Plumbing usually are obscure to the public eye. People take for granted devices such as the kitchen disposal, flush toilet and so many of our industry’s other useful gadgets that have made their lives safe, healthier, more comfortable and convenient. Even plumbers who work with these mechanisms every day tend to lose sight of the ingenuity that went into them. By spotlighting these great inventions, we hope to instill a greater appreciation for the creativity of our industry’s forefathers.
In compiling this series we tapped the engineering departments of major plumbing manufacturers for information.
Kohler Co.
1911: Kohler Co. introduced the industry’s first one-piece recess bath with an integral apron. Before this time, built-in baths were cast in two separate sections—the tub proper and the apron. The apron and the tub were then either fitted together by the plumber when the tub was installed, or the two pieces were welded together at the factory before the fixture was enameled. The new one-piece tub, void of crevices, joins and seams, was much more sanitary and attractive than the two-piece forerunner.
1926: One of the most advanced products to come out of the 1920s was the Kohler electric sink. It was a combination of a conventional kitchen sink and the electric dishwasher almost as we know it today. The sink was an enameled iron fixture, massive and expensive, half sink and half dishwasher. Invented by Kohler employee Frank Brotz, its only drawback was that it was a generation or two ahead of its time.
1927: Kohler’s introduction of bathroom sets (bathtub, toilet and lavatory) in matching colors made fixtures much more than functional. Now instead of stark and sterile white, consumers could choose spring green, lavender, autumn brown, old ivory or horizon blue. For the first time, there was a concern for the aesthetics when planning a bath. However, beyond aesthetic considerations, the color concept was a revolutionary technological achievement in the plumbing industry of the time. The manufacturing of enameled cast iron fixtures and vitreous china fixtures required vastly different raw materials, processes and techniques, so matching color was difficult.
Moen’s Single-Handle Mixing Faucet
Few people are as synonymous with inventions and innovations as Al Moen. He holds more than 75 patents, but his most revolutionary is the one issued in 1942 for the single-handle mixing faucet he invented in 1937.
As the cliche says, Moen’s invention rose from necessity. While an engineering student at the University of Washington, Moen worked evenings in a garage to pay his tuition. One day he burned his hands while washing them, using a conventional two-handle faucet. From that experience, he resolved to create a faucet that would give the user water at the desired temperature. His first design was for a double-valve faucet with a cam to control the two valves. Moen showed his designs to a major fixture manufacturer, who showed him why the double-valve was the wrong approach. He then went to a cylindrical design with a piston action. Between 1940 and 1945 he designed several faucets, finally selling the first single-handle mixing faucet in San Francisco in late 1947. Since then, single-handle faucets have become so popular that today they can be found in over 40 percent of American homes.
However, Moen’s contributions don’t stop with the faucet. His innovative mind also produced the replaceable cartridge, a push-button diverter, back-to-back installation, and the swivel spray. For all his achievements, Moen’s been nominated for the Inventers Hall of Fame sponsored by the U.S. Patent Office. In addition, this year he was named to the National Kitchen & Bath Hall of Fame for his achievements.
Sloan Valve Co.’s Flush Valve
William E. Sloan applied for a patent on his Royal Flush Valve June 13, 1906, and on Dec. 6, 1910, he was issued Patent Number 977,562. With a flush valve installation, water flows under pressure from the supply piping directly to the fixture. Because of this connection to the water supply they stand ready for repeated operations. Also, because the water passes through the flush valve under pressure, the fixture is flushed with a scouring action to ensure proper cleansing. These two features, among others, are responsible for the popularity of flush valves in commercial buildings.
The first flush valves produced by Sloan Co. were designed for manual operation. Today, state of the art is flush valves are sensor-operated to make flushing automatic.
Through the 85 years that Sloan Valve Co. has manufactured the Royal flush valve, about 120 different companies have been in the same business at one time or another. Today only a few remain.
Delta’s Single-Handle Ball Valve
In designing the first ball valve in 1945, Landis H. Perry had a specific objective: "To provide a combined volume and blending control valve having relatively simple and yet effective means for sealing the valve element." Beyond that, Perry also sought to create a design that could be repaired with "a minimum of difficulty."
A patent was issued for Perry’s ball valve in 1952. Shortly thereafter, Alex Manoogian purchased the rights to the patent and introduced the first Delta faucet in 1954. Manoogian, the founder of the plumbing contractors industry giant Masco Corp., immigrated to the United States in 1920 to escape the genocide of the Armenian Christian minority by Moslem Turkey. His driving ambition was to make enough money to send for his family who had fled to Greece in 1922 to escape the mounting pogroms.
The Delta single-handle faucet was the first to use a ball-valve design and it proved very successful. By 1958, just four years after the product was unveiled, Delta’s sales topped $1 million.
