Had to do an emergency repair of an elbow last week that leads to my hot kitchen sink anhot d dishwasher. Since I'm a new homeowner I didn't have a propane torch or spare copper pipe parts or solder (never soldered pipe before) so I invested in a $6 sharkbite elbow instead. snapped on easy, no leaks, handles the pressure and the quick on and off that the faucet and dishwasher demand.
The elbow is under the floor joist, for hot water, in an unfinished basement. Easy to check up on and easy to re-repair. Curious to people's opinions on whether this type of repair is considered permanent or not.
Product is selling well, no negatives that I am aware of in this NG. Only quibbles are the price, but the convenience is hard to beat. Definitely on my list for future emergencies or impossible situations.
It is expensive compared to a regular fitting, but for those that cannot solder, $6 is most likely cheaper than a $1 elbow installed by a plumber. If the plumber only charged $4 to make a house call, that would be a better way to go.
I had a rental house with copper pipes but someone had installed some PEX pipe for the bathtub. They used these sharkbite fittings one all the PEX. Some of them were inside the bathroom wall. The elbow up at the shower head pipe, where it comes out of the wall was one of them. Apparently the moving of the shower head caused it to come loose, and I could see the sleeve which is compressed to install the pipe was hitting a 2x4 which the pipe was strapped to. I found that whenever someone took a shower there was water coming out of the wall and into the basement. I had to rip out the wall to find the problem.
I suspect because this pipe was not under constant pressure, plus the movement of that shower head when people adjust it, not to mention the prior owners or tenants may have used that pipe to hang a soap & shampoo rack (whatever those things are called), but the pipe was not in the fitting, and it was a major leak inside the wall, which ruined the wallboard, and caused mold and even some rotting of the floor.
From this, I personally would not use them as a permanent repair. They're great for a quickie fix, but I just dont trust them. If this was on a pipe where there was always pressure, it could have been a real mess.
Soldering copper pipe (sweating) is not all that difficult. Get yourself a DIY home repair book, or search the web for sweating copper pipe.
I replaced that pipe with copper, I intended to replace all of them and get rid of all that PEX, but I sold the house. (Not because of the pipes, because of asshole tenants).
PEX expands and contracts with changes in water temperature a lot more than copper. I installed an eight or nine foot run of PEX going to a washing machine that runs along above the machines and countertop and was installed in a straight line mounted to a board. The hot water line expands ~3/8" when the machine fills with hot water.
If allowance isn't made for that movement then it's reasonable to expect problems. Anytime someone installs something and doesn't allow for its normal movement it's reasonable to expect problems.
I just installed a couple of elbows and straight connectors with PEX for a newly positioned sillcock (outdoor faucet). The old faucet was mounted on the side of the house with the driveway. That was a stupid idea which was proven when the wife hit it driving out and broke the copper pipe. I cut the copper pipe down to the shut off valve and connected the PEX with the elbow Sharkbite, rerouting the PEX to the front of the house above the drop ceiling in the basement. Being it's only cold water, the expansion, if any, will be minimal. So far, it's doing well and if any leaks prevail, I'll see wet spots on a ceiling tile.
Oops...what I also wanted to add was a basic test I did prior to the install. I put both a piece of copper and PEX into the end of the Sharkbites and tried to pull. Not to brag, but I'm no weakling and I couldn't pull these suckers out without the tool to remove them. I know it's not under water pressure, but it made me have confidence they won't simply slide out easily.
I remember reading somewhere that the Sharkbite fittings can take something like 1000 pounds in tension. If you could pull one out, I would have started this reply with 'Sir.' ;)
Like you, I used them for the first time ever this year. I only used them in exposed locations and will admit my error if it turns out they don't work long term.
The last one I put on was three years ago at my cabin. Haven't made it up there yet because of the snow, but so far so good. It was much easier than cutting out the burst pipe under the frame of a wood cabin, then torch welding a new piece in. I like them, although they may not be the best choice in every situation.
I think the safety and convenience factor of replacing them in tight spots is worth the few extra bucks. It sure was for the one I replaced that was under a cabin. It was far less labor intensive than I thought it would be. In stud walls and places where there is a fire hazard, like under a cabin, there's no comparison.
The geek at HD had SWMBO put together and take apart a joint using the little wrench thingus. She said it seemed a little flimsy. So he asked her to put it back together and pull it apart. She was convinced.
They're also great in the repair fittings box since you can use them with copper, PVC, and PEX. Very versatile. Another nifty use is for temp runs, like when you're trying to get the water back on at the end of the day and you know you're going to have to undo some stuff the next day. Makes it trivial.
While PEX seems to be the new fad, I personally would not use it in my home, and particularly not with sharkbite fittings. They clain PEX will last many years, but like all plastics, it will degrade with time and fail. 10 or 20 years from now, they will probably ban the stuff after many failures due to age. Besides that. I feel that plumbing should be SOLID PIPE, not a hose, which is what PEX is. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I'll stick with rigid pipe. Copper is preferred, but even galvanized steel has always been reliable, and is sturdy. Solid pipe looks better too. PEX and any other plastic pipes like CPVC sag and look cheap. However I have found CPVC to be pretty reliable as long as enough hangers are used to keep it from sagging.
Those little shark teeth are stainless. Have you ever picked up one of their fittings and examined it? Technically there's a lot more brass in the things than there needs to be - they could have easily cut down on the amount of brass, and cut a much bigger cost savings corner. But they didn't.
Pex fittings such as Zurn makes don't have stainless teeth - the whole thing is plastic, and they've been used in Europe for decades. I understand you're an old dog and a new trick _is_ something to be wary of, but in this instance you're just being an old dog. ;)
Looks better? Huh? You're choosing what is a purely functional item based on aesthetics? The only place you see exposed PEX is in a basement, and if there's exposed PEX in a basement there's probably a lot of other things that offend your refined sensibilities.
I've used SharlBites twice and have no complaints so far.
One time I turned off the water, cut a pipe, capped it and turned the water back on before the commercial was over. I didn't miss a second of the football game and my wife, who was in the kitchen making dinner at the time, never even knew that I had turned the water off.
Another time I used a SharkBite Tee to tap into a copper pipe at the front of the house (which was at street pressure) then ran a length of PEX across the basement ceiling and used a SharkBite straight connector to connect the PEX to the copper pipe at the backyard hose spigot. Less than an hour's work to get street pressure to the backyard hose.
Both of these connections were made in the tight quarters near the basement ceiling above storage cabinets - not a location where I would have wanted to sweat copper.
One of the many advantages of the SharkBites is their ability to swivel even after installation. With copper, you need to "aim" each fitting to get the pipe to run in the direction you need. With SharkBites, you just pop them on and swivel them in any direction you want.
Costly yes, but damn convenient. In my case, I feel the cost was justified based solely on the fact that I didn't have to sweat fittings in locations where access was severely limited.
I didnt care much for the tool, not saying it is bad but I have arthritis in my hands and need something a little easier to hang on to so I made my own oversized one cut from 1/8 inch aluminum. Mine has a slot for 1/2" on one end and 3/4" on the other. Also a piece of cake to use the end of a piece of pipe a template to DIY it. Mine is about 7 inches long and I dont tend to lose tools like this while I will quickly misplace the little doer they sell at HD. Would really like something designed more like an open end wrench. Hmmm that might work in a pinch.
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