sharkbite fittings for copper

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r/HomeImprovement on Reddit: Has anyone used Sharkbite fittings for copper pipe?

April 7, 2016 -

These things seem like the perfect product. Does anyone have any long term experience with these leaking? How are they to work with?

Link: http://www.sharkbite.com

Edit:

Sounds like nothing but great things to say about them. I'll be using them as required. This latest project was a dishwasher installation.

Top answer

1 of 5

Yes, I've used 1. Last year, I had to replace the flapper in the toilet. Simple job. Yea, nothing is ever simple. Trip# 1 to the hardware store. Picked up new flapper. Make it back home with no issues and begin the simple project of replacing the flapper. I tried to turn off the water at the shut off valve, only to have the shut off valve break. Fine, I'll replace that too. Trip #2 to the hardware store. Fresh solder and flux, along with a new valve. Head back home. Set up the old trusty propane torch. Torch ran for about 5 full minutes before running out of propane. Trip #3 to hardware store. New Map-Pro torch kit. Should have bought this instead of the propane kit anyway. Back to the house. Try to remove the old valve. No amount of heat with break that sucker free. Coat with flux. Melt new solder into the joint. No go. More heat. More solder. Chanel lock pliers and pulling on the valve. It will not budge. Swear words flow as freely as the broken valve. Finally, got the valve free. Oh shit. That joint I was trying to work loose didn't come undone, however the joint coming out of the wall did. I now have approximately 1/2" (12.7mm) of pipe to work with sticking out of the wall. No problem, I'll just solder to that. Problem now is that I can't get enough heat on the pipe to properly sweat the joint without setting the wall on fire. I grabbed old license plates and put them around the little bit of pipe coming from the wall. That works well! No wait, it doesn't. The wall behind the license plates is on fire. Put out fire. Trip #3 to hardware store. Look around for options. Call friends. Ask for advice. Sharkbite connector? What is that? Contractor friend swears by them. Fine. Whatever. I'll do anything to be done with this simple 5 minute job. Back to the house. Clean up copper pipe and sand away the mess of solder. Push on sharkbite connector. Install valve. Hook up water line. Replace flapper. I will never solder a pipe again. No leaks, no mess, no setting the walls on fire. I would and will absolutely use sharkbite connectors on whatever plumbing disaster happens in the future. If you need it, I have a nice Map-Pro kit I'm not using.

2 of 5

I used a sharkbite valve to replace one under my sink, the one thing I don't like about using it as a valve is that it does not prevent it from spinning like a soldered connection would. Was super simple to work with, but they are more expensive fittings than straight copper. Can't speak to the longevity of them, but I am curious to the answer myself. I've always been a little wary of them since it has a lot of plastic internals.

SharkBite

sharkbite.com › home › push-to-connect

Push-To-Connect Fittings, Angle Stops & Valves | Copper & PEX Compatible | SharkBite

Innovative push-to-connect fittings for PEX, copper, CPVC, PE-RT & SDR-9 HDPE. Utilize SharkBite’s durable, field-proven brass pipe fittings and valves for effective repairs. Push-to-connect fittings are compatible with more than five types ...

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