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View Poll Results: DIY done right or commercial and convenient?
DIY 1 50.00%
Convenience 1 50.00%
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Old 01-24-2022, 04:38 PM   #1
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2022 20' Basecamp
Hillsboro , Oregon
Join Date: Sep 2021
Posts: 64
Lightbulb Exterior water line shut-off valve -- make or buy?

I'm looking for some advice here. As many folks do, I want to use a tee/wye water connection to run multiple hoses.

My concern is this: most commercially available options use very small valves that neck down to 1/4", severely restricting flow. Since the plan involves an inline 3-stage water filter, compromising the initial pressure is something I'd prefer to avoid. The commercial options also have significant plastic components, and I'd like solid brass construction.

So, I'm left with the age-old conundrum: do I build my own to know it's done right, or deal with the lesser quality options conveniently available on the market?

Using high-quality brass parts with a true ball-valve would cost me about $120 to build a tee-valve with dual cut-offs, and 3/4" ID all the way through. This would involve several couple points, especially to convert from NPT to GHT.

The highest quality option I can find is to get an unrestricted wye adapter, then add two Dramm cut-off valves. These are at least 1/2" but use a Teflon ball rather than a brass ball found in actual plumbing parts. The total cost would be about half the DIY option.

So which option would folks go for? Spend the money to do it "right" or accept lower flow rates for half the money?

In the interest of full disclosure, do I really think it will make much of a difference since I have a pressure regulator involved in the line? No. Do I prefer to do things The Right Way? Yes. Do I worry I'm letting my need for it to be "right" get in the way of convenience? Sure, but I also want to never worry about this again. Ever.

All thoughts and comments welcome . And if you have an outstanding option that I've missed in my (admittedly sporadic) research, I'd love to know that too.
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Old 01-24-2022, 06:40 PM   #2
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2018 28' Flying Cloud
Chapin , South Carolina
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I use the brass garden hose wye available at any hardware store. In addition to the AS built in pressure regulator. I also use one at the campground spigot and a inline filter. I see no difference with or without the wye, so I don't think I would gain anything building a fancy DIY unit. If you book the same campsite right after me, you may get a free one. For some reason, that is the only thing I seem to leave behind on occasion.
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Old 01-24-2022, 07:04 PM   #3
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2020 23' Globetrotter
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Smile For some reason

Quote:
Originally Posted by StuartsDad View Post
I use the brass garden hose wye available at any hardware store. In addition to the AS built in pressure regulator. I also use one at the campground spigot and a inline filter. I see no difference with or without the wye, so I don't think I would gain anything building a fancy DIY unit. If you book the same campsite right after me, you may get a free one. For some reason, that is the only thing I seem to leave behind on occasion.
If you ever determine what the “some reason” is, please let me know, since for “some reason” I’ve done the same darn thing on occasion of course. But for some reason it hasn’t happened since the last time. Go figure.
Anyway, I do the same as you. Haven’t run into any problems.
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Old 01-24-2022, 07:45 PM   #4
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Funny....new thread idea: What I seem to leave?....and wonder how - I have my checklist.


I could start: foot stool to get my mom in the truck driving her from Oregon to Florida and staying in the trailer....rest areas were used. So would the person in Kansas that found the really nice foot stool in the truck/trailer lanes thank me for their new found gift?
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Old 01-24-2022, 10:21 PM   #5
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2022 20' Basecamp
Hillsboro , Oregon
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Quote:
Originally Posted by StuartsDad View Post
I use the brass garden hose wye available at any hardware store. In addition to the AS built in pressure regulator. I also use one at the campground spigot and a inline filter. I see no difference with or without the wye, so I don't think I would gain anything building a fancy DIY unit. If you book the same campsite right after me, you may get a free one. For some reason, that is the only thing I seem to leave behind on occasion.
I didn't think it would be much of an issue, but do you use one with a shut-off valve, or is it just a simple wye?

Oddly, I have been in campsites that have had wye connectors when the others around them did not. I assumed it was the opposite: those other sites had theirs swiped. I guess I had it wrong!

One thought that might help keep them from getting left behind: use a short segment of hose before the wye, preferably in a hideously bright color. Sure, it would need to be potable water safe, but it might keep you from forgetting your wye!

