Beginners Guide To SHARKBITE Fittings (Watch till end BEFORE Buying!) | GOT2LEARN

what's up guys and welcome back to another video a lot of people have been asking me to make a video about sharkbite fittings also known as push fittings and to talk about all the controversy around them on whether they're a disaster waiting to happen or if they're up to par there's a lot of videos on YouTube that talk about these but there isn't one that covers everything from A to Z and that's why I'm making this video sharkbite has been around for close to 20 years now and has made it big but they're easy to connect fittings that simplify the way plumbing connections are made you basically cut the pipe and push the fitting on and you have a leak free joint easy right these fittings are perfect for any do-it-yourselfer that's willing to tackle a weekend project and has no soldering skills or no experience with crimping tools however push fittings do require a minimum of knowledge before installing them just like any other system and this video will cover everything you need to know to get it done properly and to have them last a lifetime the video will be divided into three parts in the first part I'll cover what a sharkbite fitting is and how it functions a lot of people are still new to these and I thought it would be important to address how they actually work inside to have a better understanding when installing one i'll also be covering where you can install these and on which types of pipes that could be used on the second part will be on how to properly install them like I said before there's a proper way to install these and an improper way if you've been or are about to pick these up at the store and just pop them on a pipe I strongly suggest you keep watching as I'll explain all the things that could go wrong when doing it this way and how you can avoid a major disaster and in the third part I'll talk about all the pros and cons about using these and why they could be good for some projects and not for others alright so let's start by talking about how these fittings actually work inside the best way for me to show you is to cut one open in half so you could get a visual idea of all the components and the jobs they have so starting from the outside the first components you'll notice are these right here but for now I'll put them aside so you can see the other parts and I'll get back to them later the third component are the stainless steel teeth that gives sharkbite fittings their name the way they work is that once the pipe is inserted the teeth will grab onto it and won't let go unless a special tool is used to release them this stage is known as the first stage into completing the connection the fourth component is the o-ring support which has two jobs to give the pipe some form of rigidity inside the fitting and to protect the o-ring by making sure the pipe is properly centered during the insertion the fifth component is the EPDM or ring the o-ring has the sole job of not letting any water get past it unlike ordinary faucet o rings the EPDM or ring can take decades to dry out and can withstand harsh chemicals such as the chlorine use to clean our municipal water as the pipe is inserted all the way it'll reach the stop which is the second and final stage of completing a joint now let's go back to the first two components we put aside this one right here is called the release collar and has the job of deactivating the teeth to allow the fitting to be removed there are several tools that are used to depress it you have the dedicated disconnect tongs the c-clip and these here that are made for bigger fittings I also made a video on six ways to remove them without any of these for emergency situations and I'll leave a card here as well as a link in the description box below this video and the last component is the pipe stiffener just like the breath stiffeners used with compression fittings installed on PEX piping shark bites have when it embedded inside the fitting when you purchase it I'll talk more about these in the part 2 section of this video so on which types of pipes can I install these on and were they meant to be used they could be used with copper hex and CPVC you could also transition from any of these three using the same exact fitting which is pretty neat shark bites can be used exposed or unexposed in walls and also in the ground whether it's for potable water distribution or heating applications if you're installing a fitting underground it must be wrapped with sharkbite self-adhesive tape for it to be code and to prevent contaminants from getting inside the fitting many people including myself don't feel safe installing these where they aren't accessible but if everything is done properly there's no reason to doubt them as they're approved to be used in these situations alright so that was part 1 let's move on to part 2 now which is how to properly install them the installation part is where all the controversy comes from and why many people get a leak after turning on the water a lot of users will blame the leak on the fittings but that's just like soldering a copper pipe that wasn't fluxed or cleaned you're assured of getting a leak the same applies with push fittings the pipe and fitting need to be prepped in order for it to be installed correctly so let's go through all the steps together the first thing you want to make sure of is that the fitting is clean many times I've seen guys put their fittings near them on the floor or in the wall that their plumbing and get all kinds of debris inside the fitting this could lead to a leak if something gets in between the o-ring and the pipe so always keep these in their bags or in a sealed container prior to installing them secondly is the pipe the pipe absolutely needs to be cut straight using either a rotary cutter for copper or some blade type cutters for pecks and CPVC if you cut copper with a hacksaw for example not only is your cut gonna be crooked but it'll leave a rough outer edge that could potentially pinch ring or rip the o-ring upon insertion here's a close-up of what I'm talking about as the pipe is being inserted the sharp edge could pinch the o-ring or even worse tear it as it's going past it which will guarantee you a leak as soon as you open the water back up this leads me to my next point which is prepping the pipe after it's been cut no matter what tool you use to cut the pipe a sharp edge also known as a burr will be left on both the outside and inside of the pipe and they both need to be removed to remove the outside burn sharkbite sells a nifty little gadget called the deeper and depth gauge tool which not only diverse the outside of the pipe but also allows you to mark the proper insertion depth as such for the inside burr you could use a dedicated pencil reamer or a utility knife if that's all you have not removing the inside burr has several consequences such as restricting water flow causing turbulence which could lead to pinholes and