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I am a homeowner with limited plumbing expertise. For every copper fitting i sweat... another seems not to work.
Recently I had to add/move some water lines and was connecting PEX to the existing copper.
The shark-bites are god-send for someone like me.
It's pretty hard to mess them up.
If I had to use them everywhere, it would be very costly, but for spot and retrofit work, they are worth every penny. They are also at the big box stores which are open all the time.
I could see using a Sharkbite to connect to old copper exiting the foundation wall and going to the lawn sprinkler system. I sometimes have to rework incorrect/frozen outdoor plumbing, and I wouldn't mind having a no-brainer compression connector, since it often happens that the sprinkler control wires are rightnextto the copper pipe, making it very touchy to solder on a new connector.
Does existing corrosion or solder on the pipe prevent a good connection with Sharkbites?
It uses O-rings to seal and SS gripper teeth to hold it in place...my guess is that old solder or corrosion would not produce a good connection.
Jim DeBruycker
Important note - I'm not a pro
Retired Defense Industry Engineer
Are these fittings going to last as long as a compression fitting? The O ring inside seems like it would fail over time (hopefully not a short time)
I am going to guess that over time they will do the same thing that packing nuts do and will leak if disturbed after being in 1 position for 10 years or so.
Ones on the the hot side may do it more quickly than if on the cold side.
I have used Sharkbite connectors in a plumbing renovation where I have replaced all PB piping with FlowGuard CPVC. I used the Sharkbites to transition CPVC to PB at the end of each day so I did not have to keep the water supply shutdown during the rennovation, being able to use water at end of each work day.
These connectors worked flawless for me.
if You go to SharkBite.com or Cashacme.com, there you will find all of the fittings approvals. The fittins are approved by IAPMO for burial and installation behind walls with out access panels. It could be expensive but you could use the fittings in a whole house/building system.
As long as you the pipe is cut straight and you debur the OD of the pipe you will be fine. From there make sure the fittings is full engaged, you can hear or feel it bottom out.Originally Posted by Wet_Boots
The fittings come with a 25 year Warranty.
One of the reasons I began stocking Sharkbites is for connection to the occasional CPVC I run into.
I am more horrified that copper pipe is being installed with crimped seals in commercial applications. They claim the life is in excess of fifty years. (Viega Propress) Even so, can you imagine the plumbing in a skyscraper failing everywhere suddenly in fifty years' time? I'm guessing that our throw-away society has decided that commercial buildings are designed for much shorter life spans than older buildings were.
I just replaced 2 shutoffs on CPVC under a kitchen sink and used sharkbite stops...It was nice not having to wait for the CPVC glue to cure enough to turn on water.
The old stops were the push / pull type with supply line attatched...They are the junkiest things I have seen...
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