As a plumber and when I am called in to install and hook up an ice maker, its all copper. Did you know most ice maker kits that come with the saddle valve does not meet the Illinois code? Illinois Plumbing code states saddle valves are not allowed...
No, I did not know that. Although even without knowing what the code says, I wouldn't think of using a saddle valve. It just defies logic to poke a hole in a pipe then attempt to seal it with a pin (albeit, a thicker pin) and rubber around the pin. Additionally, it’s less trouble (to me) to add a tee and a compression valve than to permanently damage a water supply pipe.
Also about your blanket explanation of manufactures by default supplying PE, (more likely pex since most places have a ban on PE), is they are not required to sell you a product that meets the plumbing code in your area...
PEX and ban on PE?
We may be talking at cross purposes. Looking back at my earlier posts here, I realize my scenario may not have been clearly described although I did mention that the water filter is the under-sink type. Anyway, the scenario is:
- high-rise condo, Like in many other condos, pipes beyond the wall are common elements. Unit owners cannot touch them. As far as I know and can see, the buildings have galvanized iron pipes. Unit owners are only allowed to meddle with the water supply pipes that are already sticking out from the walls of their kitchen and bathroom.
- filter is under-sink type. Hot water heater tank is under-sink type ( < 1 gal cap.) installed immediately underneath hot & cold water dispenser faucet that is mounted on sink countertop. I don’t have a whole house filtration system because I only need filtered water for cooking and drinking.
Back to the PEX and ban on PE. My current water filter is a 3M Filtrete. It came with two PE tubings. I know they’re PE because they look and feel like PE (not like PEX) and because the imprint on the tubings say “Parker Parflex PE 3/8â€. Insinkerator water filters and instant hot water heater/tank also come with Parker PE tubing. Both 3M and Insinkerator come with Parker plastic quick connect fittings. Insinkerator uses a silicone tubing for hot water coming out of the tank into the dispenser faucet. Another common brand, Waste King, comes with a Norprene tubing for the hot water tank-to-dispenser faucet connection and CCK brand of quick connect fittings.
I looked at other under-sink filters available at my local hardware stores and they had PE tubings inside the boxes.
The tubings that come supplied with under-sink water filters and instant hot water heaters/tanks (for hot water dispenser faucets) are short, less than 2 ft. I would assume that’s because they’re expected to be used under the sink where the distances, from the water supply line to the filter as well as from the dispenser faucet line to the filter, are short. None of the tubings are meant to go beyond walls or floors or around cabinets. And I would expect that. I wouldn’t want plastic tubings in hidden/inaccessible areas.
I mentioned, in a previous post, that I had a licensed plumber (any plumber working in the condo has to submit info – license, insurance – to our Condo management office) replace the water supply lines (under the kitchen sink) with soldered copper and chrome-plated brass valves. The plumber reconnected the same PE tubing (connected to the under-sink water filter) to the new water supply valve. The building/condo engineer came in to inspect (before and after work inspection by the building engineer is required in our condo) the finished work and didn’t comment on the PE tubing. I did not conclude that anything was amiss since neither the plumber nor the engineer removed nor tell me to replace the PE tubings.
Here’s my under-sink filtered water set-up:
Water supply line brass valve --> PE tubing --> water filter --> PE tubing --> Y fitting (this came with my previous Insinkerator water filter/heater/dispenser faucet ensemble)
Y fitting (1st connection) --> PE tubing --> quick connect fitting --> Cu tubing of hot & cold water dispenser faucet
Y fitting (2nd connection) --> PE tubing --> quick connect fitting --> Copper tubing for ice maker water supply line
(Cu tubing disappears into wall and probably either runs under the floor or around the wall and comes out somewhere below the top of my fridge. I don’t know because I’ve never had to pull out the fridge. My fridge’s innards – compressor, ice maker solenoid valve etc – are on top of the fridge and so is the icemaker fill tube. The Cu tubing appears from the back coming from below the top of the fridge.)
Cu tubing from below top of fridge --> inline water filter --> PE tubing --> solenoid valve --> super thick non-removable vinyl fill tube
The vinyl fill tube came with the fridge and it’s clamped “permanently†(i.e., clamp cannot be accessed without removing the entire compressor module) to the top of the fridge which is really a pain. I would much have preferred the removable fill tubes included with mainstream (Whirlpool, Frigidaire, etc.) brands because they can be removed for cleaning.
I used a ~2 ft PE tubing between the inline water filter and solenoid valve because I didn’t want the corrosion products that eventually form on Cu tubing. When I replaced the ice maker (Teflon coating was already flaking off.), I also replaced the solenoid valve. I took the valve apart since I was replacing it anyway. There was a lot of green deposits on the inlet mesh screen and it was green inside as well between the diaphragm and the outlet. The ice maker fill tube was also covered with a lot of green deposits. It took a long time scrubbing that non-removable fill tube with a very long testtube brush. Even though the water coming through the Cu tubing is already filtered (via the under-sink water filter), I added an additional inline water filter on top of the fridge just to filter off particulates (originating from the existing Cu tubing) and not ending up on the fill tube again and into my ice cubes.