From: clare@snyder.on.ca   
      
   On Wed, 4 Feb 2026 14:44:45 -0500, Retirednoguilt   
    wrote:   
      
   >On 2/4/2026 1:29 PM, Frank wrote:   
   >> On 2/4/2026 12:25 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:   
   >>> On Wed, 4 Feb 2026 12:10:00 -0500, Maria Sophia   
   >>>  wrote:   
   >>>   
   >>>> Plumbing. Shutoffs. Inside the house. Even outside actually. Under sink.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Toilet. Why on earth are they rotate kind. When have you ever in your 100   
   >>>> years life ever regulated the flow from the shutoff? It's either on or   
   off.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> It's binary. Right? So why do they all NOT have quarter-turn ball valves?   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Nobody in the history of indoor plumbing has ever said, 'Let me precisely   
   >>>> throttle my toilet fill valve using this crusty little multi-turn   
   shutoff'.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> So why are they ubiquitous?   
   >>>   
   >>>   
   >>>   Mine ARE all 1/4 turn. MOST installed around here in the last 10   
   >>> years or so are 1/4 turn.   
   >>> Before the Chinafication of the supply chain 1/4 turn valves were   
   >>> significantly more expensive than the standardt type so were seldom   
   >>> used.   
   >>   
   >> I believe my newer ones are all also quarter turn.  Old shutoff valves   
   >> have been my recent plumbing problems with leaking and needing replacement.   
   >   
   >The nice thing about the old shutoff valves is that in my experience, I   
   >can easily repair the two most common problems I've seen with those   
   >valves.  Either the washer needs replacement if the valve isn't   
   >completely shutting off the water, or the packing nut needs slight   
   >tightening if there is leaking where the valve stem penetrates the   
   >packing nut.  Don't have a clue what to do if there is any malfunction   
   >with a quarter turn valve.  Actually, I've had quarter turn valves   
   >refuse to turn after a long period of non-use.  I've never had an old   
   >style valve refuse to turn.   
    I'm talking the little 3/8" shutoffs - the 1/2 inch and larger valves   
   are generally easy enough to rebuild - and back when they were all   
   noth American  standard valves you could buy a replacement valve and   
   just switch the "guts" if a shaft corroded or the washer screw twisted   
   off. Today's ChinaCrap the guts aren't interchangeable from one batch   
   to the next from the same supplier half the time. - but I've switched   
   all of them to good 1/4 turns as well -   
      
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