Best American Standard shower valve

American Standard’s RU101SS is the Flash rough valve I’d put in for copper with stops, and I’ve used it. Its inlets and outlets are what American Standard calls universal: ½ in. nominal copper sweat or ½ in. male NPT.

The SS means screwdriver stops. With them you can shut off hot and cold at the valve to change the cartridge, without shutting down the house.

The body is cast DZR brass, which American Standard says resists corrosion from high chloride and pH levels in water. It has a flat back that mounts flush against a 2 × 4 cross brace with wood screws.

A flush plug comes installed. American Standard says you can test the body with it using air at 200 psi or water at 300 psi, and flush hot and cold at the same time without the cartridge in place.

Its PEX install guide adds one caution for the SS models: the service stops and flush plug must be removed before soldering.

The rough-in range is 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 in. from the finished wall to the back of the valve for a standard wall, with a 4 in. wall opening. The plaster guard doubles as a mount for thin walls from 7/8 to 2 in., with a 3-1/2 in. opening.

The spec sheet lists ASSE 1016 and ASME A112.18.1 compliance, with TU series trims and their cartridges. Back-to-back installs work by rotating the cartridge 180°.

On the sheet’s drawing the body is 4-7/8 in. wide across the inlets and 3-5/8 in. tall, 7/16 in. wider than the plain RU101 because of the stops. The stainless retaining ring has flats so it loosens with a wrench, and it holds the plug or cartridge without screws.

My call: buy the stops version whenever your pipe allows it. The day the cartridge needs changing, you’ll be glad.

American Standard’s RU107ESS is the Flash rough valve I’d use on PEX crimp, and I’ve used it. Its model list calls the inlets ½ in. PEX crimp elbows to ASTM F1807, with universal outlets and screwdriver stops.

The elbow inlets are the reason to pick it over the straight RU107. American Standard says the valve can be rotated 180° for supply lines that come down from the ceiling.

It’s wider than the straight models because of the elbows: 6-1/2 in. on the sheet’s drawing, against 4-7/8 in. for the RU101SS.

Watch the outlets. American Standard’s sheet and guides say not to use PEX on any outlet, to avoid shower rise or related problems. Run the riser and tub spout pipe in copper or threaded pipe.

There’s a discrepancy to know about: the model list says F1807 crimp, but the sheet’s dimension table prints ASTM F1960 (cold expansion) under the RU107E and RU107ESS drawings. The Amazon title and American Standard’s product page both say crimp ring system, so I treat it as crimp.

Everything else matches the RU101SS: cast DZR brass, a flat back, the flush plug for testing to 200 psi air or 300 psi water, and a 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 in. rough-in range.

The stops and flush plug come out before any soldering on the outlets, per American Standard’s PEX connection guide.

It’s 3-5/8 in. tall like the RU101s, and the elbows make it 6-1/2 in. wide; the straight RU107SS without elbows is 4-7/8 in. wide. American Standard also makes an expansion-ring version with the same elbows, the RU108ESS, for ASTM F1960 PEX-A.

Where it lost points: inlets that take only one PEX system scored 8.

My call: confirm which ring your crimp tool uses before you buy, and use the elbows so the PEX doesn’t kink where it turns into the valve.

American Standard’s RU102SS is the Flash rough valve with stub-outs on all four ports and screwdriver stops, and I’ve used it. The sheet groups it under stub-outs for press-connect fittings.

Each inlet and outlet is a ½ in. stub-out, so you press a coupling onto the stub instead of threading into the body; American Standard’s sheet calls them stub-outs for press-connect fittings. The drawing shows it 5-7/8 in. wide across the stubs and 4-3/4 in. tall.

That makes it the tallest body of the four, because the stubs stand out on every port; the RU107ESS is wider. The plain RU102, without stops, is 5-5/8 in. wide on the same drawing.

It shares the Flash body: cast DZR brass, a flat back for a cross brace, a pre-installed flush plug that tests to 200 psi air or 300 psi water, and the stainless retaining ring with flats that holds the plug or cartridge without screws.

American Standard’s rough-in diagram puts the shower head usually between 65 and 78 in. off the finished floor, with the tub spout connection below the valve.

Connect the riser to the top outlet marked UP and the tub filler pipe to the bottom outlet, cap both, and pressure test with the test cap and bonnet nut in place, per the install guide.

Then remove each cap in turn to flush the shower and tub lines, and put the plaster guard back on until the trim goes in.

The Amazon listing’s part number is RU102SS, matching the sheet, and the listing photo shows the stops on both inlets.

Where it lost points: stub-outs only, for one fitting system, scored 8.

My call: it’s a good valve for a press-tool job, and the built-in stops let you shut the shower’s supply at the valve when the cartridge needs service.

American Standard’s RU101 is the plain Flash rough valve, and I’ve used it. It’s the RU101SS without the stops: universal ½ in. inlets and outlets that take copper sweat or male NPT.

On the sheet’s drawing it’s 4-7/16 in. wide across the inlets, the narrowest of the four, which helps in a tight stud bay.

The body is the same cast DZR brass with a flat back for a 2 × 4 cross brace, and like every Flash body it supports back-to-back installs. The flush plug tests to 200 psi with air or 300 psi with water.

American Standard’s install guide warns that cross flow can occur during testing if hot and cold pressures aren’t equal; for that case it sells flush plug M954334 separately.

It also says to inspect the body for debris after installation, because debris can damage the pressure balance cartridge.

The same rough-in range applies: 1-3/4 to 2-3/4 in. from the finished wall to the back of the valve, or 7/8 to 2 in. on a thin wall with the plaster guard as the mount.

Its listing says the flush plug lets the installer flush the lines without cross flow, with no need to remove a cartridge during installation. The drawing shows the body 3-5/8 in. tall, and it takes the same TU series trims as the RU101SS.

Trim and cartridge are separate. American Standard pairs Flash bodies with TU series trims, and its Colony Pro TU075500.002 trim includes a one-piece double ceramic pressure balance cartridge.

Where it lost points: no service stops scored 0.

My call: skip the savings unless a bathroom shutoff is within reach; the stops let you shut the water at the valve for a cartridge swap instead of shutting off the whole house.