copper water pipe fittings

[porthos]

anyone use a alternative to soder to fit water pipes? such as " shark bite" (or something else) and, what are your thoughts?

[obssd1958]

I've used the "shark bites" on copper, and I've not seen any issues. The copper still needs to be cleaned well, de-burred, and cut square. Then when you install the shark bite, make sure that it seats all the way down. It's the internal plastic sleeve that makes the seal, and you want it to have as much clean contact as possible.
I check for leaks every so often for a day or two, and I have the disassembly tool, so that if there is a small leak, I can take the fitting back off and fix whatever is causing the leak.

[Winger Ed.]

Our company had some water lines done with those push on fittings, they did fine for the 3-4 years I was there.
But I just like soldering better. For some reason, I just have more faith in it over the long term.

[centershot]

I used flexible "Pex" tubing and Sharkbite fittings when I remodeled the bathroom about 5 years back, no problems so far and it was a breeze to use!

[FLINTNFIRE]

I have soldered and used shark bite fittings , done right it all works , most people worry they can not solder , but if you follow directions you can do a good job , have had to stick bread in a line to keep the drop from coming down and ruin a joint . As to the shark bite I used first about 9 years ago , still holding no leaks and pressure before I put regulator in water line was over 120 , they work , but are spendy.

[jimlj]

I have used one SharkBite fitting on some pex tubing in my camper. I didn't have the tool for the crimp sleeve on the pex fitting and didn't want to buy it for one use. I have soldered a lot of copper fittings because I know how and am too cheap to buy $5 fittings where a 79 cent fitting will work. If I ever run into a copper line where I can't get the torch in to solder the fitting I'd use the SharkBite fitting in a heartbeat.

[rancher1913]

the shark bites are against code if they are concealed, they relie on an o-ring to seal and o-rings will fail sooner or later. they are great in a pinch but if you are doing a remodel its best to use tried and proven methods.

I use the crosslinked pex that you expand and fit to fittings, easy to use and almost idiot proofed.

[abunaitoo]

Would the shark bite work on the hot water line???

[Pipefitter]

Would the shark bite work on the hot water line???

According to Indiana state plumbing code the first 18 inches out of the water heater has to be either steel or copper pipe, after that you can go to plastic (pex, PVC or CPVC). Most residential water heaters are set to 120*F or less. Yes I have used sharkbite fittings on hot water lines, but in cases where it is impractical to use sweat (solder) fittings I prefer to use pro-press. Most supply houses will rent the pro-press gun for a small fee.

[tinsnips]

SharkBite fittings are not legal for permanent installs here .We use Veiga ProPress and pex most of the time. The plumbing inspector has told us of SharkBite problems he has come across. The 18 " rule is the same here as in Indiana maybe every state. Good luck .

[ascast]

Her in NY, upstate, sharkbites are not against code, what ever distance. I contacted the company via website regarding high temp use. They said fine as long as not boiling or steam.

[NyFirefighter357]

I am in the heating business as well as had a home improvement company. I have used them all. Copper sweat fitting will always be the best. The Pro PEX expansion type fittings are the best for PEX except the fittings themselves are "plastic". I use PEX for both domestic hot water and heating. The Crimp fittings which are what I use are a copper alloy which I think will last longer then the plastic fittings . Shark bites are great in a pinch, use with a replaceable unit like a water heater or if you want a quick transition between copper & PEX. I don't like the fact that they have a 20 year life expectancy. They also make a copper crimping system which has an O-ring and a mechanical crimp between the copper pipe & copper fitting, I also don't expect them to last more then the expected 20yr life span. A lot of faucets and other DIY stuff come with push type connections now. They make push-on as well as compression type flex connections which work great on things like hot water heaters or something that needs to be off set, these too have a life span. I'm still using a mix of copper & black pipe as well as PEX.

