PEX/copper push fitting good enough for garage hose bib line?

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Acordeon

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We've got a line that runs in the wall of our garage to a hose bib at the front of the garage. It's a copper line and has a ball valve close to the start of the run. This winter the pipe burst during very cold weather, and I want to replace the run (just downstream of the valve) with PEX, which I'm hoping will have more cold resistance. Thinking PEX A. A relative has some PEX tools I can use.

Question is whether a push fitting is good enough to join the copper to the PEX. I have never soldered pipe, and am leery of trying it here. The pipe is running through holes in studs, and I am worried about burning my garage down (in addition to just doing it wrong and ending up with a leak).

I've heard some advice saying don't use push fittings if you plan to put sheetrock over it. What say you all?

And is there a particular brand of push fitting you would recommend?

I could look into not walling it up. I need to keep the ball valve exposed in one stud bay anyway, I could put the fitting in the next bay over and keep them both open.

Thanks in advance for any advice!
 

Terry

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A Sharkbite push fitting will be fine. I use the plastic pop-in wall covers. They have them in the 7" size.

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Acordeon

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Thanks Terry! So you mean like this guy here? https://www.lowes.com/pd/SharkBite-...-Connect-dia-Coupling-Push-Fitting/1000182685 Or is there a higher quality version of this out there?

I do notice that it says Minimum Working Temperature = 33 deg F. Does that just mean the water ain't gonna flow if it freezes? Or is this fitting likely to fail in a permanent way if it freezes? The whole point of this is to make it more forgiving to some cold winter nights, so don't want the fitting to be too much of a weak point.

I like the access panel suggestion, will look into that!

Thank you!
 

JoeJee

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Thanks Terry! So you mean like this guy here? https://www.lowes.com/pd/SharkBite-...-Connect-dia-Coupling-Push-Fitting/1000182685 Or is there a higher quality version of this out there?

I do notice that it says Minimum Working Temperature = 33 deg F. Does that just mean the water ain't gonna flow if it freezes? Or is this fitting likely to fail in a permanent way if it freezes? The whole point of this is to make it more forgiving to some cold winter nights, so don't want the fitting to be too much of a weak point.

I like the access panel suggestion, will look into that!

Thank you!

Pex has some forgiveness below 33 degrees. A sharkbite fitting will likely get pushed back/off and leak. Keep it warm (above freezing) and it can last a long time.
 

Reach4

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This winter the pipe burst during very cold weather, and I want to replace the run (just downstream of the valve) with PEX, which I'm hoping will have more cold resistance. Thinking PEX A. A relative has some PEX tools I can use.

Question is whether a push fitting is good enough to join the copper to the PEX. I have never soldered pipe, and am leery of trying it here. The pipe is running through holes in studs, and I am worried about burning my garage down (in addition to just doing it wrong and ending up with a leak).

I've heard some advice saying don't use push fittings if you plan to put sheetrock over it. What say you all?

And is there a particular brand of push fitting you would recommend?

I could look into not walling it up. I need to keep the ball valve exposed in one stud bay anyway, I could put the fitting in the next bay over and keep them both open.
Use a frost-free faucet.

This one is expansion/F1960 connection. There are alternatives. https://www.pexuniverse.com/1-2-pex...ti-siphon-frost-free-sillcock-lead-free-brass



This one is push-on Sharkbite. It is 12 inch long, but there are other lengths available.

Do slope the thing downward a bit toward the outside, and disconnect the hose before freezing weather.

Winthrop and Mazama WA get very cold, so would use longer versions. Redmond WA does not get so cold, so 6 inches would probably be fine.
 

Jadnashua

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While a frost-free silcock can help, if the pipe in the wall froze, that's irrelevant and won't! A frostfree silcock only helps from the outside valve inside the wall to where it shuts off...the rest of it is wet. Now, if you drain the pipe from the shutoff, that can help, but if that shutoff is still in the garage, it could freeze, too. To get that line to drain, it needs some slope to it, which often isn't done. Even a frost-free silcock must be installed properly with the designed slope, or it can retain water and fail, too.

Could you install another shutoff in conditioned space? Then, you could drain the entire line that goes through the garage.

Several companies make push on pipe fittings. Two I'm aware of are Watts and Sharkbite. Watts makes them in both plastic and brass, the brass should be very similar to the Sharkbite. I prefer the Sharkbite, but either should work.
 
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