What the what? Should this valve be here?

Question

So, I'm examining the plumbing for my bathroom that sits in the joists of the basement, and I notice the valve pictured here.

One side is hot, the other is cold. From what I can tell, hot is on full-open and cold is completely shut.

The middle line runs to......the toilet.

Yep. The toilet.

Why on earth would someone plumb a valve just before my toilet, and then set it to ONLY feed HOT WATER to the toilet bowl?!?!?

Suggestions? Wisdom? Wisecracks? All welcome.

Frank S. · Answer

A bidet

Pete Barrow · Answer

If you're looking for sense in old plumbing and wiring runs, you're gonna go mad.

Often stuff like this comes from many generations of people coming in and doing little repairs without thinking the whole system through, just trying to get something to work in the moment. After awhile it adds up to a crazy patchwork.

I would definitely pull all that out and simplify it, unless you feel you need a heated toilet. And BTW it will only be heated for awhile after each flush.

ps Take a look for any copper supply lines in your house that have red stamping on them. That is thinwall stuff and will develop pinholes over time. Type K is green stamped and thickest, type L is blue stamped and medium thick, type M is red stamped. You might think about eventually getting all the M copper out of your house. I've seen it develop tiny pinholes, emitting a fine mist almost too small to see, but big enough to flood your basement.

Sean Lambert · Answer

@Nathan Grubb

Total guess:  Sometimes when the house/bathroom is warm, the cold water will cause condensation on the toilet tank.  If the water is warm, maybe it reduces the condensation.

When the weather changes, maybe they turn off the hot water and turn on the cold water?

Jonathan G. · Answer

@Nathan Grubb

This may be related to a hotel water recirculating set up. Basically a system that has a pump near the water heater that continuously circulates hot water so you have near instant hot water instead of waiting for it to come all the way from the hot water heater.

Account Closed · Answer

LOL. I dunno...I'd say you got a good batch of guesses here. The idea that they might have been trying to keep condensation down is interesting, but it won't work. The idea about a re-circulation run for instant hot is interesting too, but why does that need to be connected with a valve and connected to the toilet run - I dunno about all that. Even the one that it was just one of those strange things that got patched along they way is possible, but doesn't that thing look extremely deliberate? Which brings me to the last idea, and this makes me laugh but it might just be the answer, a bidet - you know, it's for your backside mate!!!

Now I'm going to have to go back and watch Crocodile Dundee

Happy investigating neighbor

And, I dunno, it aint really hurting anything now is it? I'd leave it alone.

Account Closed · Answer

Just a wild guess, but perhaps they did a "remodel" and removed a sink that had hot & cold. Then they put in the toilet, plugged the wrong pipe and never checked their work. The soldier joints don't look all that bad so it was someone who at least knew how to soldier.

Actually, this one makes no sense. ;-)

Nathan Grubb · Answer

@Sean Lambert got it right!

I asked my father-in-law, who has done a fair amount of remodeling in some of the wealthier neighborhoods in this area. He told me it was popular in the 80s and 90s among his wealthier clients who found the condensation to be unsightly. But he's noticed that as insulation systems got better, and central A/C systems got better, fewer and fewer people wanted or needed them.

And @Pete Barrow, you are soooo right. The piping in this house looks like it was mapped off of that old Python game from Windows 95. I'm definitely planning to rip out, at least, the galvanized drain pipes in the house. So far I've already had two of them rust completely shut in the year I've owned it. Fun stuff.

Don Meinke · Answer

I would take out ALL metal plumbing and update waste pipe to PVC and supply to pex.

HERE, we have a lot of rust, calcium deposits, and lime, besides grit ruining faucets etc.  Horizontal metal drain pipes are plugged and don't drain,leak at worst times.

Jonathan G. · Answer

@Jonathan G.

Hot water recirculating

What the what? Should this valve be here?

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