r/askaplumber

Currently building a house in the FL panhandle. Hot sun, salty air, and the exterior walls of the house are ICF with 6” reinforced concrete. The house‘s main water supply will be located outside the house. All piping is PEX-A.

So I want an in-line outdoor “smart” water shutoff valve that can withstand the elements, doesn’t rely on WiFi or cloud connection, and preferably doesn’t need AC main power (don‘t want to run a cord from the side of the house where the water main is, to the nearest ac plug on the patio around the corner). My “smart“ home will be run via HomeAssistant.

I researched Moen Flo, Phyn, Rheem, FloLogic, EcoNet Bulldog, and YoLink. I’ve narrowed it down to the Moen Flo or one of the YoLink Smart Valves (not sure which one is best).

Moen Flo

Pros:

• Micro-leak detection
• Automatic shutoff
• Insurance savings
• Integrates with HomeAssistant

Cons:

• Plastic turbine design
• Subscription paywalls
• False alerts during high use
• Requires ac power and Wi-Fi

YoLink X3 Valve Controller & 3/4” DN Series Motorized Valve

Pros:

• Long Battery Life
• Offline Reliability (Control-D2D)
• Superior Materials
• Full-Port Flow: Features zero bore reduction, meaning it causes no reduction in water flow.
• Long Range LoRa Tech
• Integrates with HomeAssistant
• Separate Controller from Valve (could also be a con)

Cons:

• Outdoor Limits: While the valve is weather-resistant (IP67), extreme environments still require careful placement to protect the controller and battery compartment over long periods.

YoLink Commercial Grade Smart Motorized Valve

Pros:

• Long Battery Life
• Offline Reliability (Control-D2D)
• Long Range LoRa Tech
• Commercial-Grade Build
• Flexible Power Options
• Integrates with HomeAssistant

Cons:

• Sold out for several months (discontinued?)
• Controller and Valve together (co 1. Moen Flo

YoLink FlowSmart All-in-One

Pros:

• No monthly fees
• Long-range LoRa tech
• Offline functionality (Control-D2D)
• Ultrasonic accuracy
• Integrates with HomeAssistant

Cons:

• Reduced volume/pressure: due to reduced inner diameter for flow monitoring.

Just had this replacement gas water heater done. I did not notice till the next day that the base looks like this. What should I do if anything? Will it last 15 yrs?

Installed this drain setup today for a customer. I’m a handyman and never claimed to be a plumber. I attached the original setup, and today’s before and after photos. I couldn’t quite figure out where to fit an AAV with the position of the disposal and lack of space behind it. The customers original setup with a double sink had the disposal on the left so there was plenty of room for the AAV before the wall stub out. She had gone awhile without her sink and just wanted it hooked up so I did the best I could today with what I had on hand.

I feel like it’s important to add that there wasn’t room on the right side of the cabinet to swing the disposal around 180 degrees. It was also a 2in stub out so I had to reduce to 1 1/2 which took up precious space. I used a street 45 to save a little space but still not room for a santee and AAV.

I assume they’re gonna call a plumber eventually to add the vent, what would you pros do to fit an AAV in this small area?

new kitchen sink and garbage disposal during kitchen renovation, they had to move around the pipes to adjust to the deeper sink (especially that back pipe coming out from the wall, i believe it came straight out before instead of at an angle like it is now). started draining slower and slower until it didn’t drain at all. dishwasher also just drained up into the sink. P trap is clear. someone’s going to come look at it tomorrow but wanted to get the opinion of you good folks in the meantime honestly because im very curious. can provide more details if needed. thanks!!

PROBLEM SOLVED: I am installing a Pister Masey faucet and all is going well. I was about to tighten the handles and this happened. Cold line turns the opposite way. The underside of the lines has the faucets pointed exactly where they should be as per the arrows. Do I just rotate the cold faucet 180 degrees???

Updated

Just noticed it this evening, coming out of the overflow drain in the shower. No blue stuff coming from any other faucets or drains. Pretty thin in consistency. Thanks.

How does this pricing look as far as the material, I am aware of the regulator being replaced. Labor is $1k but they initially told me material is sub $500 then I get an email that’s double, email before this was $1620

I’m trying to install a bidet but I can’t do it with this metal pipe running from the water supply. I figured I could replace it with a mesh one, am I going to fuck something up by wrenching this thing off and replacing it?

Can anybody tell me what this size connection this is? Its for a countertop dishwasher. I need this exact size on a male fitting piece for the top of it to screw on the faucet. I got a male 3/8 ipsm fitting and it's just barely off and not screwing into the faucet but the part that the arrow is pointing to in here screws into the faucet perfectly and I need that on a fitting

Hello! I recently moved into an apartment with this shower valve (?) handle that has temperature controls from 70 to about 110. I can turn it to just below 70, but I can't get it cooler than that, and in NYC summer sometimes a gal just wants a cool shower. Is there any way to adjust this myself, or am I going to have to ask maintenance/an actual plumber to help me? Thank you for any advice!

Does this look ok? I have deep cleaned all the dishwasher filter pieces until they are spotless, I deep scrubbed all the parts of the disposal I can get to from above and removed and cleaned the rubber piece that keeps food in the disposal when it’s on and still every time I run my apartment’s dishwasher it smells like sewage or rotten food, it’s so bad!

What could this be? I feel like unless I have some idea of the problem maintenance will just say well it works 🤷‍♂️

Thanks in advance.

My parents house had this shower installed back when my dad was sick so he could easily step in and out of the shower and get a chair in there. I recently started coming over to help my mom with some cleaning and stuff when I realized this gap in the wall on both sides where it looks like a door could be installed.

It's been years since the shower was installed and I fear it's just been water getting in there since it was installed.

Can I fill this gap with something?

Should I consider pulling the wall back to check for damage?

Her house is a rental so I'm not sure what I can do exactly but my biggest fear is mold building behind.

We have hot-water based heating and when heating runs longer than 1-2 hours, one the pipe connected to boiler leaks from pressure valve. We just bought the house last month, so don't know much background. It seems that Pressure Relief Valve of the dual-unit is leaking. To my naive eyes, it looks like some large bolt at the bottom of the Pressure Relief Valve is missing. zoomed in photo here: https://imgur.com/a/zC1vjFK

Any idea how to fix this leak? Is there supposed to be a large bolt/screw on the bottom side of the Pressure Relief Valve? Or is it actually reliving pressure by leaking?

Can anyone help me to understand why my hot bathroom tap is making the awful noise and help me with a solution please? Thank you in advance

I have an old house with this sewage ejector. It has been working well, however there is no vent nor is there a place to put another hole in the lid. I can see no reason for a clean-out in that spot, though. Might that clean-out cap actually be where the vent is supposed to go?

Also is there a minimum legal size for a sewage pit? This is a little guy, cap is 16.5".