Free Valve Prevents Hammond Customer From Blowing A Gasket Image courtesy of
I know you folks prefer complaints, but here's a gold star for a firm: With the likelihood of hard freezes gone, I went to start up our lawn's sprinkler system again. Last fall, I had cut off the water from inside the house, removing the bleed cap on the cutoff valve so the water could drain out completely. Somehow, that bleed cap vanished during the winter. I had obviously not put the cap back on the cutoff valve, and it was not in any of the appropriate storage drawers. I went out to Home Depot and Loews, but they didn't carry the specific brand and model of valve (Hammond 8711 ball valve), and their generic replacement caps didn't fit. At this point, I was willing to buy an entire ball valve just to get the right size of cap.
I know you folks prefer complaints, but here’s a gold star for a firm: With the likelihood of hard freezes gone, I went to start up our lawn’s sprinkler system again. Last fall, I had cut off the water from inside the house, removing the bleed cap on the cutoff valve so the water could drain out completely. Somehow, that bleed cap vanished during the winter. I had obviously not put the cap back on the cutoff valve, and it was not in any of the appropriate storage drawers. I went out to Home Depot and Loews, but they didn’t carry the specific brand and model of valve (Hammond 8711 ball valve), and their generic replacement caps didn’t fit. At this point, I was willing to buy an entire ball valve just to get the right size of cap.
More balls, valves, bleeding and water sports, after the jump…
Bruce continues:
- “I looked online (natch), but couldn’t find a firm explicitly selling the Hammond 8711 ball valve. So I went to Hammond Valve’s web site and filled in their e-mail form, asking them for pointers to a vendor, either online or physically local (Denver). Glenn Whelan, the Plumbing Products Manager at Hammond Valve, simply mailed me, free of charge, the cap I needed on the same day I submitted the e-mail. (Actually, he sent me two–one each for the older and newer models of the 8711.) They showed up in the mail a few days later, and one of the caps fit perfectly. Water flows again to my sprinklers.
Now, mind you–I live in Denver, not Milwaukee (where Hammond Valve is located). My e-mail to Hammond made it clear that I’m just a home owner, not a plumber, building contractor, hardware store owner, or hardware supplies distributor. Plus, I almost flunked Shop in 8th grade (though I didn’t mention that in the e-mail). In short, I am unlikely to ever need (or want) to run out and purchase a Hammond valve to install (unless, of course, I lose this cap as well). This was an act of graciousness, pure and simple, and I appreciate it tremendously.
Now I just need to dig up my Home Depot receipt for the Black & Decker electric lawn mower I bought last fall–the engine burned out a few days ago, smoke oozing from various locations, while my daughter was mowing the lawn….
Bruce Webster, Parker, Colorado”
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