In the Name of Quality

QA Lab

Deep inside the Symmons factory in Braintree, Massachusetts, there is a place so harsh, so inhospitable, that tales have been passed down through generations about the events that have taken place within. It’s the QA Lab. Endless twisting, turning, sandblasting, pressure testing… all in the name of quality. In the end, what emerges is a product that has truly earned the name Symmons.

mad scientist-meets-mechanical engineer

Quality Assurance Testing

Symmons performs a rigorous battery of tests to ensure its products meet or exceeds ASME A112.18.1/CSA B125.1 certification standards for plumbing products sold in North America. Our QA team takes its testing seriously, so you can be confident our products will stand up to your real-world challenges for years to come.

  • Abrasion Resistance

    Finishes get hit with all kinds of scratchy things, but the scratchiest of all is sand. We measure abrasion resistance with a focused stream of sand. And we use a lot of it for this one test, 50lbs to be exact.

  • Color Verification

    Spectrophotometer… say that ten times fast. That’s the snazzy color-testing tool we use to make sure that Symmons finishes are accurate and consistent. We take pride in our consistently snazzy finishes.

  • Connection Verification

    Symmons tests its faucet supplies and shower hoses for tensile strength. While other companies cut corners and use plastic supply lines, we use copper tube, and then test the joints to 600psi.

  • Plating Thickness Verification

    Beauty is not just skin deep. Symmons QA uses a device known as a Coulometric Test to gauge the durability and thickness of our product finishes so they're consistent and won’t wear off over time.

  • Salt Spray Testing

    Salt has some nasty effects on metals. Unlike our competitors, we use semi-red brass (the good stuff) for all our valves - it's the same kind used in the marine industry to combat saltwater corrosion.

  • Product Mockup

    Is there such thing as a fitting room for shower valves? Our Lab is about as close as you’ll find. We install our valves in all kinds of situations to make sure they fit in your space, right out of the box.

  • Burst Pressure Testing

    Under Pressure. (You’re singing it now, aren’t you?) The QA Lab team subjects our faucets and valves to 600psi during product testing. That’s SEVEN TIMES the normal water pressure without failing or leaking. And you thought your day was stressful?

  • Life Cycle Testing

    If a family of four showers once a day for a year, that’s 1460 shower cycles. We test our shower valves for 250,000 cycles. That’s a lotta loofah time! You don’t even want to know how many cycles we put our faucets through. (OK, it’s 500,000 cycles!)

Our History

Realizing that there was a need for a product that will improve the showering experience was the motivation for Paul Symmons to start his own company in 1939 and design a valve that not only solved the problem of water temperature fluctuation, but also revolutionized the plumbing industry.

Learn More About Our History

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