Push fit PEX fittings | GTAMotorcycle.com

Push fit PEX fittings

J

jc100

Well-known member
So..along with my BBQ I got a new refrigerator with a fancy dancy water and ice thing. Now I need to look at hooking it up. Under the floor where the fridge is going to go I can see some white flexible water pipe that I assume is PEX. I've seen some push fit fixtures that look super easy to work with that will let me put a T junction in with a stop valve and then I can attach some hose and run it through the floor to the back of the fridge.

I've never used these things before so does anyone have any experience doing this? Is it as easy as it looks on YouTube? Anything I need to look out for? Should I use braided steel hose for the fridge hook up?

Or...should I pay a plumber for an hour (or less) of his time to come and sort it out? What would that cost?

Cheers.
 
Pay a plumber.


You can go shopping for a new bra and panties while the man is working.
 
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Just go talk to the plumbing guys at Home Depot or Lowes, they'll walk you through it and give you any parts you need.
 
Find out where that pex line goes first, if it's a cold water line, you can T into it.
I don't recommend anything "press on" though, may as well do it right.
What size is the water line into the fridge?
Does it come with any fittings?

Get that all figured out first, then shut the water off, open a tap in the basement and let it drain awhile, do your work, then have someone else turn the water back on while you see if you failed or not, that way you can scream like a little girl for them to turn the water off quickly if needed.
:D
 
Just do it....

I have used the shark bite fittings, been holding back the water now for 3 years, no issues at all, and it saves a lot of time....added them to all the lines in the house, bathrooms, powder room, kitchen, laundry, toilets....

Take the easy way,,,,,this coming from a almost certified plumber,,,,,I changed careers....LOL
 
GateKeeper said:
Just do it....

I have used the shark bite fittings, been holding back the water now for 3 years, no issues at all, and it saves a lot of time....added them to all the lines in the house, bathrooms, powder room, kitchen, laundry, toilets....

Take the easy way,,,,,this coming from a almost certified plumber,,,,,I changed careers....LOL
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Shark bite is a name I've seen crop up. As for the pipes in my crawl space....they are pretty modern, plastic, white and they are semi rigid. That's about all I know. For the refrigerator it seems to have some narrow ID poly hose on it with no attachement from what I remember. Will get some measurements.
 
If you're a little bit handy, you should be able to do it yourself with the guidance of Home Depot and YouTube.

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I just did this three weeks ago with a Lowes fridge. The threaded connection on the fridge is 1/4" , make sure the supply line you pickup is the right threaded fitting on the ends. Mine was done with stainless braided , long enough to pull the fridge out and clean underniegth . You have a choice of press fit or crimp on if your tapping into a PEX line.
There has been some reports of press fit failures after 10-12 yrs, the seal in the bottom goes. And lots are just fine. I've stopped using them in any area where a developed leak would be a problem if not discovered. The crimp on are secure and much less expensive.
Make sure to put a ball valve shutout on the supply line for the day you need to take the fridge out.
My installation was 30 mins which included drill a hole through the floor and making a coffee. Very simple.


PS; The interest on that Lowes card is 28.8%, retroactive to the day you made the purchase, dont be late on the 12 month due date.
 
jc100 said:
Shark bite is a name I've seen crop up. As for the pipes in my crawl space....they are pretty modern, plastic, white and they are semi rigid. That's about all I know. For the refrigerator it seems to have some narrow ID poly hose on it with no attachement from what I remember. Will get some measurements.
Click to expand...

so yes you can use the push on fittings, or purchase the pex crimper, and the crimps, then add in your water line to the fridge from the T you put in...

Using this modern stuff, it's way too easy, and no plumber required...
 
Do it right, do it once, rent or borrow the right tools if you don't have them and don't want to buy them. If you are uncomfortable doing it just hire someone, not a big deal.
 
The rate to install a basic fridge water supply is $175.00 . You can screw it up 3 times and still be money ahead.
 
Pex is so easy to work with you could train a monkey to install it. Seriously its easy, Im not a plummer and tapped into a pex line in the barn and installed 6 auto waters with pex and shutoff valves.
You can get the tool and fittings at home depot for like $50 or something its cheap!
 
Just got a new hot water tank installed, all shark bite fittings. Installer said that it's all they use now.
"His wife would.love to tools user the tree. You know, user the tree. To tools." Inreb, via Professor
 
Joe Bass said:
Just got a new hot water tank installed, all shark bite fittings. Installer said that it's all they use now.
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The guy's a hack. Moved in here and the tank had more sharkbites than Jaws 1, 2 and 3. A couple of them failed, so soldered the joints properly. Good gasfitters still sweat'em, but there are too many hacks with diploma mill G2's out there inflicting their "expertise" on poor, unsuspecting customers. Crimp all the way on PEX.
 
Just wanted to check. If you have a water softener I beleive you should make sure you are getting a supply line that is not softened water if you plan on regularity drinking the water that is.
 
superseven said:
Just wanted to check. If you have a water softener I beleive you should make sure you are getting a supply line that is not softened water if you plan on regularity drinking the water that is.
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Good point, my fridge is tapped off the not soft water line. I plumbed both outside faucets to bypass the softener, no sense watering the lawn with soft water. My kitchen faucet is not soft on the cold side, I dont cook with soft water either.
 
Thanks, I live in Kingston.....mains water is fine no need for a softener here. I found a great video that went through all the connection types for PEX fittings and the crimping looks fine too, also the option to replace one existing shut off valve with a double shut off valve with extra outlet for the water line too. Just need to check options and see where all the water shut offs are for the pipes I found.
 
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