[labman]

Where is a good place to pick up parts for older Sloan valve stops? I spent far more time than I realized I would straightening out some plumbing problems at our church. Age plus hard water = problems. Cleaning or replacing diaphragms in the Sloan valves is a frequent chore. Even worse is that many of the stops are limed up meaning you have to shut off all the water while you work. Of course, then you can't use the adjoining sink to rinse crud away. Monday I went in and shut the water off and removed most of the stops and took them home to the power wire brush, vise, etc. Later I got them all back working, and most of the stools and urinals working. At least then I could shut the water off at each stop. I counted, there are 3 urinals and 7 stools with Sloan valves plus 6 more tank style. With only 400 members, it is easy to see why it takes Presbyterians forever to get anything done. This morning I had all of the stops and fixtures working, no thanks to the local hardware store, plumbing supply house and Home Depot. I was particularly disgusted with the plumbing supply house. I cut the hardware store some slack on inventory and just don't expect too much from the big box stores. Some of the stops had a flat disk, brass with a layer of rubber on either side. Others had a tapered rubber chunk that slipped on the end of a brass rod. The guy at the parts counter took the stand that they shouldn't be expected to stock parts for anything that old. Some day, I am going to jump over the counter and deck the guy. If it ain't old, I shouldn't have to be buying parts for it. He was willing to sell me a whole new stop for $38. The chunk style weren't in the bad of shape, a matter of wanting to replace something that is a pain to get apart. I turned the flat disks over and they are working for now. Still, I would feel better if I could pick up some new parts.

I also had to replace a galvanized nipple between a copper supply pipe and the brass stop. It was far gone. I used a brass one.

Last week we paid $2200 installed for an 80 gallon A O Smith comercial gas water heater. The old one only lasted 10-12 years. I think I will put the new one on a drain the sediment program. Aside from sales volume and competition, why are comercial water heaters so expensive? Certainly not longer life.

[speedball1]

Lab, Why beat yourself over the head attempting to track down out of date repair parts? Why not replace the Sloan stops with 3/4" inch screwdriver stops and get out from underneith it? I bet if we looked around we could even locate some chrome ones if brass isn't classy enough for your churches restrooms.

I highly recommend flushing the heater at least once a month especially with a high mineral content. My home was built 50 years ago and I still have the original heater that came with our new house.
Happy New year Labman and never think that your presence isn't valued on this site. Tom
PS. You might find this site interesting. www.superiorspecialty.com/ Main/Plumbing/Sloan/SloanExp/gem2exp.htm - 18k - Follow the links and check out the repair kits for Sloan flush valve stops.