Customer Reviews

Webstone 50443PR 3/4-Inch SWT Isolator EXP Tankless Water Heater Service Valve Kit

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Okay - after reading the negative reviews I was a bit nervous but these looked like the perfect solution to have valves to turn on/off water input/output, pressure relief and flush valves/system all in one neat piece. I am pretty handy but probably not more so than anyone who will install their own tankless water heater. So, I did what I usually do - neatly measured and cut all of the copper pipe and along with the gas pipe assembled everything from the source all the way to the tankless heater but held the soldering. When you assemble everything like this before you solder, you are pretty sure everything is lined up and that is the key if you never want to have a leak. As a hint, when you connect the unions at the top of the valve pull out that rubber compression washer and hand tighten the unions - that keeps the washers from getting damaged or warped when you eventually solder. So, when it is all assembled and everything is aligned and straight you start soldering. When everything cooled down, I reassembled the unions with the rubber washer and tightened everything to specifications. I turned on the gas and water valves and guess what? That right - instant hot water from my Rinnai tankless and not a leak of water or gas and I mean not even a speck. These worked every bit as well as I had hoped and would certainly recommend them to you - make sure you take your time, align everything perfectly before soldering and you should be just fine. Good luck!

Save your money, these leak, period! We install tankless water heaters and webstone's are notorius for for leaking. Unless this company can create a gasket that does not distort and leak, it's scrap metal in a box.... I do not recommend this product at all

I bought these for my Bosch tankless system as Bosch instructions recommends them for installation. I found they both leak no matter what we do to correct. Will be returning them and buying another brand of isolation valves for my system.

I am a licensed contractor and for a brief period installed Webstone 3/4" valve sets on tankless systems because they were less expensive than other brands; big mistake as I have had to reinstall half of the valves due to leaks at the gasket and lost way more than the difference in price from competitors. I was at my plumber supply shop and he had a shelf of used Webstone valves and gave me a few rubber gaskets for future attempts...no thanks, I'm eating the cost of replacement valves. ALL of leaks are on the HOT water supply line and not the cold supply. There is something wrong on the hot side valve.

I was also hesitant after reading the questionable reviews on this. Webstone makes an IPS (non sweat) version of this isolator valve for all those shaky with the torch - If I'd known this I'd probably order that one instead. I installed the valves a few weeks ago and I'm not seeing the leaking issues others have written about. Read the instructions: disassemble the unions and remove the rubber washer and flush cap, take you're time and don't overheat!

If you look on the back of the box is states in small letters: DO NOT BRAZE OR SILVER SOLDER. This isn't stated in the directions and I only learned this after calling the manufacture. Webstone told me that the higher temperatures of brazing will melt the inner plastic components of the valves ultimately causing the unit to leak. For those with this problem, your oxy-Acetylene torch may be to blame.

Like the previous reviewer, I also had excellent results with these valves. I used them when I installed my Rinnai RC80HPi water heater and had no trouble whatsoever. Of course, you need to ensure that everything lines up correctly, use white teflon tape on the threads, not over-tighten the unions, and so forth. They are so well built that it's difficult to understand how a competent DIY'er could have the problems reported by the "1-star" guys. I would not hesitate to recommend these valves to anyone installing their own water heater.

I was reluctant to purchase these valves because I had an existing tankless already installed with the house. However, after receiving the new water heater and valves I realized that I was glad that I purchased them. It not only made for a great installation, but I had the correct pressure relief valve. The manufacturer of the tankless water heater has specific maintenance requirements that make these valves necessary. Great quality valves.

I installed these valves on my Bosch tankless about 8 years ago. They are very well made and do not have any issues with leaking. Ball valves used for general plumbing use TTE (a type of plastic) as the seat material for the ball which has a heat rating of between 400F and 550F. This means that you need to cool off the valve with a wet rag as soon as you have soldered the joint and never apply heat for a long time. You need to solder them properly, but quickly.

Closely inspect all of the machined parts of the valve before installing! All of the threads and machined parts should be PERFECT, if they are not there is a very strong possibility it WILL leak. You also need to make sure that you dry fit the entire plumbing run to the tankless before soldering. Attach the union to the tank (with the washer in the union) and then run all the plumbing for fit. When you have everything fitted together the first solder joint you will make is the pipe that attaches to the valve. The best and easiest way to solder this joint quickly (especially for the DIY'er) is to remove the valve and solder the pipe to it with it disconnected. Have a wet rag or a big bucket of water handy to cool the valve after you have soldered it. While you are still soldering connections reinstall the valve with the washer in the union REMOVED. Leave the union a little loose because if you tighten it you won't be able to put the washer back in when you finish soldering. Open the valve to BYPASS or OPEN and put a wet rag around the valve to make sure it doesn't get too hot. You should never solder a ball valve (or near a ball valve) when it is CLOSED whenever possible. Finish soldering the rest of your connections and you last step is to install the washer in the union. Don't forget to install the washer before turning on the water!

There are a few reviews from plumbers who have had issues with leaking, but I don't see how a professional would not know how to properly solder ball joints or to know that you need to closely inspect parts prior to installation.

I was a bit skeptical about using these due to a lot of reviews saying they leak... however, I took precautions when soldering them, and had no problems! I talked with my friend who is a plumber, and he said that the plastic seals inside the valve are made to be exposed to high temps... but as a precaution clamp on some vise grips near the solder joint (not tightly) and the heat would transfer into the vise grips instead of the valve (reduces overall heat). I took apart the entire valve, removed the rubber gasket, and valve handle. The only thing I did notice is that when you attach this valve to the heater you have to use a good amount of pipe dope, and make sure they are good and tight.

Code requires these or something functionally just like them, so we might as well grin & like it.
I've used them twice and they work great.
I was worried about using the relatively high temperature silver solder (that's needed in water systems) with this unit that has plastic seals on the ball valves.
I used mapp gas for quick heat and soldered it with the valve body itself in a shallow pan of water. no problems but there would probably have been no probs anyway.

I do wish they had threaded fittings instead of sweated ones so one could use a brass thread-to-copper connecter and keep any heat away from the valve body. but that's just me.