To plug or not to plug...

[Jerry B]

I plan to install a water softener. To do so, I plan to cut into the main supply 3/4" copper tubing at a point past the outside outlets, to save softener water since I have a sprinkler system in the yard.

To prevent the need to cut away drywall, I planned to just cap the tubing leading to the various fixtures (about a 6' long span) and run the new tubing about 12" away to a location close to a floor drain and then connect the "out flow" from the softener to the 3/4" copper tubing leading to the hot water heater and the various inside fixtures. Question: Any problem with just capping off the main line of 3/4" copper tubing that had been leading to the fixtures? Would it be better to install a faucet at that location?

Hey guys, please excuse my layman terms, I'm no pro, but I have installed a few water heaters, etc. with no problem in the past. Any help would be appreciated.

[dcelite]

Not sure what you're capping off. If you cut the 3/4" copper coming in (hard water) then you have to redirect it to feed the softener and come out of the softener and connect to the other end of the 3/4" that feeds the fixtures.

[hj]

Why can't you just take a section of tubing out where you make the connection and the go the softener from the feed side and from the softener back to the "supply" side? But otherwise, we feed the system through the water heater's cold water supply quite often when it becomes the shortest path. Just connect between the wall and the shutoff valve, not between the valve and the water heater.