Need help, snapped coupler thread off plastic supply line

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thebordella

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Hi,

Excuse my newbie-ness and apologies if I use the wrong terms for things. Doing a small bathroom reno, removed old vanity+sink, etc. Stupidly tried replacing old sticky cutoff valves with new valves.

When I turned the house water on, the cold pipe+valve did not leak - yay. But there was a small leak from the hot pipe+valve, so I did something really dumb. I tried tightening the valve nut really hard with the water pressure still on. You can guess what happened next. CRACK! WHOOSH! Instant fire hydrant.

Now my house water is off -- trying to get a plumber in but so far no luck, so thought I'd post here. Please see attached pics.

What should I do? What is this plastic threaded thing at the end of the (orange) hot water pipe, how do I get it off (it seems glued/cemented in place), and how do I replace it with something so I can put a new cutoff valve in place? Until I do I cannot turn on my whole house water or else it will spew out this pipe.

If I were walking into Lowes/Home Depot/local indie shop, what would I say I need (besides a new cutoff valve, since the old one is now jammed with the bit of plastic that broke off).

thanks!!
-Aaron
 

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Jimbo

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You will need to cut the orange pipe just behind the glued on fitting. The store should be able to provide you with a new valve. There are glue on and push-fit types.
 

Cass

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I would use the push on / sharkbite type just incase you have a problem in the future...if it is glued on you will be in a world of hurt....
 

thebordella

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Thanks!

I want to thank everyone for their replies to my panicked posting this morning. I think you all saved my bacon (and also my butt!).

The situation seems to be resolved. I went down to Home Depot and spent about 90 minutes looking at all the various fittings, including the SharkBite. Mind you, I am a very amateur handyman -- I wanted to avoid the PVC cement stuff because I have no experience there. Also, this particular project/accident is a very accessible, seldom-used half bath (as in, maybe 6 times a year), so it isn't an in-wall or other high-intensity application.

My supply line, it turns out, is 3/4 inch CPVC. Of the available SharkBite products at this HD, the best choice was a 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch reducer plus another brand of 1/2 inch (to 3/8) push-on valve, with a stub of 1/2 inch CPVC between the two fittings.

I cut a 4 inch stub of the 1/2 inch PVC and marked each end for the fittings per the directions for how far to push them in. Push the fittings onto each end and then pushed the whole assembly onto the supply line to the marked depth for SharkBite. Closed the valve, and slowly turned on the house water, running back and checking in small increments.

So far so good. House water back to full pressure, not a single drip from the above configuration.

One poster commented about the drain pipe in my photo. That pipe was cut (by me) with a saw to get out the sink; I am going to post another question about what to do with that next! (But it isn't quite such an emergency.)

thanks again!
-Aaron
 

Gary Swart

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I hope it was just a typo when you said you cut a piece of PVC to use. PVC and CPVC are two different products and do not mix. PVC is not to be used inside a home for water supply. It's OK for drains. You must put a P trap on that drain! If solvent welding PVC is too much for you, then hire a plumber.
 
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thebordella

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Apologies for my sloppy typing -- yes, I used CPVC for the new stub. Not PVC.

Thanks for the tip about the trap. I will look into that!

-Aaron


I hope it was just a typo when you said you cut a piece of PVC to use. PVC and CPVC are two different products and do not mix. PVC is not to be used inside a home for water supply. It's OK for drains. You must put a P trap on that drain! If solvent welding PVC is too much for you, then hire a plumber.
 

thebordella

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the fix pix

Just in case anyone as amateur as me finds themselves in a similar predicament, attached is a photo of the resolved pipe fitting.

Starting from the right edge, the orange pipe is 3/4 inch CPVC coming from the wall/house water supply.

To the left of that is a SharkBite 3/4 inch-to-1/2 inch reducer. Simply push on!

To the left of that is a 4 inch stub of 1/2 inch CPVC (about 2 inches showing).

To the left of that, the whole one-piece assembly is a Brass Craft PushConnect 1/4 turn valve with 1/2 inch intake and 3/8 compression output. Again, simply push on!

Both the SharkBite and Brass Craft push on fittings are also easily removed. The SharkBite people make you buy a removal clip for each size fitting, though it is cheap. The Brass Craft includes its own removal clip built into the fitting, which is nice.

I am sure there are other, perhaps more elegant looking solutions, but for a total newbie with an urgent need to cap this pipe, and given what was in stock at that particular Home Depot, I am pretty happy. Total cost for the two push-on fittings plus a 10 foot section of pipe (yes I had to buy 10 feet but it was only $3 and now I have plenty extra) was under $20.
 

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Gary Swart

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OK! One job finished, now it's time to get that trap on the drain. This is not something to do later. Traps block sewer gas and vermin from enter the house for the sewer and a required on every fixture in the house. Toilets have there trap built in so you don't have to do anything extra with them.
 

thebordella

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I see -- thanks for pointing that out. (This house is on a septic system if that matters). See my new post about how to handle the trap: https://terrylove.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32798

I really don't know where to start with this (much like the above situation 12 hours ago).

thanks,
Aaron

OK! One job finished, now it's time to get that trap on the drain. This is not something to do later. Traps block sewer gas and vermin from enter the house for the sewer and a required on every fixture in the house. Toilets have there trap built in so you don't have to do anything extra with them.
 

hj

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hot water

Your hot water solution has one liability. It is so long that it will be easy for something to hit against it and snap the CPVC again. What you should have done was cut the 3/4" CPVC, glue on a 3/4 x 1/2 reducer, a SHORT piece of CPVC, and then the valve.
 
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