Refrigerator Water/Ice line install - DIY

[pbc]

Hey guys, looking for some help installing a new fridge. The fridge is a Maytag 36" (link) that has a water and ice maker.

I had my basement finished recently, and they let a Pex tube sticking out where the fridge is meant to go, fridge unfortunately took 9 months to get here with Covid. Just curious what I will need to purchase from homedepot.ca to install this puppy, with the stay at home order right now everything is closed outside of curbside pick up which is a real pain!

Back of fridge:



This is a picture of the pex tube sticking out:



Looks like it is connected to the kitchen sink cold water line (sorry this pic is from a video I took before they drywalled):



I don't see a water shut off valve anywhere, so presumably I will need to shut the main water line off?

Looks like I need to cut the pex much shorter coming out of the wall as well and purchase some sort of compression fitting?

Any help greatly appreciated!

 

[breplum]

This is what should have been installed
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBi...ox-with-Water-Hammer-Arrestor-25033/205545581I will use my anger management training to refrain from calling your contractors by their rightful descriptive moniker.

 

[pbc]

This is what should have been installed
https://www.homedepot.com/p/SharkBi...ox-with-Water-Hammer-Arrestor-25033/205545581I will use my anger management training to refrain from calling your contractors by their rightful descriptive moniker.

How reliable are those Sharkbite push to connects btw?

Are hammer arrestors typically used in this application (fridge water line)?

 

[arctic bill]

How reliable are those Sharkbite push to connects btw?

Are hammer arrestors typically used in this application (fridge water line)?

BY code water hammer arrestors are required when solenoids ( fast closing valves ) are installed

 

[JG plumbing]

Not a fan of sharkbite. Do you have the tools to connect pex?

 

[breplum]

code says water hammer arrestors on all solenoid operated appliances (ie
DW, washing machine, icemaker).
The reality is that properly installed pex can absorb hydraulic shock nicely so you be the judge.
Sharkbite connectors are rated for hiding behind sheetrock permanently, and I am a multi-decade happy user with no reported issues.
Installation details are critical, namely, full insertion. That is solved by making a mark on the tube to indicate full depth, then assuring that mark is in place when finished, and proper support without stress on the connection.

 

[JG plumbing]

I have had them leak on multiple occasions.

I actually had one that leaked intermittently which I still can't explain.

Plus they work loose over time due to being dependent on griping the outside of the pipe.

 

[pbc]

That makes me nervous since it will be behind drywall and I won't know it's leaking until it's way too late.

BTW, someone also mentioned how the AAV was installed incorrectly as it is top high and now behind a wall that has backsplash all the way up to the ceiling. When/if it fails, going to be fun replacing it.

 

[CT18]

It's not a matter of it, those fail without fail. You need an access because it is going to let sewer gas into the structure.

 

[JG plumbing]

Yes this person needs to run a proper vent while they are opened up. No reason to use the aav when you have walls open.

 

[pbc]

So when it fails, will it be obvious even though it is behind drywall?

Its actually behind the drawers of the kitchen cabinets. I can probably cut and put in an access door, and when it fails I assume I can cut the pipe much Lower (but still above the trap level) and just cap it with a new AAV?

Outside of a bad smell, any other issues when an AAV fails? Leak/flooding in particular?

Pretty annoying when you hire a professional GC/basement finisher because you want a pro to do the right thing and then you only find this out when you post on a forum.

I wasn't even aware AAVs existed. Thought you always had to ultimately pipe out of the house or tie into an existing line that went out.

 

[pbc]

Yes this person needs to run a proper vent while they are opened up. No reason to use the aav when you have walls open.

Walls are closed up, basement is now fully finished as of last Oct. I took videos of everything as they were constructing just so I could see where stuff was.

 

[Tom the Elder]

JG plumbing and Breplum report very different experiences with Sharkbite. It would be interesting if these two members could continue the discussion to try to identify the source of the difference. For example:

JG, were failures with PEX but never PVC? How many uses and what percentage were failures?

