New faucets don't match your shutoff valves? An easy fix. (sinks, installation)
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I have a friend who lives in an older home. I was told that her shutoff valves have 1/2" connections. However, most new faucets with integrated supply lines have 3/8" connections. To change the valves, you would have to shut off the water to your whole house.
While it says it is for Delta faucets, it actually works with all major brands that use 3/8" connections. Most hardware stores do not carry the proper adapters, expecting that you would change out the valves.
So, if anyone runs into the issue of their old shutoff valves having 1/2" connections and their new faucet having 3/8" connections, this is the solution.
Every hardware store in the US will have reducers from 1/2 to 3/8 copper.
You also don't know that the 1/2” valves described are NPT pipe thread, compression (and there are multiple types of compression) or sweat.
What I'd do would be to cut off the tube above the shutoff valve, cut off any end-doohickeys on the 3/8 lines from the faucet assembly, so the lengths match up neatly, then use the appropriate reducer and sweat the old to the new.
Every hardware store in the US will have reducers from 1/2 to 3/8 copper.
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The reviews on Amazon seem to disagree. Apparently using standard reducers from hardware stores don't prevent leaks since they do not have O-rings in them. These from Amazon are purpose-built to connect a newer faucet to an older 1/2" shutoff valve.
The reviews on Amazon seem to disagree. Apparently using standard reducers from hardware stores don't prevent leaks since they do not have O-rings in them. These from Amazon are purpose-built to connect a newer faucet to an older 1/2" shutoff valve.
What I'd do would be to cut off the tube above the shutoff valve, cut off any end-doohickeys on the 3/8 lines from the faucet assembly, so the lengths match up neatly, then use the appropriate reducer and sweat the old to the new.
That would have worked in the 1970s when the lines attached to the faucets were copper. Today they're plastic.
I have a friend who lives in an older home. I was told that her shutoff valves have 1/2" connections. However, most new faucets with integrated supply lines have 3/8" connections. To change the valves, you would have to shut off the water to your whole house.
For most people, shutting off the water in the whole house for 10 minutes in order to change the valves wouldn't be considered prohibitive. And if the valves are more than a few years old it's probably not a bad idea to change them anyway. They don't last forever.
Whoopee. Hardware stores have been selling those since before Jeff Bezos was born.
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Most hardware stores do not carry the proper adapters, expecting that you would change out the valves.
Yes, they do.
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So, if anyone runs into the issue of their old shutoff valves having 1/2" connections and their new faucet having 3/8" connections, this is the solution.
First of all, you have to be more specific. It's not just about size, they can be pipe thread, compression, and even flare fittings on occasion.
The attached supply lines on newer sinks - which is a stupid idea, by the way - have a 3/8" female compression fitting. The sink side fitting on most shutoff valves made in the last 40 years have a 3/8" male compression fitting so connection to the lines on the new faucets usually isn't an issue. But has your friend found out, it's not universal. It could be 1/2" compression, 1/2" pipe thread (male or female), 3/8" pipe (male or female), or a few other oddball things. So sure, you might need an adapter or new valves, but you also need to know what you need.
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Originally Posted by Pink Jazz
The reviews on Amazon seem to disagree. Apparently using standard reducers from hardware stores don't prevent leaks since they do not have O-rings in them. These from Amazon are purpose-built to connect a newer faucet to an older 1/2" shutoff valve.
The reviews on Amazon are wrong. The folks writing those are probably the people who go in the hardware store not knowing what they're doing, don't ask anyone for help, refuse help if it's offered, then end up buying something random and blaming the hardware store when it doesn't work.
The attached supply lines on newer sinks - which is a stupid idea, by the way - have a 3/8" female compression fitting. The sink side fitting on most shutoff valves made in the last 40 years have a 3/8" male compression fitting so connection to the lines on the new faucets usually isn't an issue. But has your friend found out, it's not universal. It could be 1/2" compression, 1/2" pipe thread (male or female), 3/8" pipe (male or female), or a few other oddball things. So sure, you might need an adapter or new valves, but you also need to know what you need.
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From what I understand, 1/2" compression and 3/8" NPT are not common sizes for faucet shutoff valves, it's usually only either 1/2" NPT (older homes) or 3/8" compression (newer homes), and that's it. Chances are that his valves are 1/2" compression I think are very slim.
From what I understand, 1/2" compression and 3/8" NPT are not common sizes for faucet shutoff valves, it's usually only either 1/2" NPT (older homes) or 3/8" compression (newer homes), and that's it. Chances are that his valves are 1/2" compression I think are very slim.
The only thing that matters is the size and type of fittings on the installation in question. This, boys and girls, is why you measure BEFORE you go to the hardware store. I can assure you that a decent hardware store will have what you need for almost any house built after about 1940; and if they don't have it, the plumbing supply house in your town will. Including that oddball stuff for ancient houses, as well.
Personally I'm not a fan of reusing old shutoff valves, anyway. Leave that valve open for 20+ years and you're likely to have a problem with it. Maybe you can't get it fully shut. Maybe after you shut it, you can't get it open again. Maybe the valve stem snaps off half way. Etc., etc,., etc. Me, I'm all about sweating on new NPT fittings, threading on new valves (I am NOT a fan of sweating a valve directly to the pipe) and going from there. I've seen too many compression fittings that leaked, maybe not when installed, but if you bang something up against that joint you can open up leaks. They're more convenient but more delicate. The only ones I'd want to use on a regular basis are the real Swagelok fittings, which I doubt you'll find at the hardware store, and they're pretty pricey too.
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