I am wondering whether there are any reasons to NOT use Sharkbite push-fit plumbing fittings other than their relatively high cost?
Rather than sweat soldering, they seem like a really attractive and very fast way to install copper plumbing without use of a torch or solder. I am especially curious to know if they are holding up well, and are as good as they appear on paper.
Any opinions would be most appreciated.
Smarty
Compared to sweated fittings they are bulky and expensive and ease of installation may range from not that much easier to a real PITA compared to sweating copper.
Jimmie
Tell me a situation where a sharkbite is a PITA compared to sweating copper.
I only have 2 in my house in a spot where I didn't feel like sweating a couple of joints because they were hard to get to & surrounded by flammables. Haven't leaked yet- 3yrs or so.
They *are* expensive, they *are* bulky. But harder than sweating? I don't see it.
Jim
They can make a plumbing job go fast. Sharkbite fittings are amazing. I used them during a water tank install and expansion tank a year ago and they never leaked.
The Sharkbite fittings are very much like the push lock air fittings that have been used for industrial pneumatic stuff for a long time, so I would expect the reliability is good as long as the O ring material was properly selected.
I'd say that comparing air fittings and water fittings and concluding that because something works in one application it means it's OK for the other is a little like saying that an O ring that's good for a toilet is OK to use to seal the space shuttle fuel tanks. Until I see 20+ years of actual field use, I'd use them where really necessary, but not conclude they are a reliable solution to use everywhere.
We have used them on various camp units on Alaska's North Slope. These units are connected/disconnected twice a year for the drilling season. We are talking about 40ft Connex's that have been converted into sleeping/dining modules. The temps range from sometimes 70 F in the summer to well below -50 in the winter. These fittings are wonderful. After a couple three connects/disconnect cycles they need replaced, but for a home user they would be ideal. They can handle (if memory serves) around 200 psi and the hottest water your water heater can make.
Two thumbs up!!
Just didn't have room to fit them in as we both agree they are bulky. You must think sweating Cu pipe is more difficult than I do. Fact is I kind of enjoy doing it.
Jimmie
Try doing it above and behind a roughly 8"X14" heating duct3 inches from a2X4 .The duct is4 inches from the concrete wall that the 2X4 wall framing is set against. The only possible options were a Sharkbite type connection or soft drawn copper tube - and the sharkbite was a lot easier and neater installation.
I don't mind sweating copper pipe either, when you can reach it, but it would have required dropping the entire forced air heating duct system and re-installing it - which would have required removing another whole wall as well.
Your taking pleasure in sweating has nothing to do with the OP's question and is entirely besides the fact. Your opinion that
indicates you have never used them.
Sharkbite's are much faster than sweating, even if you're geared up to sweat and have a bunch to do. A Sharkbite fitting takes about as much time to install as cleaning a copper fitting joint. The ability to use a Sharkbite fitting on copper, PEX or PVC, coupled with their ease of installation, far outweighs the cost premium.
R
Thanks to all for replies and comments. My conclusion from all of this is that they are apparently fast, easier to use, and in some situations vastly superior where combustibles or very tight work areas limit access. I also conclude that long term reliability is somewhat unproven but quite possibly very good. And no doubt they cost a lot more, but the labor savings may be substantial.
Again, thank you,
Smarty
I used a Sharkbite fitting inside a wall when replacing a frost free outdoor spigot. It was a tight spot. A local plumber who replaced my boiler a few years ago recommended it as an easy and reliable solution for homeowner repairs.
replying to Smarty, Dave S wrote: All the answers I read here are worthy - there are good reasons to sweat and to use push on's --- My comment for all is that I remodeled to remove a bar faucet in a family room 19 years ago, and closed the supply - hot and cold - with shark bite end caps -- no problem so far - pretty comfortable with them, and used them again 5 years ago in a bath remodel - still perfect. They've been around too long to be faulty without all of us DIYers not hearing about it.
I was wondering the same thing since the water-powered sump pump I just received came with one pre-installed.
One wonders how a sump pump is water-powered...
Bernoules principal - basically a venturi pump. - is the most common. HYdraukic pumps are another option.
39.99 Canadian at the home hardware store 2Km down the road from me.
We winterize our summer home in Maine by blowing out the pipes with an air compressor. The temperature falls to around 10 below and the Sharkbites have failed! Water seeps into the seal of the fitting so that when the pipes are blown out there’s enough moisture left behind to freeze, busting the end and allowing the pipe to disconnect when water pressure is restored in the spring. We’ve had costly damage resulting. They are not reliable for use in areas that are not heated through the winter in cold climates.
Have you contacted SharkBite regarding this matter? I would be curious as to what they had to say.
Just FYI...I have forwarded your post to their Technical Support team. I am awaiting a response. They say 48 hours. We'll see.
That's discouraging. Do you think this would have still happened if you'd NOT used the compressed air?
Because I drained my pipes on Feb 9 and turned off the heat, and it's been a colder than usual feb and march in Baltimore. Not a cold climate but pretty darn cold this past winter.
Do you think the compressed air made te difference.
I only have one sharkbite so far, and it's to a closed valve that's not connected to anything. On the second floor whhich is the coldest when the heat is off.
How can I tell if it's going to leak, how fast does it leak? Did it dribble out or pour out? Because to turn the water on I have to be in the basement, and by the time I get tot he second floor it can have leaked a lot!!
Even if I turn the water off to this bathroom in the basement, if I ever want to turn it on again, I have to have a second person upstairs to tell me if it's leaking.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.