Kaplan PVC 1 1/2" True Union Ball Valve with Full Port, ASTM F1970, EPDM O-Rings and Reversible PTFE Seats, Rated at 200 PSI @73F, Gray, 1 1/2 inch Socket (1 1/2")

These valves are fantastic! They are installed as part of my pool plumbing to shut off the skimmers and main drain return lines. They are outside in Minnesota, so it gets to -20 or -30 in the Winter and +98 in the Summer. They are exposed to sun and chlorine. After 4 years they still can be turned on or off easily. Most home center ball valves fail after a couple years in those conditions. The other cool thing as that you could replace the ball without redoing all of the plumbing; just unscrew and replace.I've had pool service workers comment on how nice these valves are. One guy said, "I wish all my customers had these."These ball valves are pricey, but I have been very impressed with the quality and durability.

I made this purchase based on the solid reviews of this product on Amazon. I'm glad I spent the extra money on these because of the excellent quality. When you open the package and hold the union in your hands and take a close look at it, you will see what I mean. Rock solid construction, thick and heavy,very durable, and superior engineering. Nothing like the existing valves on my pool equipment which were chipped, cracked, and leaking air.No need to read anymore beyond this point because it is too much information.TLDR - Too Long Don't Read. But if you insist, go ahead anyway.I bought 3 of these, but only needed 2. The third one is for spare parts and in case I made a mistake during the install. If you glue on the pipe fitting and forget to put the collar on over the pipe BEFORE you glue it, it's bad news for you. You will have to cut the pipe and add a coupling, and if your pipe is too short, you will have wasted one end of the solvent to threaded union coupling. Fortunately, that didn't happen with me, but I'm glad I bought a spare one for two replacement o-rings, a ball joint valve, and two solvent to threaded union couplings.I'm not a pool or plumbing expert, only a novice, but let me just give you my personal advice on replacing your existing valves with these high quality ones. It took me about 2 and a half hours to replace the two existing valves, and now my pool system is running perfectly with ZERO air intake and NO leaks. It will probably take you less time, but I like to over think these things to get it right the first time.01] Take your time when replacing the valves and carefully think out where to make thepipe cuts before you start.02] Use sand paper or a sanding block on the pipe edges after you cut them to make themsmooth and beveled.03] Clean the pipe ends with acetone, or at least alcohol to make them smooth for atleast two inches where the solvent is applied.04] Use pvc primer and glue instead of skipping the primer (like I have done in the past).05] Consider applying vasaline (or similar) to the ball joint and open and close the valvea few times to work it in.06] Consider applying vasaline (or similar) to the o-ring connecting points. I was giventhis advice by a pool maintenance company.07] Consider applying vasaline to the threads of the unions to prevent sticking over time.08] PUT THE COLLAR ON THE PIPE BEFORE YOU GLUE THE CONNECTOR.09] Notice that the valve actually has a FLOW DIRECTION arrow, make sure to align it inthe proper direction of the water flow. This is easy to fix if you get it wrong. Yousimply un-thread the collars, flip the valve 180 degrees, and re-thread the collars.10] Make sure each of the 2 o-rings are comfortably seated in their slots before youtighten the collars.11] You SHOULD NOT TIGHTEN THE COLLARS with any tool, only your hands.12] I never used a measuring tape, I held the pieces and pipe together and put marks onthe pipe to make my cuts using my eyes to line everything up.That's all I can think of now but I want to add the following. I am not paid for writing this review. I paid full price for the valves. I am not affiliated with Amazon or HYDROSEAL or any other company for a biased review. I like writing detailed reviews for products that I really like because I like reading detailed reviews from other people and I like to help people make informed decisions the same way that other people help me make informed decisions about a product I might purchase.I hope my review helped you in some way and I didn't mean to waste your time if you read all the way to here. Good luck, and I think you will be as happy as me about these valves.

Great product! I have purchased many of these in various sizes for my outdoor irrigation. They are sturdy and very easy to turn off and on when needing to turn off the water supply. I have not had to replace any parts yet but if I do I know it will be much easier to do so rather than having to install a whole new valve. This is a very well made product!

Great price. Should work perfectly for flow control on my aquarium return pump.

I unfortunately installed a bunch cheap "molded" PVC ball valves in my irrigation system. They either leak immediately, or after a year or two when you turn the handle. As mine fail, I have been replacing them with these "true union" ball valves. These are higher quality to begin with, but can easily be repaired or replaced if needed. First I cut the old valve out using a PVC cable saw, as close to the body as possible. Removal of the bad valve left a gap in the pipe of about 4-1/8". The new union valve needs a minimum gap of 3-1/2", which includes 3-1/8" for the valve body with o-rings plus two slip-type end connectors which add 3/16" each (this is for a 1" valve - other sizes will be different). So the gap was 5/8" too big, which had to be taken up by not fully seating the end connectors - I wanted to use half of the excess (ie. 5/16") on each end. A fully seated end connector goes 1-1/8" onto the pipe, so my connectors needed to go on by 13/16". I marked one pipe at 13/16" from the end. NOW BE SURE TO INSTALL THE "UNION NUT" ON THE PIPE BEFORE GLUING ON THE END CONNECTOR!!! With the union nut installed in the correct direction, I put primer and glue on the pipe and on the end connector and pushed the end connector on as far as the 13/16" mark (let it dry). Next I made a mark on the other pipe end at 13/16". THEN I INSTALLED THE UNION NUT ON THAT PIPE END. I got the valve body close at hand, and oriented in the correct direction (it has FLOW marked on it with an arrow). Make sure the o-rings are properly seated, as they can fall off. Then acting quickly, I put glue on the pipe end and the end connector, pushed the end connector a bit past the 13/16" mark, placed the valve body in the correct spot, and pushed the still-moveable end connector back tightly against the valve body o-ring. Then I quickly tightened both union nuts. With the valve handle in the off position, I could use a channellock wrench to get the nuts reasonably tight. I will eventually replace all the cheap molded valves with these true union valves.

the unit functions fine, the shut-off knob is easy to turn without issues or sticky-ness.