Gilmour 43HF 800434-1001, Quad Shut-Off Valve

I ordered two of these. I had bought some unknown brand from WalMart and it lasted about a week. The part where the hose screws onto broke off...all three of them. So, I checked the Gilmour's when I got them and they are solid. I know these will last me a long time. Good, solid brass material. The shut off valves are brass also, not plastic. They are a little difficult to turn the first time you use them, but, after the first time they are easier to turn. I would recommend these to anyone who wants something for their garden that will last.

This splitter is all metal and very strong. The shutoff valves turn very easily. I really like the wider openings to deliver kore water thru the hose making it a high flow splitter.One negative is the washer that comes with the unit is very flimsy and cheap. When I attacked the splitter to my faucet, it leaked very badly! It was leaking from where it attached to the faucet. I removed the splitter from the faucet and didn’t see the washer. Upon further inspection, the washer was up inside the faucet neck. I replaced it with a thicker/heavier washer, and no leaks. I used a washer from a washing machine water hose. If it wasn’t for the washer issues, I would have given a 5 star rating.Very happy with this splitter.

The four-way hose connector seems sturdy enough and is well-suited to the task. However, I bought this because the one I owned, which has the little fingertip-sized shut-off valves, was too difficult to turn on and off. These valves were obviously larger, and advertised as easy to grip and turn. The correct description would be "impossible to turn." Now I have to buy a small pliers to keep with the hose connector so I can turn the shut-off valves.

In the past two years I have bought 4 of these units, two with 4 quads and two doubles. Despite the picture the valves are made of plastic. Valves in two of the units froze. Attempting to gently close them with pliers, as I couldn't with my bare fingers, the valves broke. The third unit broke at the base as I was unscrewing it for winter. In sum, these units look tough but they are flimsy.

One of the few well made hose junctions I've found. I have very high water pressure and thing's like this stay outside in direct sunlight. Every aluminum, plastic or lightweight brass model's have lasted two year's at most. This is solid and very heavy duty. It handles my water pressure fine and there are no signs of leaks. The only thing I wish it had was type of shut off valves with one continuous long piece. It would make it a bit easier to turn on but I still love it. I just flattened a screw type hose clamp I had laying around to make it easier to turn the valves. I just slide it over the valve handle I want to turn on or off since it gives me extra grip without scratching the valve handles.

It works. It has its faults but it does work.PROS:High flow is important when watering larger areas with drip irrigation.Brass will last forever.It has the holes with which you can attach it to something to cut down on the strain of having multiple hoses and possibly timers. I use long screws and ferrules to attach to the wall.Plastic ring around the female end makes it easier to attach.Cons:Will leach lead, especially if water sits in it between uses. Best not to water food plants, otherwise no problem.Hard to turn valves.With prior ones plastic valve handles broke off eventually leaving the valves stuck either on or off.Plastic screw ring on female end will crack and break from sun eventually and it will become useless.Life is a trade off. The all plastic ones seem to fail sooner and leak sooner than these. These last longer but do fail, They tend to fail while being adjusted and not while you are away on vacation and using watering timers on drip irrigation. This saves you the huge water bill and dead garden you get when plastic ones fail.

I would like to give this High Flow 4-Way Connector 43HF  Gilmour Brass High Flow 4-Way Connector 43HF  a 5-Star rating but just can't. It is built quite strong and appears that it will last and remain functional for many, many years. It even comes with a LIFETIME REPLACEMENT WARRANTY. The problem I have with it is that it is advertised as being brass, and it is, but I assumed it was solid brass.. In fact, the packaging states it is SOLID BRASS. Still, on the back of the display card there is this statement which indicates it is not ALL BRASS:WARNING:NOTE: THE BRASS IN THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS LEAD.THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS LEAD, A CHEMICAL KNOWN TO CAUSE CANCER AND BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM. DO NOT PLACE YOUR HANDS IN YOUR MOUTH AFTER HANDLING THE PRODUCT. DO NOT PLACE THE PRODUCT IN YOUR MOUTH. WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER TOUCHING THIS PRODUCT.I purchased this product to hitch one of the hose connectors to the fresh water tanks on my RV, and to hitch another connector a water supply hose for animals, and a third connector to water the garden. I noted prior to purchase that there was no warning label for lead at the time, nor is there one as I write this. With the attached lead warning I refuse to use it for the intended purposes for which I purchased it. I have yet to find a suitable use for it and therefore since I received it, many months ago, I've used it as a very expensive weight to hold down things on my workbench. I may be comfortable with using it to water the lawn in an area not used for grazing animals, but that's about it.Because of the unannounced and unstated lead issue, I am disappointed with this purchase. Had I known it contained lead to the degree it needed a warning I would not have purchased it to put in the chain of things to be consumed by humans or animals. Typically things I've purchased through Amazon are as advertised and expected. Unfortunately, this time, that was not the case.