How long does Sharkbite last?

How long does Sharkbite last?

I have to replace a toilet shut-off valve and all that HD had was Sharkbite.

They say it doesn't leak but they don't say for how long it doesn't leak.

I don't like the idea of selling the house and the new owners saying bad things about me after I'm gone, like I did about the previous owner for his terrible caulking.

Reply to
micky
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They are supposed to last about forever. I had a couple of them in my house but only for a couple of years now. In my case, I used them in a couple of places where it was difficult to safely solder and I'd do it again.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

+1 I have the exact same story. Bought the place only 2 years ago though.
Reply to
Adam Kubias

They rotate, even after they are connected! They had 4 examples on display at home depot and they rotate as easy as a wheel on a toy truck!

This is a toilet shut off valve. Only 4 to 6 inches from the particle board with wood-like finish cabinet on the left to the valve. And the supply pipe to the tank goes straight up so I guess about 6 inches to the toilet on the right.

I've soldered about a dozen pipes, never had much trouble, but had loads of space to work with. Do you think there is room here?

I could also go somewhere else and buy a valve with compression fitting on the pipe and the supply tube.

Reply to
micky

Most new technology has a "critical detector". It fails when it's least convenient.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

The shark bite is a BETTER solution than the compression fitting. With compression fittings, over time, you often get seepage between the olive and the pipe which shows up as a greenish white deposit at the joint. I've never seen that with a sharkbite.

Reply to
clare

I have one of these for sweating in tight places, but I've also used SharkBites and would use them again if the situation called for it. Sometimes it's not just the proximity to other objects that makes sweating pipes difficult, but how hard it is to get to, etc.

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I've never liked compression fittings. Too bulky for one thing and more apt to seep than only other type of fitting I've tried.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Same here. I wanted to tap into the pipe that goes to my front hose bib, which is at street pressure, and run a "street pressure" pipe for my back hose bib. The pipe is way up is right up against the front wall and the pipe to the back of the house was going to run over the ductwork, up in a joist bay. On my workbench, I sweated the complicated section where the pipe comes down from the joist bay to the hose bib, then ran a length of PEX across the basement and used Sharkbites to connect the PEX to the copper at both ends. It's been 5 years or so that's all I can attest to as far as longevity.

The fun part was the SharkBite cap that I used when I removed the old pipe to the rear hose bib. I was procrastinating starting the plumbing job and knew I needed something to get me started. I figured that if I removed the old pipe to the hose bib, I'd have to install the new one. One Sunday I was watching a football game. I got up during a commercial, turned off the water to the house, cut the pipe to the hose bib, popped on a SharkBite cap, and turned the water back on. I was back upstairs before the commercial was over.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

...snip...

I don't think they certified them for underground and no-access-panel installations based on what the guy at Home Depot said.

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It would depend on the conversation that we had beforehand. If he had a valid reason for using them, and the cost was the same or cheaper than other connection methods, I don't think it would be an issue.

I'm not arguing, but let me toss the same question back to you. What would be running through your head?

Reply to
DerbyDad03

Even I, just a DIY homeowner, _could_ (and have) sweat soldered fittings in tight places. I've used my heat shield blanket and even wetted down the surrounding wood just to be safe. I _could_ (and have) screwed many a screw with a screwdriver. However, in both cases, there are now easier options. In both cases, the easier option is more expensive, but the time and effort saved is often well worth the expense.

I know that in my case, when transitioning from copper to PEX, or even doing a copper to copper addition - in very tight spaces - the extra expense doesn't bother me at all. As I said in one of my other posts, I have sweated together sections of plumbing with multiple fittings in my shop and then, quick and easy, inserted these sections into the existing plumbing up in the joist bays.

Well worth the extra money the couple of SharkBites cost me, although it's the expense that prevents from going all Sharkbites.

Why? Do you not trust the certifications granted? Is there a time period that you have set before you'll start trusting the certification that allows them to be used underground and in other concealed spaces? Again, just curious...

Reply to
DerbyDad03

plumbers would lose lots of business and money if sharkbites become common.....

so they wouldnt use them themselves and discurage others whenever possible.

kinda like the end of cast iron since its largely been replaced by PVC

Reply to
bob haller

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