valve box in the garage and maybe not even in the outside meter box. Also, I'm cheap. But I will think about it.

I did most of my house myself, until one would not come off. Your directions will work until it doesn't. What also happens is when there is very little area between the pipe remaining and the box, such as behind a refrigerator, that a plumber might just be the best answer.

good luck to us!

The refrigerator one was the hardest but I was able to slightly pull up on the pipe to get a hold of it. Just need enough grip so as not to put a twist on it while unscrewing the flowtite valve.

I would put the highest priority on the bathrooms as they are manipulated the most which I believe make them the most prone to fail.

Replace them, they are the cheapest material
 

I would replace any that were used in initial home construction. Remember plastics do break down over time. The older the material gets, the more brittle it becomes. It wouldn’t be a rush job if your home is brand new, but if it is older than 10 years in age and you have them, move the replacement of them to a priority.