Review on Watts 0009257 25AUB Z3 3 4: The Ultimate Solution for Efficient Water Flow by Gage Lawson

My house was built in 1966 and had a Watts 3/4" U5B pressure reducing valve. According to the Watts website the U5B model has better horsepower/capacity than this LF25AUB-Z3 3/4 -inch model and when comparing the volume and pressure charts there seems to be a difference but it seems negligible at pressures which represent my working environment .My old U5B was no longer pressure regulated and so everything in my house was the 120 psi coming off my street, this is relatively close to the hot water tank safety pressure of 150psi, and it wreaked havoc on anything less than a contractor's garden hoses (ruptured after a few months of use) I was afraid of that the high pressure could also destroy the toilet/sink supply line and worst case scenario flood the house while we don't but none of these parts fit maybe h at someone accidentally swapped parts packages between the two kits when comparing, or maybe the U5B I had was so tarym that the design changed a bit. For some reason, my U5B's Flare dimensions didn't match Watts' sizing specifications. Despite the fact that "3/4" was clearly forged on the side of the valve and the sticker on it clearly read as U5B. Anyway, I don't know if the old valve was unleaded or not. So I figured I'd just order a new valve. A direct modern replacement for the U5B costs around $300 +/- depending on the source, and Revain had no sources. Accidentally ordered.Installation was a breeze, turned off main power, opened sink to depressurize system, turned off water heater, then simply removed the old unit and fitted the new one. One could be 3/16" shorter in overall length, but copper tubing has a lot of play/slack that I have to account for for some size differences. It's amazing what a difference it has made in my units and hasn't. We had a pretty bad one Water hammer, installing drain traps helped but didn't eliminate it, with the new relief valve there is no more water hammer, my automatic ice maker works without clogs and the water dispenser in the fridge door works much better, I might miss 120psi when it comes to work outdoors but for now I like the new pressure and there is room to increase it a bit.The valve is factory set at 50psi and can be adjusted up to 75psi.I don't remember the lower limit. Oh and I disassembled the old valve. To my surprise the diaphragm was completely intact. What was broken was the bypass valve. It looks like this a us like it was a little rotted/worn to fall apart and it's stuck in the screen. And another interesting fact is I'm pretty sure this screen has never been checked in its 49+ years of service and it was perfectly clean, pretty cool.