One Smart Plumber and WAGS: A Powerful Combination

  (article appeared in "Plumbing and Heating Contractor News" )

When a smart plumber teams up with the WAGS valve, the results can change peoples' lives. And that's just what happened last summer in Keller, Texas.

Master Plumber Darrell Robinson visited the home of Doug and Bonnie Robinson (no relation) to install a new kitchen faucet as just one part of a thorough remodeling the couple was doing to their 18-year-old home. While there, he took the time to inspect the couple's water heater, located in the attic. It was the home's original unit, placed in the attic by the builder to save space, and surprisingly still in operation after nearly two decades.

Robinson immediately saw the potential danger in this arrangement and advised the Robinsons that installation of a WAGS valve was an important safety measure. They agreed, and Robinson retrofitted the valve to the water heater.

A few days later Doug Robinson was cleaning paint brushes when he noticed the lack of hot water. Naturally, he called his plumber, and Darrell Robinson asked him to go to the attic and check the water heater. What he found was a ruptured tank, a full drip pan under the water heater and a WAGS valve that had worked as intended by shutting off the water line, and because it was a gas-fired water heater, the gas line, too.

"Your product saved our home," Doug Robinson wrote to Taco in an e-mail. "Without the WAGS valve, the damage would have destroyed it."

With the water heater in the attic, the damage could have been catastrophic, possibly some $15,000, estimates Doug Robinson. The leak would have been in a key position to come through the ceiling and down the walls of both the living room and master bedroom. As it was, thanks to WAGS, the damage was so slight that his insurance company was amazed. Only a little water from the drip pan came through a bathroom light.

From the perspective of a master plumber, the couple of hundred dollars Robinson spent on the WAGS valve was one of the best investments he could make as a homeowner, Darrell believes.

"Two, three or even four hundred dollars is nothing compared to the expense of floor, wall, ceiling, light fixture replacements, and, of course, the water bill," he says. This along with personal items that could be damaged or destroyed and the high cost of flood insurance should convince most people to have a WAGS valve installed as an added safety measure, Darrell adds.

Sincerely,

Mark J. Chaffee
Residential Product Manager