tberg join:2001-08-23 Greenville, SC |
to printscreen
Re: Supplying water to a refrigeratorI had a buried compression fitting that let loose a few weeks back. Don't bury a compression fitting. You'll have a hard time soldering that pipe as well because it has oxidized quite a bit while buried. You'll have to buff it like crazy to get a good flow of solder on it. Another method is to use Shark Bites. Those can be buried. They slip on and provide a mechanical connection without solder or wrenches. |
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robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
said by tberg:You'll have a hard time soldering that pipe as well because it has oxidized quite a bit while buried. You'll have to buff it like crazy to get a good flow of solder on it. Dremel tool with a wire wheel works great for this. |
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to tberg
I was just looking at those Shark Bite fittings in the Home Depot web site. Never seen them before. Are they any good? There is one exactly as I need it.
I think I will go with robbin's suggestion of a tee and putting the shutoff valve inside. However the transition to 1/4 needs to be outside since it has to go through a 6 inch concrete wall and go around a doorway inside. Chipping up a groove in the ceramic tile floor and underlying concrete base across the doorway is not an option. This is not an American wood frame and drywall house but a typical concrete and cement block house you will find in Puerto Rico.
Still will think a bit about the soldering part. I could learn how to do it but honestly I have never needed to do it before. |
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Msradell Premium Member join:2008-12-25 Louisville, KY |
Msradell
Premium Member
2013-Mar-2 9:36 pm
said by printscreen:I was just looking at those Shark Bite fittings in the Home Depot web site. Never seen them before. Are they any good? There is one exactly as I need it. I was just going to suggest that you look at those! They are great, much better than a compression fitting and easier than soldering. I see no reason not to use those for your application. |
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tp0dyabbazooie Premium Member join:2001-02-13 Bulger, PA |
tp0d
Premium Member
2013-Mar-2 10:24 pm
You can use shark bites but I would not cover the joint with soil. Instead I`d use sand or pea gravel. Just in case it starts leaking..
That sure looks like 3/4" pipe, if its the house main its probably not 1/2".
You`ll need to shutdown the water pressure and see if that union will unscrew, you will need it for clearance to get the sharkbites in. I would recommend exposing the pipe 12" minimum in each direction for access.
That is probably soft copper, and may not accept a sharkbite, depending if it was bent on installation. I would highly recommend cleaning (sandcloth) and lubricating each end before applying the sharkbite.
-j |
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The main at the meter is 5/8" but everything after the main shutoff (the one inside my property, not on the meter box at the sidewalk) is 1/2".
I am planning to just cut this union away. That would be cutting like 2 inches of the pipe which means that I must use the longer slip tee fitting. And yes, I will need to dig out a few feet from the right side in the picture in order to be able to slightly bend the pipe a bit to make room for fitting the tee in. The other side goes under a sidewalk. |
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robbin Mod join:2000-09-21 Leander, TX |
robbin
Mod
2013-Mar-2 11:32 pm
That doesn't look like 1/2 to me either but perhaps it is (what is the OD). You will possibly have a problem as the two pipes don't line up. You probably need to dig out enough to try to get alignment with the two. |
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2 edits |
I know it is not 3/4. There are no 3/4 pipes here anywhere. But tomorrow I will check to make sure.
Alignment won't be a problem. I can dig enough to the right to free the pipe and be able to get it into proper alignment. |
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