[rancher1913]

you need to talk to your supply house if all they have is the plastic pro pex fittings, ours has both and they say that when the pros are doing a job for them selves they always go with the brass fittings. years ago the original pex pipe had both copper and plastic fittings and it was found out that chlorine in the water was eating them and they had a tidal wave of law suits, luckily all I have ever used were the metal fittings.

[tunnug]

My SIL's house blew the main water line under a porch, plumbing co. quoted her 4K to repair\replace, between two BIL's and myself we replaced the line with 1" pex and used sharkbites for all connections, cost was $150 and so far it has been 12 years with no problems.

[NyFirefighter357]

you need to talk to your supply house if all they have is the plastic pro pex fittings, ours has both and they say that when the pros are doing a job for them selves they always go with the brass fittings. years ago the original pex pipe had both copper and plastic fittings and it was found out that chlorine in the water was eating them and they had a tidal wave of law suits, luckily all I have ever used were the metal fittings.

We have wells here but some municipalities do use treated water. I don't have the Pro PEX my buddy next door does, I've only seen the plastic ones. I'll check. thanks.

[Hossfly]

I’ve used shark bite in the past,quick and easy, any where you cant get a torch. But if I want it to outlast me, and I can get acct. rig within 20’ I use 15% sil phos copper joints. Mainly cause I have a lot of it, and it will last forever.

[Beerd]

I personally wouldn't use it, but isn't there some kind of two part epoxy out there that is specific for copper pipe?
..

[CastingFool]

I prefer to sweat all my copper pipes, but there have been a couple of instances where the shark bites have worked out very well and they were a great time saver

[David2011]

I used a Sharkbite shutoff valve to replace a leaking toilet supply line shutoff. The original connector was a compression fitting and there wasn't enough copper stub to solder without hitting the wall with flames. I made sure the copper was clean and smooth inside and out, pushed the Sharkbite on and have not had a problem so far. They are spendy though.

[rcslotcar]

I recently remolded both my Mom's house and Grandparents house (next door from each other) built in the late 40's. I used only copper thru the entire homes. This should last another 60-70 years.

[DocSavage]

I redid some of my copper lines and sweated the connections,their not as pro looking as a plumber but no leaks. Prep work is key clean the copper to where it shines use a tin based flux and you're good to go.

[OldBearHair]

[QUOTE=tunnug;4628901]My SIL's house blew the main water line under a porch, plumbing co. quoted her 4K to repair\replace, between two BIL's and myself we replaced the line with 1" pex and used sharkbites for all connections, cost was $150 and so far it has been 12 years with no problems.[/QUOTE
Way to go tunnug, I had a similar experience as maintenance manager for the Woodlands FBC a few years back . We had a drain in a remodeled room in a closet and sewer gas was making the SS class upset.. They checked with a plumber who said he would have to tunnel under the slab. Estimate for the job was $10,000.. When I found out about it, told my boss to let me handle it and that was OK.
Put a rubber pipe plug with washers each side and a bolt to tighten, which expanded the rubber closing the pipe, replace the cover with a round brass plate and shut the closet door. My preference for copper pipe is solder. The solder that I use has no silver or lead and melts as the copper turns reddish colored maybe 1200 degrees. Silver solder is much better and more expensive. I have a neat trick I will share with youall. When you have a leak in a copper line as in a airhandler in the AC that is in a place where you can only see the front of the pipe and the hole is in the back in tight quarters, cut a larger tubing piece 1 1/2 inches and split, straighten the sides of the tubing in a U shape and form it to the same size as the tubing with the leak over a steel rod the same size. Clean all surfaces well, slide the U shape on the tubing and squeeze the sides of the tube around leaky tubing with the crack facing you. Flux and solder the ends and the front crack making sure the ends are well soldered. That's it. Pros tell you that the leak is unrepairable and you need a new core complete. Nope.

[Blammer]

shark bites are legal fitting for permanent work here.

they work well, just pay attention to the depth to make sure you seat them fully.

[Froogal]

I am partial to PVC myself. Durable, easy to work with, and inexpensive.