In the plumbing industry, water conduits have been typically formed of copper pipe. Joints between pipe sections and external connections to flexible conduits, faucets, etc., had been made with solder.
In rough framing a building or home, the pipes are mounted within the wall and/or floor or ceiling and terminate in a “stub out” which is a short length of pipe extending through an opening in a wall. Prior to connecting the stub outs to the building or home fixtures, a pressure test is required. A pressure gauge is attached by solder to one of the stub outs. All of the remaining stub outs are closed by caps which are also soldered on each stub out. The system is then pressurized to detect any leaks.
After the pressure test is completed, the caps and the pressure gauge are removed from the stub outs and the plumbing fixtures attached. Typically, a shut off valve is soldered to many of the stub outs, with an external conduit, which can be formed as a flexible hose, attached to the shut off valve by solder or tightenable compression fittings.
As is evident from the typical building or home plumbing installation, a considerable amount of time is involved in soldering the caps and the pressure gauge to all of the stub outs to perform the code required pressure test and then unsoldering the caps and the pressure gauge prior to soldering shut off valves to the stub outs for connection to the building plumbing fixtures. As a result, the plumbing industry is under increasing pressure to migrate to easy connections for service and hook up of building and home water supply systems. Such easy connections must take into account the code required sealed system pressure test and the typical drywalling around a stub out prior to the connection to the final shut off valve.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a water supply shut off valve having quick connection features. It would also be desirable to provide a water supply shut off valve having quick connection features which also provide water delivery regulation features. It would also be desirable to provide a water supply shut off valve with quick connection features in which the quick connect connector has an integrated safety shut off if the external plumbing fixture endform or connection is not properly inserted into the quick connector or becomes disconnected from the quick connector.