Quote:
Originally Posted by bweybright View Post
I could start: foot stool to get my mom in the truck driving her from Oregon to Florida and staying in the trailer....rest areas were used. So would the person in Kansas that found the really nice foot stool in the truck/trailer lanes thank me for their new found gift?
This is awful. When I first bought my TV, there were no steps to get in. Fortunately, that situation didn't last too long as they finally got the powered steps in stock, but during that time I think I lost 3 different stools. The first one was a nice, home-built, folding wooden step stool that fit snugly in a custom holster in my rambox. The later stools were the cheapest plastic options I could find that would easily fit in my rambox. I still miss that stool...
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Old 01-25-2022, 09:52 AM   #6
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Rule of thumb is a short restriction of 50% diameter won't impede flow. Even holds for coronary arteries; they won't dilate if restriction isn't greater than 50% (unless guidelines changed in past 20 years). Mark
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Old 01-25-2022, 10:12 AM   #7
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Carlisle , Pennsylvania
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Hi

You have a setup that has a bunch of (skinny) pipe in it. That goes through who knows what sort of valve. It then runs into 20 to 200' of hose (depending on the campsite). All of that is going to nuke your pressure vs flow. Indeed the fact that 200 other campers are all watering their gardens off of the same tiny pump just might get into the act as well.

Toss in a filter and you drop your max flow. If you drop as much as most do, you will never notice this or that valve upstream. Yes, it does depend a bit on just how much crud has hit the filter. If there's no crud ... there's no need for the filter

Keep it simple / keep it cheap.

Bob
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Old 01-25-2022, 06:34 PM   #8
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I use the wye with two shut off valves. The one not connected to the AS stays closed except for when I'm using that hose for rinsing off the dogs mitts, filling the dogs water bucket, etc.
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Old 01-25-2022, 08:45 PM   #9
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I use a wye (without cutoff) straight off the campground spigot. I attach my water regulator to one side of the wye and the hose goes through 3 filters to the trailer. On the other side of the wye I use an attachment which has a shutoff in it then add a eight foot or so hose that has a spray wand on the end for rinsing dog bowls, adding water to bowls, spraying feet/shoes, etc. I hunted around for a brass wye that didn't have shutoffs and was not constricted inside. I finally found one that worked great and I have been pleased with less construction in the water line to the filters. It may not make a difference to some people but it works for me.
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Old 01-25-2022, 09:02 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by uncle_bob View Post
Hi

You have a setup that has a bunch of (skinny) pipe in it. That goes through who knows what sort of valve. It then runs into 20 to 200' of hose (depending on the campsite). All of that is going to nuke your pressure vs flow. Indeed the fact that 200 other campers are all watering their gardens off of the same tiny pump just might get into the act as well.

Toss in a filter and you drop your max flow. If you drop as much as most do, you will never notice this or that valve upstream. Yes, it does depend a bit on just how much crud has hit the filter. If there's no crud ... there's no need for the filter

Keep it simple / keep it cheap.

Bob
This is absolutely true. And why I phrased the question as "do it right" or "do it cheaply."

I guess I keep coming back to the issue of what happens when something goes wrong? If I built it myself, I could tear it down and repair anything wrong with it. If I buy one of the cast/welded parts, all you can do when it breaks is buy a new one.

Given the propensity of these things to fail, it just seems more long-term waste-conscious to build it myself. Then again, I also pull a house on wheels with a dinosaur-burning beast, and I'm worried about the little bit of brass and plastic I might save...

I really do appreciate all the voices telling me to just buy one. We all have our "get stuck" tendencies. Mine is seeing the "right way" and getting stuck on it. Sometimes I just need to be talked down from my insanity.

Thanks all!
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Old 01-26-2022, 08:34 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dkmcgrath View Post
This is absolutely true. And why I phrased the question as "do it right" or "do it cheaply."

I guess I keep coming back to the issue of what happens when something goes wrong? If I built it myself, I could tear it down and repair anything wrong with it. If I buy one of the cast/welded parts, all you can do when it breaks is buy a new one.

Given the propensity of these things to fail, it just seems more long-term waste-conscious to build it myself. Then again, I also pull a house on wheels with a dinosaur-burning beast, and I'm worried about the little bit of brass and plastic I might save...

I really do appreciate all the voices telling me to just buy one. We all have our "get stuck" tendencies. Mine is seeing the "right way" and getting stuck on it. Sometimes I just need to be talked down from my insanity.

Thanks all!
Hi

Given the cost difference between an "adequate" purchased item ( < $20 )

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Xiny-Tool-Gar...xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

and the DIY ( > $100 by your estimate ), you can "inventory" a lot of the garden store versions and still be ahead.

Bob
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