Is this a thing now to use only the Sharkbite compression type stuff? Twice now I've had some work done in my house by a guy who goes to our church who is a plumber, he does great work but doesn't appear to ever solder anything? He's done a hose bib and a hookup to our fridge for water/ice that he had to do below in basement and both times he's cut the copper supply line but the T fitting that goes on is a compression, not soldered on. Is this stuff good to go? I have zero experience with it.

IANAPlumber, but I LOVE sharkbites for re-work, copper or PEX.

Haven't had one leak yet.

Work smarter not harder.
Shark bites just flat work and generally take less time then soldering.
Cost a bit more but on small jobs it is no big deal. Plumbing new construction not so much.

I looked at both fittings and they appear to be what's called NIBCO PressSystem?

Tried and true. We use it at my work all the time for plumbing. Works great in places you don't want any heat from a torch.

quote:

Is this stuff good to go? I have zero experience with it.

Their seal relies on an O-ring. Would you want a new house with a couple hundred of them buried in the walls? But ain't they convenient...
No, I'm not a plumber

I was skeptical the first time I used them, I'm a believer now.

As far as soldering goes, if they're not using press fittings they're using pex line. I would guess that copper is reserved for special applications or customers who insist on it.

In my limited experience, it's good stuff.

I briefly worked with plumbers in between jobs a few years back and they loved it.

I actually broke a pipe and had hot water spraying all over the place, it was a massive old apartment building and the water could not be shut off quickly for some reason, as I was screaming for help, plumber arrived and fixed the pipe quickly with a shark bite thingy.

I have done hundreds of copper fittings with solder and have also used the shark bite fittings. Sometimes doing remodeling work a copper line needs cut and something added. For soldering that line needs to be dry inside and out, otherwise the solder won’t work. I can spend an hour trying to get all the water out, finally put flux, heat and solder to it and have steam/water start bubbling out. This means starting over to get more water out.

Or, I can cut the line, file the sharp edges smooth and slip a shark bite fitting on - doing all of the connection in about two minutes. Now, as a plumber, let’s say $50/hr. do you want me to solder or use a $8 shark bite fitting?

If your pipes ever freeze you'll be glad you had PEX! It will expand and contract but will not split, at least in my experience.

No sense in soldering if technology has advanced. Soldering with a torch makes it give off metal and flux fumes. I'd guess many older plumbers are walking lead mines after a lifetime.

hard PEX and compression fittings are the way to go. Just remember to clean the compression fitting and the PEX itself

leak tight in a fraction of the time

I have no data points to back this up, but I have read that sharkbites or their equivalent would be fine indefinitely in an indoor environment. It's where that o-ring is exposed to sunlight or weathering that I would start worrying.

I think it would be like rubber washers in a valve - inside the house, 30 years with no problem. Out in the garden hose, two years is about it.

GTG, no worries.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
No sense in soldering if technology has advanced. Soldering with a torch makes it give off metal and flux fumes. I'd guess many older plumbers are walking lead mines after a lifetime.

Generally agree, BUT: These connections may not age well. If you care about leaks 100 years from now, then it matters. But if you think your house will be gone before then, then the shark bite connectors are a perfect solution.

Regardless, isn't solderered copper the best there is ?

My son in law is a plumber. We remodeled our downstairs bathroom a couple years ago. Lots of joints all compression seals. Not one problem in a few years now.

Press-fittings are different than Sharkbite, I *think*. And they are not cheap. But a tiny drip through the line is no obstacle, like it would be with soldering.

I've seen them on commercial jobs where-as Sharkbite are not approved.

This may be outdated information or maybe varies by locality, but I seem to remember some years ago that compression fittings in concealed areas were not permitted.

The press fittings are not that expensive but the tools I've seen were over $500.

They have to use them in places where you can't us a torch like in a hospital.