diff --git a/cmd/helm/install.go b/cmd/helm/install.go
index b9eb3b28a..3598e7234 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/install.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/install.go
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ func (i *installCmd) run() error {
 		i.namespace = defaultNamespace()
 	}
 
-	rawVals, err := i.vals()
+	rawVals, err := vals(i.valueFiles, i.values)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -300,11 +300,13 @@ func mergeValues(dest map[string]interface{}, src map[string]interface{}) map[st
 	return dest
 }
 
-func (i *installCmd) vals() ([]byte, error) {
+// vals merges values from files specified via -f/--values and
+// directly via --set, marshaling them to YAML
+func vals(valueFiles valueFiles, values []string) ([]byte, error) {
 	base := map[string]interface{}{}
 
 	// User specified a values files via -f/--values
-	for _, filePath := range i.valueFiles {
+	for _, filePath := range valueFiles {
 		currentMap := map[string]interface{}{}
 		bytes, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filePath)
 		if err != nil {
@@ -319,7 +321,7 @@ func (i *installCmd) vals() ([]byte, error) {
 	}
 
 	// User specified a value via --set
-	for _, value := range i.values {
+	for _, value := range values {
 		if err := strvals.ParseInto(value, base); err != nil {
 			return []byte{}, fmt.Errorf("failed parsing --set data: %s", err)
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/helm/upgrade.go b/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
index c27581c57..90210ca7f 100644
--- a/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
+++ b/cmd/helm/upgrade.go
@@ -19,16 +19,13 @@ package main
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"strings"
 
-	"github.com/ghodss/yaml"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/chartutil"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/helm"
 	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/storage/driver"
-	"k8s.io/helm/pkg/strvals"
 )
 
 const upgradeDesc = `
@@ -174,7 +171,7 @@ func (u *upgradeCmd) run() error {
 		}
 	}
 
-	rawVals, err := u.vals()
+	rawVals, err := vals(u.valueFiles, u.values)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
@@ -218,31 +215,3 @@ func (u *upgradeCmd) run() error {
 
 	return nil
 }
-
-func (u *upgradeCmd) vals() ([]byte, error) {
-	base := map[string]interface{}{}
-
-	// User specified a values files via -f/--values
-	for _, filePath := range u.valueFiles {
-		currentMap := map[string]interface{}{}
-		bytes, err := ioutil.ReadFile(filePath)
-		if err != nil {
-			return []byte{}, err
-		}
-
-		if err := yaml.Unmarshal(bytes, &currentMap); err != nil {
-			return []byte{}, fmt.Errorf("failed to parse %s: %s", filePath, err)
-		}
-		// Merge with the previous map
-		base = mergeValues(base, currentMap)
-	}
-
-	// User specified a value via --set
-	for _, value := range u.values {
-		if err := strvals.ParseInto(value, base); err != nil {
-			return []byte{}, fmt.Errorf("failed parsing --set data: %s", err)
-		}
-	}
-
-	return yaml.Marshal(base)
-}