The current company that manufacture and sell Surestop are in fact a New Co. born out of the ashes of the first Surestop company that went into administration. The New company have made several major modifications and improvements over the original model, but in my opinion it's still far from perfect. They released a compression version and then withdrew it from sale, which I don't know the reason for but this was madness.
Here's why: most of the properties that require Surestop valves contain elderly people. These same elderly people live in older post war properties and these in turn have their water supplies piped in imperial copper pipe. To fit a Surestop valve with push fit connections to 3/4" copper pipe, requires a 3/4" to 22mm Speedfit straight adapter, then a cutting of pipe and then the Surestop valve. This takes up a hell of a lot of space in an area where space is usually limited. The compression version of the Surestop valve only required a 3/4" compression olive on the pipe, with no adapter or anything else required, which made it much more practical.
Secondly, over a period of months, depending on how hard or soft the water is, these valves don't always fully close. They are supposed to be maintained by the installer who should return on a regular basis to service them. They must be turned on and off fairly regularly to maintain correct operation. This is rarely if ever the case.
There were thousands of these valves fitted here in Clackmannanshire and most have been removed. They just caused too many problems.
Finally, if anyone has any of the original models in stock, the guarantee is void as the new company refuses to honour it. I've still got about 10 of them left and I won't use them.
