Sharkbite supply valves

[Moby]

Any reason not to use these for CPVC lines?

 

[FullySprinklered]

No, they will work fine on CPVC, though I've fallen out of love with that pipe

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

Deburr the end of the pipe so you don't damage the sealing O-rings in the things. If the end of the pipe where the sealing is done is scratched, it may nto seal. The o-rings need a smooth, undamaged section to seal to.

If you rotate the valve with enough torque, it can spin on the pipe - essentially it is being held in place by SS sharp points.

 

[Moby]

What has turned you against CPVC? I would prefer copper myself, but this is what is here already.

 

[hj]

It can get brittle with age and the glued joints CAN separate.

 

[FullySprinklered]

Exactly, HJ. One click of the ratchet cutters and the pipe breaks off leaving a ragged end. Pipe quality seems to vary a lot.

 

[Moby]

Doesn't UV exposure make it brittle? With no way to know what conditions it has gone through before we buy it, it does seem a poor choice. Mine was installed around ten years ago to replace 50 year old galvanized, sure would be nice if they had chosen copper in the first place. The house has only one bathroom and a kitchen, back to back, so the cost savings was probably quite trivial.
How do you feel about PEX? I don't have any, but thought I might use it to run a line out to my garden shed. Will it live up to the hype?

 

[Jadnashua]

PEX will be damaged by UV, but if you can shield it, it can last. A nice feature is that it can expand, and the tubing itself typically does not get damaged if the water in it freezes. That does not mean the same is true for fittings, but since PEX is available in suck large rolls, often you can get by with only a fitting at the beginning and another at the end of the run, since you can just bend it to route it around a corner, I have radiant heat, and there's a lot of PEX in my place (at least by my standards). It's not all that big, and there's probably close to 850' of the stuff, only less than 20' or so is for potable water, though.

Any pipe, PEX, copper, included, can have mice or other animals chew through it, sometimes, just because it is there. With both PEX and CPVC (more so on PEX) the ID of a standard copper tubing size will be smaller (the lower strength requires the wall thickness increase). So, with PEX, to maintain the same frictional losses and ultimate volume, you may need to jump up to the next size over copper.

 

[Moby]

Any idea why they do not make a version with a UV-protective coating?