PSA - Momentum Owners with "Alternative Valve System" circa 2016

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If you have one of the Momentums that were made when they were dealing with issues with the Kantleak system, you may have one with 4 separate water system valves, which are referenced as the "Alternative Valve System".

They are really quite reliable, but they can develop a leak in a manufacturing seam just above the connection ports. It will usually show up as very small. We had one with a slow drip, GD sent a replacement under warranty.

We had one last week that was pretty large. It was large enough that water made a trail right to the 20A WIRECON box that was mounted directly on the floor for the converter. It was hissing as steam came out, but it didn't trip the breaker. I had to cut away the romex and install a wall-mounted box back there to get it off the floor. The box had partially melted. If my wife hadn't smelled it, we could have been in trouble.

Finding replacements for these valves can be a real issue. You can get a bypass valve assembly from Valterra that has the valve mounted in a faceplate, which you can remove. They are, however, about $80 each.

I found the same valves at United States Plastic Corp for about $20. I bought 6 of them so that I have a few spares on hand, and it dropped the price a little. I ordered late at night (after I found the leak and looked for an hour or so for a source that had them). They shipped as soon as they opened the next day.

They are at https://www.usplastic.com/catalog/it...x?itemid=83635

These come with a blue handle, but the red handle from a defective valve attaches the same way if replacing a hot valve. Hot and cold are the same valve part.

I hope this helps someone else out.

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Just an update, the valves arrived today and you can't tell the difference from the originals.