Drop-ear NPT valve?

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Support your community
Plumbing Forums

Help Support Plumbing Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
henrybowman

henrybowman

Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2024
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Location
Wickenburg
Howdy, folks. I'm just a geezer with a ranch to maintain.

I took on what I thought was going to be a minor project, which is turning into a major headache.

Long story short, I decided to relocate an obscured valve behind a toilet in an outbuilding by routing two flexible braided pipes up to a higher location on the wall, expecting to be able to install a drop-ear valve with 1/2" NPT connectors onto a naked stud.

Bought all the parts, got them installed, then discovered the Chinese valve I got from Amazon isn't true NPT (it's gas), and leaks no matter how I finagle it.

Went looking for a drop-ear 1/2" NPT valve of any style from a reputable manufacturer... and came up short. There are hundreds of drop-ear 1/2" valves, but they're all pex.

Does anybody know of a source of drop-ear NPT valves -- or an accessory I can use to mount a common valve onto a stud -- or do I have an involuntary course in pex plumbing in my future?
 
Gave you three options in post #3. With the threaded 90 you would use two 1/2" brass nipples.
 
Perhaps one of the reasons you are only finding PEX (push fit and or barb fittings) drop ear valves, is that most of the major retail suppliers have backed off considerably on copper only supplies. So, you have to look long and hard to find any valves (drop ear or not) that take just NPT or solder fittings. Moreover, if you have a full copper plumbing system, the valves generally don't need to be drop ear as they can stand alone in the middle of a pipe run without any further support (short of copper pipe hangers). For PEX, maybe you want the additional support that a drop ear supplies.

Anyway, not everything from China or Amazon is junk. Oh, sometimes yes, but I've purchased a lot of fine fittings from them amongst other things. You may have accidentally purchased something like this: https://a.co/d/04F1UpTO or https://a.co/d/0bZgagAw with G threads, not NPT.

One alternative is to use a G thread BSP to NPT adapter. Just search on Amazon and you'll find them, something like this: https://a.co/d/0hpN8xLn. I don't know if such a bushing is "legit" in the world of plumbing codes...but they make them.

Since there are PLENTY of NPT M, F, or both valves in brass and stainless but without drop ears, you may consider getting one of these in F thread with a couple of short M-M NPT threaded nipples. Then use pipe standoffs to support the nipples to your stud or wall. This way your valve is fully secured and supported.

Use copper split ring hangers or bell pipe hangers, and fasten them to each nipple on either side of your valve.
 
Thanks, I see good ideas here. You identified both of the only two 1/2" drop-ear valves that existed on Amazon (both gas). The adapter nipples are a great find -- the one you identified has the sexes reversed, as most on Amazon do (only the F side of the valve had a leak problem so I would need a male G) but I found a set with the proper sexes.

The plain valve with short M/M nipples and pipe hangers (or even just U straps) idea would also work for me, I'd just have to add a bridge between two studs to support the added length. But I'll probably go the adapter route instead because it's just one additional part to add to what I've already bought.

Thank you for being helpful.
 
The valve and adapter showed up today. The G-thread male adapter bottoms itself out in the valve just like the NPT fitting did. So my next step is to pick up some Rectorseal #5 in hopes it will work better than my vanilla pipe dope did. If it does, I suspect it probably would have worked on the NPT fitting just as well without the adapter.
 
Use a regular valve and a pipe strap to hold it in place, why make it hard when it’s easy ? My 10yr old came up with that answer and I agreed to post it.
 
G thread does not seal via the threads like npt. G thread needs a gasket/washer to seal.
 
I was too far into my investment to resist the lure of "just one more part," so I bought two Dowty seals, a G/NPT adapter for the other side, and the tube of Rectorseal. Finally, success. But knowing what I know now, I would never go down this path of buying a G fitting again. Thanks to all those who actually helped.
 

Attachments

  • 002B7A1A-2CE2-4E54-87A5-593A2F945617_1_201_a.jpeg
    002B7A1A-2CE2-4E54-87A5-593A2F945617_1_201_a.jpeg
    2 MB
TomFOhio said:
Looks like you should have some toilet work done too.
Click to expand...
The toilet is located in an outbuilding without insulation or HVAC. Summers here go 110F for weeks and humidity is low all year. The toilet may not get visited for months. The water routinely evaporates, then the tank valve gets crispy. It is what it is. That's the entire reason for this manual valve.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top