Where were you yesterday when I needed you?

Just kidding thank you. Let me see if I can find some.

Gilligan said:

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Where were you yesterday when I needed you?

Just kidding thank you. Let me see if I can find some.

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Where you located?

Got mine at Home Depot - just measure your line size and get a pipe cutter and a wire pipe cleaner if you don't have one and clean the like before you put it on

Pearland. It's crazy out there right now for parts and labor.

I do plan on buying some shark bite fittings and having a stash for future temporary repairs. But not right now.

All of our plumbers are 300+ deep. I had some hot water lines break the night it got to single digits because we lost power and there was not radiant heating from the floor of my old pier and beam house. Cold water still works, but no hot anywhere - I was able to unplug the water heater and flip the shutoff valve so I could at least keep cold.

I went under yeatwrday to fix the leak and found a busted elbow in a cluster**** of a split/turn/whatever. I didn't have all of the connectors to fix it, so I wrapped in rescue tape so I could hold enough hot for a shower. As soon as my wife flipped the water on, I saw another leak in the same line further under the house. I said f it and backed out.

I've ordered some PVC to PEX shark bites and 100' of PEX from Amazon. Supposed to be here Monday. I'll just cheat it and replace the entire run until I can get someone to come replumb everything with PEX. It's so much more forgiving than PVC and, with as much as our 120yo house moves, the added flexibility won't hurt.

Do not leave them in your house as a permanent fix!! Most worthless fitting ever created except for a patch until a permanent fix is available. Don't go cheap and think "well it's holding so I can just put that off"...It'll cost you later.

patters10 said:

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Shark bites aren't permanent fixes? I was told otherwise...

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Plumbers have told me only use them in a pinch - maybe permanent for a supply line to a faucet etc that you can easily get to and replace

True pressed fittings are a different story but still most plumbers would probably only use them where they couldn't use a flame - also at least in the past they required an expensive press tool


I've only used shark bites as an end cap/stop for a leak waiting on a perm repair

I would not bury sharkbites in a wall. If I had pex I would buy an assortment of fittings and a pex tool, If I had copper I would buy a propane torch, some fittings and solder and I would learn to to sweat copper.

patters10 said:

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Shark bites aren't permanent fixes? I was told otherwise...

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I don't remember the last time i called a plumber and he didn't use shark bite fittings.

Well you have one replying to you right now and I'd never use them as permanent fixes. They're a disaster waiting to happen, a homeowner's dream because they're easy to use.

When I had a service truck I may have had some caps on there to cap something off till I could get the water shut off but that's it. They can blow off and will, they're not a fool proof thing. Then again I'm a commercial guy and we think a little different than house plumbers.

Used a Shark Bite to cap a broken copper cold water line under my house Wednesday. Awesome solution. I'll be without cold water to 3 fixtures until a real plumber comes out next week, but I can deal with that.

Here's my contribution. PVC and CPVC are different diameters. One measures inside, the other outside. I figured short term I could mix and match some parts but nope. I went to help a friend cap her line. She sent me a picture of white pipe. I thought it was PVC, nope painted CPVC. We were both disappointed that I didn't have any CPVC parts and couldn't use my PVC.

Not a plumber, but a landlord.

After this week of cold and plumbing issues I plan to:

1. Buy an assortment of shark bite fittings.
2. Buy an assortment of pipe.
3. Buy an assortment of copper fittings.
4. Learn how to solder copper fittings

All will be temp fixes until I can get a plumber on site.

Parts and Labor availability are scarce / stretched thin right now. The hope is to get a property back online, at least temporarily, until then.

Unfortunately, I'm remodeling a kitchen because a renter didn't drip the sinks.

Her words "I forgot..."

Don't get me wrong, in a pinch a shark bite fitting can be a savior. But I would NEVER leave one as a permanent fix. That's all I'm saying. The design behind how they're built does not keep them from failing, regularly.