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Real Life Plumbing Advice for People Who Don't Want To Call A Plumber

How To Choose The Right Emergency Water Shut-Off Valve

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So in this video I go over how to choose the right emergency water shut-off valve. I’ll show you a couple of different options.

Everyone should have these near their kitchen and bathroom sinks as well as by their toilets. They are your only safeguard in a true water emergency so I highly recommend you test them and if they don’t hold, REPLACE THEM!

The most popular ones I use are the I.P.S and copper versions which are available in straight, angle and dual port versions. They’re available with washers or as 1/4 turn ball type valves. They have a compression version which could come in handy, for instance, when working on copper pipe and you can’t get a 100% shut down of the water.

In this case you wouldn’t be able to solder but you can pop one of these on tighten it up with your adjustable wrench and you’re good to go.

They’re available in P.E.X and push type (SharkBite) versions which I don’t show in the video only because here in New York they’re not currently code approved.

All of them are available as straight, angle, dual port, washer type and ball type so you have many choices. The dual port valves are pretty cool because you can control two appliances with one valve.

On the other hand if you have to shut down one of them, you’re going to have two appliances out of service.

Check out the video and if you have questions, as always info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

Choosing The Right P.V.C. Floor Flange – Toilet Repairs

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In this video I help you choose the right PVC floor flanges for your toilet. I focus on two popular floor flanges that are available if you’re using PVC pipe.

The sizes of these flanges are 4″x3″ and would be used with 3″ diameter waste lines.

There are many variations of PVC floor flanges which are available in both 3″ and 4″ diameters.

The one in the video with the blue adjustable flange ring is a no brainer because you can glue the flange onto the pipe and then adjust the ring for the flange bolt location.

The solid PVC flange is quite different in that you must pre-locate where the flange bolts will be located before you glue it into place.

If you miss this step you’ll have to start all over, so be aware and mark the bolt locations before you glue. The adjustable version is available in stainless steel, PVC as well as the painted steel version in the video. They’re also available for ABS pipe as well.

I personally like the flange that you can glue into the drain pipe. You just bring your drain pipe flush with the finished floor, set the flange and you’re finished.

With other versions you have to do some pre planning before you glue because with PVC you get one opportunity to get it right.

There are many other cool PVC floor flange choices available which I’ll cover in detail in a future video but for now I hope you have a better understanding of the two featured in this video.

Fact is, in the New York City area the two most popular waste line materials are extra heavy and no-hub cast iron pipe.

Cast iron toilet bends and lead toilet bends are still the most commonly found in this area.

If you’re unsure about anything covered in this video, please send an e-mail to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

I look forward to your questions.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Install a Toilet Re-fill Valve

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Well folks, this is a pretty straight forward lesson on how to install a toilet re-fill valve. In fact we’re going to cover a modern style plastic flush valve with a self-contained float.

These valves are readily available from any big box store as well as plumbing supply houses.

FYI the one in the video is from a company called Wolverine Brass who only sells to professional plumbers.

A couple of things to keep in mind are:

1. Always shut the water supply off before you attempt to do this.
2. Before you install the new valve, you want to adjust the height of the valve to the proper height.

I like to keep the top of the valve at about 1 inch below the toilet tank and I can always fine tune things from the float adjustment screw.

I try to keep the water level at about 1 inch below the overflow tube as a general rule of thumb.

Don’t forget to set the locknut on the valve body before you set it in place.

Trust me, it’s not going to be pretty if you miss this step, I’ve learned the hard way.

That valve will shoot right out of the tank and hit the ceiling, cool to look at but you better have plenty of towels and a mop handy.

Check out the video and send any comments to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

How To Connect Pipes of Different Material

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This video covers how to connect pipes of different materials.

If you haven’t already watched my video “How to cut out a rotted out waste nipple,” I recommend you check it out before viewing this one.

After I remove a broken nipple I’ll always try to match up that nipple to the old one which makes putting everything back together simple.

But what if you don’t have an identical match to the nipple you removed or just want to transition to a different material i.e.: copper, brass tubing or PVC?

You can accomplish this through the use of no-hub couplings a.k.a. frenco couplings. These couplings are typically used to joint cast iron waste pipe but over the years the manufacturers figured out that they can be made to joint several different materials together, which in the service and repair world, makes life sweet!

Different manufacturers generally use their own designations to identify which materials the couplings will transition to and that’s usually a combination of letters and numbers i.e.: CK115, T150, T250 etc.

These couplings are very handy when making on the spot repairs and over the years I’ve come up with a combination of couplings that I always have on hand to get the job done.

I did a video titled “Connecting different Pipe materials” where I go into a little more detail on how they work and if you have a minute I suggest you check it out.

In the meantime, I can always be reached at info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!

Different Types of Hacksaw Blades and How To Choose The Right One

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This is a short video about choosing the right hacksaw blade to use.

Hacksaw blades generally come in two lengths 10″ and 12″. Also, depending on the material you are cutting, you’ll choose from 14TPI, 18TPI, 24TPI or 32TPI (teeth per inch).

Fewer teeth per inch will produce a rougher overall cut while more teeth per inch will produce a finer, cleaner cut.

The blades are placed into the saw with the teeth facing away from the handle allowing it to cut on the down stroke.

There may be circumstances when you want to cut on the upstroke and to do this, you would just reverse the blade in the saw or if you want to be lazy, just flip the saw around and hold from the front end.

I use a Lennox hacksaw and Sawzall blades exclusively because I feel they makes a superior product.

In addition, I use Lennox hacksaw frames and most of their cutting products including hole saws.

When it comes to hand tools, I highly recommend you don’t cheap out – that old saying “the tools make the mechanic” is true.

Watch the video and if you have any questions, please shoot an e-mail to info@bobsplumbingvideos.com.

HAPPY PLUMBING!