shark fittings

Users who are viewing this thread

corney

New Member
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
Ottawa On. Canada
I'm wondering if I've been too fussy in cleaning the pipe ends of some older 1/2' copper pipe that has been in stock for a while before installing shark fittings.

I've been cleaning the pipe ends as I would for solder but one of my chums tells me that this is an"Over-Kill waste of time as this practice will not make the shark connection anymore water-tight.

Any one had any similar experiences.....thanks.....corney
 

benbecker

New Member
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Ohio
I would say that it is not overkill. The sharkbite fittings seal using a locking collet (metal) and a sealing o-ring. If the pipe has any sharp edges / rough surfaces, etc. it could damage the o-ring and cause it to not seal properly against the pipe surface.

I say keep doing what you are doing.

Ben
 

Jadnashua

Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Messages
32,771
Reaction score
1,191
Points
113
Location
New England
I assume you mean a SharkBite fitting (and this is true for any similar fitting that uses an O-ring to seal)? The surface should be clean of crud like price tags, glue, UPC labels, but it won't seal any better or worse if it is clean verses polished. What DOES make a difference is if you use their deburring tool to make sure that the fitting's O-rings don't get sliced when you put the fitting on. That tool cleans any burrs from the edge and puts a micro-bevel on it helping to ensure the O-ring stays intact.
 

SHR

Member
Messages
140
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Location
Minnesota
jadnashua your signature states you are not a pro but your answer is right on. Corney follow jadnashua's advice. Do not sand the ends of your copper. Make sure the ends are clean of dirt, solder and corrosion but you do not want to sand any more than necessary to remove foreign material. Tarnished is OK. Sanding the ends of your copper often leads to leaks with the Sharkbite fittings because small grooves are left in the copper and the o-ring can not seal properly. De-burring is extremely important and the Sharkbite de-burring tool does work great for this. So, in short stop sanding.
 
Top
Hey, wait a minute.

This is awkward, but...

It looks like you're using an ad blocker. We get it, but (1) terrylove.com can't live without ads, and (2) ad blockers can cause issues with videos and comments. If you'd like to support the site, please allow ads.

If any particular ad is your REASON for blocking ads, please let us know. We might be able to do something about it. Thanks.
I've Disabled AdBlock    No Thanks