Shark Bite fitting opinions

ACORN · Mar 5, 2023

I found a water leak in our game room and traced it to a bad pipe I don’t want to mess with soldering.
I’m thinking of cutting the bad section and eliminating it and capping it with a Shark Bite cap.
Any opinions on them?
On the plus side the leak soaked the carpet to within about 3’ of my safe but the Goldenrod dehumidifier kept the humidity in the safe at 31%.

Bald1 · Mar 5, 2023

I’ve used them several times. For repairs they are great. But expensive. I most recently used them in the wall of our walk in closet. I replaced master bath shower faucet and didn’t want to get into soldering. I’ve used them when jumping from copper to PEX as well. It really is incredible how easy they are to remove, yet they never leak.

JayCeeNC · Mar 5, 2023

I cut and capped off an unused washer supply line with a Shark Bite about 5-6 years ago.
Hasn't leaked yet.

biku324 · Mar 5, 2023

I used them exclusively when repairing and replumbing PEX. Our water chemistry prematurely degrades the usual metal clips that actual plumbers use.

mmb617 · Mar 5, 2023

I've also used them to transition from copper to pex with zero problems so far.

Many years ago I replaced all our galvanized water lines with copper. That was a lot of soldering. More recently when adding on or modifying water lines I use pex.

Between sharkbites and pex I don't think I'll ever solder another water line.

TX-Dennis · Mar 5, 2023

I've used them a few times on both copper and PVC with good results. No leaks so far.

The PVC was when I was repairing leaks in a sprinkler system for my MIL. Ran out of fittings. Went to the hardware store, and they were out of regular fittings, so I bought the much more expensive shark bite ones. They did the job, although they really aren't much quicker than the traditional primer and glue.

Ivan the Butcher · Mar 6, 2023

Compression fitting are about 1/2 the cost. I issued the 7 men on my maintenance crew 3 fittings each, a coupling, an Ell, & a Tee. I carried 1/2" and 3/4" SharkBite's on my truck about 6 of each and shut offs. But I also know how to soldier better than they did! Sometimes speed is more important than cost! Shark Bites are usually very fast.

One of the problems we were encountering was thievery. Shark Bites and compression fittings are both easily removable. People were stealing the fittings!

The best was to repair and replace is PVC or Pex. I've done a lot of both and prefer Pex. If Pex were to freeze in a span that has no fittings, it will expand without bursting! (really good for old farm houses!)

Ivan

Dave.357 · Mar 6, 2023

Make sure you get a clean cut and remove
Any Corrosion wipe a little Vaseline on
Tubing before putting shark bite on.
I have had good luck with them.

Walkin Horse · Mar 6, 2023

When I remodeled a bathroom in my condo I couldn’t shut the main off completely in my unit. I bought two shark bite valve’s for the shower. I slowed the water down,cut in and jammed the valves on with minimal water on the floor..

jeffrefrig · Mar 7, 2023

Those shark bite fittings are worth their weight in gold. My water main is 1/2", and the globe valves are old. If anything happens that gives me reason to shut off my main I have a shark bite valve that I keep tied to the water line for emergency shut off.Those fittings are a Godsend for people who don't know how to solder, but any connections in a wall are getting soldered. It would be my luck that I'd get the defective one and there would be excessive swearing on my part. If I were to go home buying and I saw a bunch of those shark bites I would probably turn around and see what else Mr. Haney was selling.

TIMETRIPPER · Mar 7, 2023

I like them. They have their uses. Used them to add a water softener and line filter to my water supply. They came in handy when I had trouble with my line pressure last year. Had to uninstall the line filter for a spell because it was leaking at the pressure relief fitting. Replaced it with a straight pipe. Found out that my city water was going over pressure when they were adding on new subdivisions down the road. My water pressure was spiking at 180 psi. I added a pressure control valve on the incoming line and that fixed all my issues.

John

Jeff423 · Mar 7, 2023

Slightly off topic, but recently I had a toilet that wouldn't stop running due to a bad seal on the flush valve. I had to take the tank off the bowl to replace the seal. That's when I discovered that the angle valve would no longer shut off. Then I discovered that if I cut the ferrule off there wasn't enough pipe left to get a new angle valve on. Then I discovered a ferrule puller! Worked like a charm and only cost 3X more than a Sharkbite.

quikdraw67 · Mar 7, 2023

Dave.357 said:
Make sure you get a clean cut and remove
Any Corrosion wipe a little Vaseline on
Tubing before putting shark bite on.
I have had good luck with them.

NO. Do NOT use Vaseline. That has petroleum in it, and will damage the o-ring that is inside the sharkbite.

Clean cut, yes. Remove any burrs. Use emory or grit roll to remove corrosion on copper pipe.

Sharkbites are relatively new to the US. They've been used in Australia for years.

I've sold thousands of them at parts counters. I've used them, I wonder what will happen in 20 years, if they will hold up.

Farmer17 · Mar 7, 2023

With Shark bites you want to always press them straight on without ANY twisting.

Dave.357 · Mar 8, 2023

quikdraw67 said:
NO. Do NOT use Vaseline. That has petroleum in it, and will damage the o-ring that is inside the sharkbite.

Clean cut, yes. Remove any burrs. Use emory or grit roll to remove corrosion on copper pipe.

Sharkbites are relatively new to the US. They've been used in Australia for years.

I've sold thousands of them at parts counters. I've used them, I wonder what will happen in 20 years, if they will hold up.

Vaseline will not hurt the O ring.
O rings are used under great pressure
In Hydraulic systems in oil made from same
Thing that Vaseline is.

chief38 · Mar 8, 2023

Shark Bite repairs are IMHO temporary! The reason I say that is they have stainless steel teeth that bite into the copper. A Bi-metal reaction occurring between the two dissimilar metals can cause leaks in he copper down the road. The only metal to be used on copper is either copper or brass. Definitely not steel!

Sweating copper pipe is very easy. Many are intimidated by this, but it's really not hard at all and only a few simple tools are required. The biggest problem people have while sweating copper is they do not properly prepare, clean and flux it. If that is done correctly, sweating copper is really no sweat!

Simple tools required are a Propane torch, flux, emery cloth or wire brush, no lead solder, a pipe/tubing cutter, deburing tool, gloves, rag and the ability to want to do it and learn. It's truly easy and once you do it successfully one will loose the fear of how complicated they think it is. ALWAYS a great skill to have!!

quikdraw67 · Mar 8, 2023

Dave.357 said:
Vaseline will not hurt the O ring.
O rings are used under great pressure
In Hydraulic systems in oil made from same
Thing that Vaseline is.

If the o-ring is made to handle petroleum based products.

I would use plumbers grease for anything involving orings in plumbing.

len917 · Mar 8, 2023

Get the better clamping tool. You will find that using pex/sharkbite is enjoyable because its easy and not messy and looks professional.

llowry61 · Mar 9, 2023

I would recommend you purchase a valve and install it, then if you decide to use the water in the future you can.

If I can access the pipes, I use them. They are expensive if you are doing a big job, but in the scheme of things being able to resolve an issue in minutes has value to me.

Shark Bite fitting opinions

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