Plumbing Fittings

[Ole Anderson]

I have no problem sweating copper, but for an occasional fix, especially if there might be water in the pipes, Sharkbite is my fitting of choice. As stated, clean the outside of the pipe as though you were sweating the joint. No leaks to date. In fact I was just at my buddy's summer home up north last week and had to fix a split outside spigot the PO left the hose on and it froze. No plumbing equipment with me but I had my Sawzall and some wrenches. Got'er done with a new frostproof outlet and a single Sharkbite fitting. I now have at least 5 rolls of Teflon tape.

But to plumb an entire cabin, get a crimper for the PEX, much cheaper.

[Jerry Bruette]

I'm putting in two sinks and one shower and they're all within about ten feet of each other. I also plan on putting in valves so I can drain the system to prevent freezing.

Is crimping as fast and easy as the sharkbites?

[Mike Lassiter]

Jerry the crimping is not quite that fast and easy, but if done right you will not ever have to worry about the connections leaking. As someone else noted, part of the problem with the push on Sharkbite fittings is the pex tubing being pulled sideways on the fittings causing leaks over time. I have worked on class 8 trucks for years and the same problem with the push on air line fittings that are used for the air system. The rubber oring will fail in time if the plastic air lines are not relatively straight and not in a bind going into the fitting. The other alternative is to use the old compression fittings that you tighten a nut that has a insert and ferell that goes over the line and gets tightened into the outer wall of the tubing. Some of the Sharkbite fittings have a plastic insert that is suppose to be inserted inside the plastic tubing to stiffen the wall and support it to help prevent leaking.

I am basically rebuilding a 16x80 single wide mobile home that is over 20 years old and I am replacing all the gray water lines with new pex blue and red while doing all the work I am. The really neat thing I think is I can run 100 feet if I want and only have a fitting at either end. No glued coupling every 10 feet to mess with like CPVC or PVC, but there are times crimping fittings has been "interesting" trying to get the crimping tool into a "spot" with the handles spread open. Often you can prevent that by crimping things together after cutting and fitting everything in place right then getting it all out in the open and do the crimping.
Another word of wisdom. You can buy plastic fittings that are crimp style. While they may work I have never and will never use them for fear the plastic will crack under stress of the tubing being pulling on the fitting and breaking it over time. Metal fittings for me, they are bullet proof.