increase noise in the system so for 30 seconds of work it's well worth the extra time here's a cool animation that shows how important it is to remove the inside burn when the water goes past the lip created by the cutter it creates turbulence which in turn erodes the pipe prematurely and causes a leak which is why it's so important to remove it also never use sandpaper to clean the pipe the pipe needs to be nice and smooth for these fittings to properly seal the next thing that needs to be done is to mark the insertion depth on the pipe as we saw before the pipe needs to be inserted all the way in for the o-ring to do its job and to make sure of this here are three ways to do it the first way is to use a depth gauge tool like I mentioned before by inserting it in the proper sized hole and marking it with a sharpie the second is referring to the depth gauge on the sharkbite website or the third way that a lot of people don't know of is when using the pipe itself sharkbite piping has marks printed on them which are exactly one inch in length from the beginning of the arrow to the end of it so you just cut here and insert it until the second arrow is flush with the edge of the collar this was done purposely by sharkbite to save time when doing big projects pretty cool huh and that is how you properly connect a sharkbite or push fitting to come back to the pipe stiffener a lot of people still think that they could be removed for whatever purpose but sharkbite recommends that they aren't as they could damage the teeth when they're being removed and plus there's no reason to remove them what's nice about push fittings is they could easily be removed and reused using the disconnect tongs or a disconnect clip like I mentioned in the beginning of the video I made a video that covers six really cool ways to get one off and I'll link it here and down below so you could watch it alright let's go ahead and jump into part three which are some of the pros and cons about these fittings to make this quick and easy for you guys to remember I just made a chart with the pros on the left and the cons on the right and I'll enumerate them as we go the first pro is their simplicity to use compared to other systems it's super easy to teach someone how to use these who's new to the system as opposed to soldering which could take months to master to make it even easier sharkbite just released a new product called Evo pecs which shows a green indicator when the pipe is completely inserted saving you the step of marking the insertion depth they're basically foolproof and even simpler to use than the brass push fittings but I'll get to this in a separate video as to not bore anybody out secondly is the fact that the fittings can be rotated after they've been installed I personally enjoy this as if a change needs to be made to a system it just makes it a lot easier and quicker to do then there's the cost I put it in the pro section because the over cost of installing shark bites is cheaper than soldering for example if you'd use the new Evo pecs fittings a 1 inch elbow costs around $8 but takes 10 times less time to install and there's no chemicals gasses or solder the price of the piping per linear foot is also a lot less which is why you'd save money on materials using the Evo PEC system like I said before I'll be making a separate comparison video on these when I have a bit of free time another thing that's really neat about these brass push fittings is the fact that you could easily transition from one type of pipe to another so let's say you want to go from copper to PEX just connect them together and you're good to go there's no fussing or doubting about if it'll work or not and the last Pro is the fact that that could be installed with leftover water in the pipe if ever you've tried soldering with a continuous flow of water due to a faulty shutoff valve you know very well it can't be done and this is where the sharkbite shine special tools and techniques exist a counteract this problem but our time-consuming and pricey here's a good demonstration of one being installed under pressure it's super easy to do now on to the cons the first one that comes to mind is the o-ring and its longevity these EPDM or rings are made to last a long time if they were installed correctly but the fact that they've only been on the market for 20 years remains a talking point on if they're really reliable or not here's a quote from a sharkbite rep concerning my interrogation that states that the o-rings are resistant to chlorine and chloramine but it still doesn't answer the question of how long they will last if you have a water well of course chlorine isn't a problem secondly is the fact that they are reusable but to a certain extent the o-ring inside the fitting is lubricated so it doesn't roll out of place when the pipe is inserted but by reusing them four or five times this lubricant wears off and could possibly cause the boring to come out and leak if ever that does happen the o-ring can't be swapped out like John guest fitting so it's basically not good anymore and that's all I could think of in terms of downsides to using these so what's my opinion on these and what I actually use them personally the only thing that gives me the cold shoulder about these push fittings is their longevity we all know soldering has proven itself throughout the years to be a reliable way to connect copper pipes and glue for joining plastic pipes together like I mentioned above shark bites are approved nationally and meet all the requirements for behind wall applications so if you do choose to do so you are good to go what I personally use them underground no what I use them in a closed wall as a permanent solution probably not what I use them in an open ceiling or wall where they are accessible sure why not I guess it all depends on how much you believe in the product and how comfortable you are with it and to me it's just not there yet for concealed permanent and long-term applications even if they're approved to do so and there you have it now you know exactly how they work where to use them and all the pros and cons about them if you guys liked this video please give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends it only takes a few seconds and it helps tremendously and until the next one thanks for watching you

Channel: Got2Learn

Views: 3,303,606

Rating: 4.9117861 out of 5

Keywords: plumbing trick, pex plumbing installation, plumbing hacks, plumbing, plumbing videos, plumbing tools, plumbing repair, plumbing how to, plumbing video, how to do plumbing, how to repair plumbing, how to fix plumbing, how to solder, soldering copper pipe, how to solder copper pipe, how to sweat copper pipe, how to sweat copper fittings, got2learn, How to Solder Copper Pipe The CORRECT Way, sharkbite, sharkbite fitting, push fitting, life hacks, emergency flood repair, plumber

Id: V48FQBbeZhk

Length: 15min 21sec (921 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 05 2020