Lever Ball Valves: The Trade Guide to WRAS Approval, Sizing, and Colour Coding

Lever Ball Valves: The Trade Guide to Sizing, WRAS Approval, and Colour Coding

If you're fitting isolation points on a domestic or commercial water system, lever ball valves are the go-to. Fast quarter-turn operation, full-bore flow, and a visible handle position that tells you at a glance whether the valve is open or shut. But there's more to specifying lever ball valves correctly than just picking the right size. WRAS approval, handle colour, and whether you need compression or female thread ends all matter — and getting it wrong can mean a failed water regs inspection or a callback. Here's what you need to know.

What Is a Lever Ball Valve?

A lever ball valve controls flow by rotating a hollow ball inside the valve body. When the lever is inline with the pipe, the hole through the ball aligns with the bore and water flows freely. Rotate 90°, the solid face of the ball blocks the flow. That's it. No packing to compress, no rising spindle, no slow-open gate valve operation. Quarter turn open, quarter turn shut.

Full-bore versions (sometimes called full-port) have a ball opening that matches the internal diameter of the pipe, so there's virtually no pressure drop across the valve. Reduced-bore versions are cheaper but restrict flow — worth considering on anything feeding a shower or a boiler where pressure matters.

WRAS Approval: What It Means and When You Need It

WRAS stands for Water Regulations Advisory Scheme. Any fitting, valve, or component installed on a potable (drinking) water system in the UK must be made from materials approved under the Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999. WRAS approval confirms the component won't contaminate the water supply — no leaching of lead, zinc, or other nasties.

For lever ball valves on cold water mains, hot water feeds, or any connection to the incoming water supply, you need WRAS-approved valves. This applies to isolation valves under sinks, stop valves on supplies to cisterns, and service valves on appliance feeds. Using non-WRAS fittings on potable water is a regs violation and could invalidate your water undertaker's acceptance of the installation.

The Embrass Peerless range we stock is fully WRAS approved across sizes from 15mm through to 54mm compression. These are British-made valves that have been supplying UK trades for decades — not generic imports with questionable certifications.

Blue Handle vs Red Handle: The Colour Code

The colour code is simple and standardised across the trade:

• Blue handle — cold water service
• Red handle — hot water service
• Yellow handle — gas service

This isn't just convention — it's a practical safety requirement. On a service corridor or plant room with dozens of valves, colour coding lets engineers and plumbers isolate the right circuit quickly and safely. It also helps building managers and maintenance staff who aren't plumbers understand the system.

Never fit a red-handle valve on a cold supply or a blue-handle valve on a hot feed, even if the valve body is identical. The handles are the identifier, not a decoration. Some installers fit dual-handled valves (one side blue, one side red) at the point where a combined feed splits into hot and cold — a neat solution where space allows.

Sizing Guide: 15mm, 22mm, 28mm and Above

Match the valve size to the pipe. Lever ball valves are specified by their compression end size for copper pipe installations:

• 15mm — standard domestic isolation: under-sink supply, WC cistern, basin, bath. The most common size on a domestic job.
• 22mm — main distribution runs, boiler flow and return, cold main drop to cylinder.
• 28mm — primary circuit mains, large commercial distribution, high-output boiler plant.
• 35mm, 42mm, 54mm — commercial plant rooms, large commercial heating, hot water storage plant.

On compression ends, ensure you use the right olive for the pipe material. Copper compression fittings use brass olives as standard — the Embrass Peerless valves are supplied ready for copper. For MDPE pipe on incoming cold mains, you'll need an MDPE-specific olive and insert.

Female BSP vs Compression Ends

The Embrass Peerless lever ball valve range also comes in female BSP (British Standard Pipe) thread versions. These are designed to screw directly onto a male-threaded fitting or appliance connection — common on boiler connections, washing machine feeds, and commercial plant where flanged or screwed pipework is used rather than compression.

Female 1/2" BSP is equivalent to 15mm compression for most practical purposes. Female 3/4" BSP equates to 22mm compression. Always check the specific thread size when specifying for screwed connections — don't assume.

Gas Lever Ball Valves

Gas isolation requires a different spec entirely. Gas lever ball valves use a yellow handle and must be approved to BS EN 331 for manual shut-off valves for gas. The Embrass Peerless 15mm compression yellow-handle gas valve we stock is designed for natural gas and LPG pipework. These are not interchangeable with water service valves — the internal seals and body materials are specified for gas service, and using a water valve on a gas line is dangerous and non-compliant.

On gas jobs, always verify you're picking the yellow-handle gas spec version, not the blue or red water service valve.

Specification Checklist

Before ordering, confirm:

1. Size — match to pipe bore (15mm, 22mm, 28mm, etc.)
2. End type — compression (for copper pipe) or female BSP (for screwed connections)
3. Service — cold (blue), hot (red), gas (yellow)
4. WRAS approval — required for all potable water connections
5. Full bore or reduced bore — specify full bore for showers, boilers, and high-flow applications

Stock Available Today — Same-Day Collection Acton

We keep the full Embrass Peerless WRAS lever ball valve range in stock at our Acton branch. 15mm through 54mm compression, blue and red handle. Same-day collection from 24 Western Avenue, Acton W3 7TZ. Call ahead on 020 8702 8080 if you need a large quantity or the less common sizes.

• 15mm Blue Handle WRAS Lever Ball Valve — cold water isolation, domestic
• 22mm Blue Handle WRAS Lever Ball Valve — distribution runs, cold mains
• 15mm Red Handle WRAS Lever Ball Valve — hot water isolation, domestic
• 22mm Red Handle WRAS Lever Ball Valve — hot distribution runs
• 28mm Blue Handle WRAS Lever Ball Valve — larger distribution, commercial
• 15mm Yellow Handle Gas Lever Ball Valve — natural gas and LPG

Browse the full range: Lever Ball Valves at APM | Isolating Valves