Copper pipe sanity check, please

[trader_4]

Pretty much agree. I would only use a SB for a tough location, where soldering was too difficult or risky. So far I haven't encountered that scenario.

[Marilyn Manson]

That's basically where I am at and where I have used them.

I recently did some reno work in bathroom that involved removing the sink. It turned out that the 30+ YO compression shut-offs didn't hold. I have a couple of SharkBite caps, so I turned off the main, removed the old compression shutoffs, popped on the caps and turned the main back on. 10 minutes worth of work.

I bought new compression shutoffs but for the life of me I could not get them to stop leaking. I tried 3 and they all leaked. 2 SharkBite shutoffs later and I was good to go. Shutoffs are too close to a finished wall to sweat.

[Nil]

On 06 Jun 2021, Nil [e-mail] wrote in alt.home.repair:

Follow-up: I replaced my broken shut-off valve with your-all's good advice. The copper pipe was, indeed "1/2 inch" despite the larger outside diameter. The Sharkbite fitting was just what I needed. I don't have the tools or expertise to sweat a new valve on there - the space is too cramped and too close to the wall to do it safely myself. I would have probably set the wall or myself or both on fire. I'd still like to learn to do this, but this wasn't the time.

I didn't mention it before because it wasn't specifically relevant, but the valve replacement was needed in order for me to replace the kitchen faucet above it. The 30-plus-year-old Delta faucet broke when I tried to replace some parts to fix it from dripping. There's a metal ball attached to the handle that allows hot and cold water to enter the spout. The ball fits into a brass cup, and the brass cup has an integral tab that fits into a slot on the ball, allowing the handle to move only in certain directions. The tab had eroded away and I managed to knock off what was left of it, so the handle could be twirled in any direction. It actually still worked, but obviously not right.

So, I bought a new faucet from the HomeDepot and set out to install it. It could have been an easy job, but it was hell getting the old one off. There are three plastic nuts underneath holding it on to the sink. I got two of them off easily. The third one would turn - but so would the bolt it was attached to. I had to resort to hacking at the plastic nut with my Dremel (frustrating because those ceramic cutting discs shatter if you look at them sideways - I went through 5 of them) and a keyhole saw. The kitchen cabinet is so cramped that I wound up with scrapes and scratches on my legs and arms and a bruise on my ribs from twisting around in there. Once I finally got the old faucet off, installing the new one was fairly easy. Unfortunately, the brand new one drips slowly but constantly from the spout. I'll have to deal with that next week. I'm done with it for the time being.

[Marilyn Manson]

The best place to learn to sweat pipe is at the workbench.

Practice in a safe, no pressure situation before you need to do it in joist bay or under a sink.

BTW?they sell heat shields for sweating pipe in tight situations. You could wrap yourself in a few. ;-)