What are the Different Types and Styles of Shut-Off Valves?

Remember, there are many types and locations of shut-off valves throughout your home or business. Every fixture, faucet, toilet, and appliance has its own shut-off valve in addition to the main shut-off valves for both water and gas. In the case of water heaters (tank or tankless), they will have at least one for gas and one for water, and sometimes multiple valves.

Below are the most common types of shut-off valves found in North Texas. They all have the same function but may operate in different ways, making some versions better or more preferred than others due to ease, longevity, and reliability.

Gate Valves

Gate valves are only used for water (or liquids). From a residential or light commercial plumbing standpoint, most of these valves are fairly basic. A typical gate valve is what you see on your water hose spigot and functions in the same way. The handle looks like a wheel, or it might be oval-shaped. It operates by turning multiple revolutions to open or close. There is typically a rubber gasket mounted onto a screw-type mechanism that pinches down over the opening (the seat), creating a seal and restricting the flow in the off position. These are still used today, just not as often because there are far superior engineering options available.

The problem with a typical residential plumbing-type gate valve is that the point where the seal is made becomes fouled or the gasket materials deteriorate over time, rendering this valve almost useless. The stems can also become corroded over time, leading to leaks. Over extended periods, these valves start to only partially function. That’s especially true when they are exposed to the elements and/or are installed below ground, as is the case when they are used as your whole house shut-off valve in conjunction with your Pressure Reducing Valve (PRV).

Ball Valves

Ball valves come in many different appearances, sizes, and types but they are all engineered to function in roughly the same way. This type of valve has been around for years, but they are more costly, and therefore not used in the new construction plumbing process unless required. However, that slight extra cost translates to much higher quality.

Ball valves are also used for both natural and propane gas as well as water and air applications.  The simple yet superior engineering allows you to turn the knob, handle, or lever just a quarter turn to completely turn the supply off or on. In addition, at the end of this simple quarter turn, there is an obvious hard stopping point that eliminates any guessing as to whether the valve is fully on or off.

In homes and light commercial applications, metal ball valves are the current standard for shut-off valves. But even these can be made of a combination of less expensive and inferior materials, such as plastic stems that can become brittle over time. Unless there is no other option, Earl’s Plumbing only supplies and uses ALL metal ball valves and angle stops for all of our installations and repairs.

Aside from common water hose spigots (Arrowhead brand), Earl’s Plumbing avoids using any other type of shut-off valve unless engineer-specified or required by code. The marginal additional cost for a quality ball valve shut-off device is worth it due to simplicity, increased longevity, and peace of mind that we are leaving you with a good product.

Supply Stops

This type of shut-off valve is by far the most common in any home or business. Technically speaking, “supply stops” are any shut-off valve devices that control the water flow to toilets, faucets, and certain appliances. Supply stops are available in the multi-turn gate valve types, quarter-turn ball valve types, or the less common push-off/pull-on plunger-style type.

Far and away, the most common supply stop is the angle stop. They are all essentially the same, except the angle stop has a 90-degree turn or elbow, hence the word “angle.” But in the field, virtually any shut-off device that controls the water flow to a faucet or toilet is often referred to as an angle stop regardless of its design.

Although these types of shut-off valves are almost always shiny metallic silver in color, they are not always metal. In fact, most have some combination of plastic and metal—and you can imagine which part fails when you try to use it for the first time in years or ever. For less than a $5 difference in price, the lesser quality builder-grade versions have been the culprit of far too many flooded homes and emergency leak repairs.

If your home or business is over 10 years old, you should use an abundance of caution when operating a shut-off valve of any kind. Have a plan in place in case it starts to leak, or worse, breaks off in your hand. After using, check back after a few hours to inspect and ensure a leak has not formed. Or better yet, avoid the risk and allow Earl’s Plumbing to safely and correctly solve this problem and complete your installation.

At Earl’s Plumbing, we only use 100% metal, quarter turn, ball valve type supply stops. Although they are a little more costly than other versions, the minimal additional cost is worth it from a quality outcome and increased life expectancy standpoint.

Push/Pull Water Supply Stops

This type of supply stop or angle stop is a recent addition to the plumbing industry. Found in homes built starting around 2020, these devices are typically white in color, all plastic, and have a flat, plunger-style handle that operates a mechanism that you push or pull. This action either opens or closes the water supply. Sounds simple right? Sure, until you try to use it!

Primarily only used for toilets, faucets, dishwashers, ice makers, and washer boxes, we are seeing two versions of this shut-off valve in North Texas. The most common is from a company called Accor Tech, and their push/pull valve is called “Flowtite.” The other less common is a recessed box version from LSP Products Group. Both are half the price of a traditional angle stop, making them less than $5 each. And based on our experience with customer problems and repairs they are both equally bad. Making matters worse, these devices have soft plastic threads, making them even more problematic.

The cost difference is not significant when compared to a superior all-metal ball valve stop like we use at Earl’s Plumbing. But even small amounts can equal significant savings for the new construction plumber where the margins are razor thin. It is when the homeowner tries to use the valve or decides to upgrade their cheap “builder grade” toilet, faucet, or other devices that the problems begin to exist.

In summary, these types of “push-to-connect” plunger-style valves are, frankly, garbage for a variety of reasons, and in our opinion, they should NOT be allowed by plumbing code. At this time, however, they are allowed. So if you have this type of shut-off in your home you may want to consider this as a future plumbing replacement project. Although relatively new, these types of valves have caused an inordinate amount of emergency water leak calls and home damage.  Use caution and have a plan to turn off the water at the main shut-off in case of an emergency.

Emergency Valves

Emergency shut-offs are also known as leak detection devices. Usually, these are mechanical ball valves that are automatically actuated to shut off the water or gas flow in the case of an emergency or detected leak.

In certain commercial applications, plumbing code requires these shut-offs to be in place on specific gas appliances. As of 2023, there are no code requirements for residential applications in North Texas, but similar leak detection devices are very good when it comes to preventing major water damage and for basic loss mitigation purposes.

There are multiple brands and versions of emergency shut-off valves and leak-detection devices on the market. Some are fairly basic and are triggered by moisture. These types are what we would call “point of use” devices. Earl’s Plumbing offers and strongly encourages a shut-off device called “Flood Stop” for water heater installations.

There are also multiple whole home shut-off devices that are installed on the main water line. These are typically app-based and protect your home by detecting unusual patterns of water flow. The Moen Flo is one of the whole home products that we offer and are most familiar with.

Some homeowners insurance policies are starting to require leak detection devices to be installed prior to renewal, while others are offering significant discounts if they are in place and monitored.