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Good ballcock / fill valve?

ChrisJ
ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,315
in Plumbing
Does anyone make a good quality ballcock anymore?

I've been using fluidmaster valves for a while now and have had enough problems to want to get away from them.



Can anyone recommend a quality ballcock?  This is for my personal use so I don't care if its $20-30 a piece.

Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

Comments

  • Mpj
    Mpj Member Posts: 109
    Ballcock

    Wolverine Brass has very nice brass ones.
  • kcopp
    kcopp Member Posts: 4,472
    Whats up...

    w/ the 400A? The pro series is beefier.
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2013
    Problems

    Nothing huge has gone wrong I suppose just little problems.



    Rubber thing in a "silent" model swelled up for no apparent reason and almost stopped toilet from filling.



    Recently had one crack which lead to the tank slowly overflowing into the bowl. Couldn't even hear it late at night and yet wasted thousands of gallons.



    The one that replaced the cracked one now has the float hanging up and binding for no apparent reason. It seems as if it hangs up when you flush and then drops late but still functions correctly overall. Just makes me trust it a little less. I had thought it was leaking and causing the tank to overfill ergo causing the delay before opening the valve.



    Other than that, and the fact they randomly like to hammer on shutoff vs a nice brass unit which shuts off soft just makes me want to go back.



    Wolverine brass was the brand I was looking for. We had two of these for years with zero problems.



    I don't mind spending $30-40 on a ballcock if it means I never have to look at it again.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2013
    New parts

    I was lucky to get my hands on two WB ballcocks as well as brass tank bolts and a few other nice items.



    The only small problem is for my one Kohler toilet I'm going to have to cut and extend the ballcock as 10" isn't tall enough to get it above the water line. Not a big deal but I need to pickup some 3/8" rigid tubing. Looks like it needs to be extended about 3".



    Something I didn't realize was the WB ballcock lets you adjust flow so I can slow the fill rates down which should make the toilets much less noticeable when using the shower.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

  • vaporvac
    vaporvac Member Posts: 1,520
    NOS

    Thanks for that info Chris. I found one of those NOS at the Restore for $2. Snagged it immediately...the other stuff does not work at all. So glad to have my choice verified here. It just looked well-made. I might not have figured out the flow-rate, adjustment, so thanks. CTD
    Two-pipe Trane vaporvacuum system; 1466 edr
    Twinned, staged Slantfin TR50s piped into 4" header with Riello G400 burners; 240K lead, 200K lag Btus. Controlled by Taco Relay and Honeywell RTH6580WF
  • ChrisJ
    ChrisJ Member Posts: 16,315
    edited October 2013
    Looking good!

    First one done and one to go.

    I converted our 1.6Gpf Gerber this weekend and need to get a flush valve for our 1.6Gpf Kohler.



    For the Kohler I will be cutting and extending the ballcock to keep it above the water line. I also need to find a place to get the correct tank to bowl gasket for the Gerber as I ended up reusing the original. I tried a thick one from a local plumbing supply and it leaked. So far I've had zero luck finding one.

    Single pipe 392sqft system with an EG-40 rated for 325sqft and it's silent and balanced at all times.

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