Breplum, is your experience with PEX but never copper? Wide range of sizes?

It might well be that Sharkbite is excellent for some applications but lousy for others. It would be a huge help to a DIYer like myself to figure this out instead of just leaving it. Thanks.

 

[JG plumbing]

The failures: my dad bought a house and decided not to wait for me to do the plumbing. He tried having his workers solder, becuse he hates pex. The soldering didn't go well. They said f it and bought sharkbite. The problem is they don't know how to measure and fit pipe and they were hooking onto existing situations. They covered these sharkbite fittings in the wall and a week later we found wet spots in the drywall. We cut out where we thought it might be coming from... No leak. Then we we were sitting there scratching our heads and all of the sudden the fitting pissed a mouses bladder worth of water from the top. It did this about every 15 min or so then stopped for an hour then did it some more we tried twisting and shoving it on harder, lol. I cut the pipe out and soldered the rest. I checked the fit and couldn't find why it did this. I'm sure if I sent it into the manufacturer they would say it was a faulty one.

Failure. I was sent to a house to change out a water heater. Whomever was there prior to me redid all of the near piping with b pex. This was a swap out. "Go to the house change it out and come right back." Lucky for me they used sharkbite I could just pull the piping apart and put it back right? Well I had a hell of a time getting these back together. I marked the pipe to depth and pushed them in. Why weren't they holding? I think it was becuse the integral stiffeners were cocked and not allowing a seal although the pipe was going to "proper depth". I got them to stop leaking but I had to twist them (there were two real problem fittings that were giving me fits) into the right position and for all I know right after I left they started dripping again. I wouldn't be at all surprised. If it did no one would likley know or care becuse it was an old ladies rental house. I ended quitting working for that company becuse they pressured us to work this way and I'm a detail person mostly.

Last failure. I went to a house that burned down. They saved the water lines and capped some of them temporarily with sharkbite caps becuse the new Prefab house was coming in a few weeks. It got cold. A cap that wasn't leaking on a copper line all of the sudden started leaking. It could have been due to hydraulic pressure due to freezing, but I popped it off and sweat a cap back on. It held fine.


There have also been reports of houses getting cold and sharkbites blowing off and ruining the house. I read about it on another forum. A supplier that sells hydronic equipment told the story, it was his neighbor.

 

[Tom the Elder]

JG, your failures 1 and 3 sound like they may well be operator error. For the second failure, did you re-use the existing sharkebite fittings or was it new ones you installed that failed? If they were re-used maybe Sharkebites should be considered single use.

You also mention hearing about failures possibly related to cold weater. That is not a concern for me (in CA) but if a cause of failure could sure be a problem for others. I hope other members will describe their experience with Sharkbite in cold areas.

 

[JG plumbing]

JG, your failures 1 and 3 sound like they may well be operator error. For the second failure, did you re-use the existing sharkebite fittings or was it new ones you installed that failed? If they were re-used maybe Sharkebites should be considered single use.

You also mention hearing about failures possibly related to cold weater. That is not a concern for me (in CA) but if a cause of failure could sure be a problem for others. I hope other members will describe their experience with Sharkbite in cold areas.

I agree with most of your comment. Here's the problem. All of those instances had a non leak to start with (including the time where I kept fiddling with them). A fitting that leaks after you see it not leak, will never be something that should) be considered acceptable. The sharkbite grabs the outside of the pipe so changes in the pipe don't affect the fitting in kind. The surfaces are never in enough contact to consider them joined in my opinion. If you walk away from something doubting it all of the time that's no way to live. I'm pretty sure sharkbite says they are reusable. If what you say is true (that maybe they shouldn't reused) then what else does sharkbite claim that isn't reliable?

In what world is a rubber seal cosidered something you should bury in a wall?

 

[Tom the Elder]

In what world is a rubber seal cosidered something you should bury in a wall?

I am not a plumber but that sounds like a very good question.