Valveless manifold

[Mr Blobby]

I had assumed my plumbing manifolds would be fitted with individual isolation valves.  

 

 

Assuming my plumber has no intention of fitting valves to these manifolds, then please tell me that (a) it doesn't matter, or (b) an alternative product with valves.

 

Three of our HW (showers and bath) pipes are wider diameter than the rest.

 

Edited 3 hours ago by Mr Blobby

[JohnMo]

The biggest advantage of a manifold is the isolation valves in my opinion. They allow parts of the system to taken offline while the rest stays active.  No a no valve manifold is a missed opportunity. Just look at Screwfix they offer a couple of different options.

[-rick-]

What did you specify/agree to for this installation? Has he put isolators at the other end?

 

That would be what I’d imagine an uncreative plumber not used to installing manifolds would do. (afaik isolators somewhere are a requirement, exact location isn’t)

 

I don’t see the logic in doing it that way. You want a way to isolate leaks. Best place to do that is at the branch point of the circuit (*). Gonna be a pain in future if you want to change things as is. So I would put my foot down in your position and have them fitted at the manifold.

 

* whether you want a second isolator at the end of the pipe is a question. If they are already there I don’t think I’d bother removing them. My experience with isolators is that they have leaked more than I’ve needed to use them as isolators, so I think I’d be inclined not to duplicate. Though from reading here it sounds like the leak issues are common with cheapo/screwfix type isolators. Higher quality ones are good.

Edited 2 hours ago by -rick-

[Mr Blobby]

Ok, so I could have been more specific, but really, specifying a manifold without valves is like specifying a car without wheels.  I didn't think I needed to be that specific 😒

 

The problem is my trades always want to do everything at least cost because that's what they always do.  It's just frustrating.  Assume nothing 😬

 

Can valves be inserted here at the junction, or is it entirely new manifolds?

[-rick-]

4 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

Assume nothing 😬

 

indeed. I try not to assume but when I do it often comes back to bite me.

 

4 minutes ago, Mr Blobby said:

Can valves be inserted here at the junction, or is it entirely new manifolds?

im not the best person to ask but i believe yes. But if you’ve got a plumber who will always install cheapest available option then you may want to put some effort into specifying better quality valves (or expect leaks at some point).

[JohnMo]

For the cost of manifolds, swop the manifolds for proper ones. These are the first ones I found many other options out there, they just screw together to make as many outlets as you need. Others in the site 

 

https://www.bes.co.uk/riifo-plumbing-manifold-3-4-x-1-2-valved-outlets-4-port-red-levers-27474/