Had a fitting blow apart on me at Fab Shop 3 yesterday. Changed my mind about cheap Chinese valves.

I was working on a 6 inch steam line at the old power plant off River Road. Took a shortcut with a $45 valve from a surplus place. Thing split right at the weld seam when we hit 120 psi. Luckily nobody was standing near it. Spent the next 4 hours draining and swapping it out for a $180 American made one. Now I just bite the bullet on fittings. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way?

3 comments

3 Comments

miller.jason1mo ago

Yeah that sounds about right. I used to be the guy grabbing the cheapest option too until I had a similar blowout. @robinson.holly nailed it though, cheap fix turns into a real expensive headache. Now I just spend the extra money upfront.

robinson.holly1mo agoMost Upvoted

Cheap fix turned into expensive lesson, huh?

finley7779d ago

Funny how that pattern shows up everywhere, not just in car stuff. Same thing happens with phone chargers, lawn mowers, even cheap shoes. @robinson.holly pretty much summed up the whole cycle in one line. It's like we all gotta learn the hard way that saving ten bucks now costs fifty later. Reminds me of that saying about buying cheap tools and crying twice.