Ok, I just buried 2 Shark bite elbows in the ground at my home, feeding an exterior hose bib. I'm going to give them the test of time. Anyone have any horror stories?
Shark bite fittings, the good, the bad, and the Ugly!
Calidecks
1 - 20 of 59 Posts
Feeling lazy, eh? I guess it's Friday.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
It really wasn't that. The last time I soldered on that line my dog got really sick. So I thought what a great time to see if these things work. And I can keep my dog healthy. It's my home so if it fails it's all mine.
Joined
·
2,403 Posts
I honestly have never heard anything bad happening. I always crimp unless its a repair tough to get to.
As long as you flushed it out afterward, I really doubt the soldering had anything to do with it.
I've accepted sharkbites to the point that I'll grudgingly use them in a location easily and often seen, but won't put them anywhere else.
My only failure story is where I sweated a new joint 4-5" away from a sharkbite, with a pair of vise-grips on the copper to act as a heat sink. Two days later, the sharkbite was dripping. Replaced it with a new sharkbite and that one dripped too, so... I eliminated it. Shrug.
Joined
·
16,795 Posts
It was not long ago they were stamping the packets of these with not for concealed use. I used the original speedfit versions in the UK. Had a few failures here and there but it's their long term use that's in question. On hot lines the irings are meant to have a 15 year life span! What's that mean when a whole house is plumbed wit them. It ain't gonna be good even if they last 20 years.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
Thanks tin. Yeah, I'm a little reluctant to blame it on the flux, but she was very ill and just the slightest chance of that happening again makes me just use the shark bites. I'm thinking heck what a good opportunity to see how long these last and how well they work underground. The manufacturer claims they are perfectly fine underground. So I have the test pipe. I'm going to dig it up every year or so and inspect them.
Joined
·
4,818 Posts
A weekend-warrior friend of mine used Sharkbite to hook up both sides of his water heater. I warned him but I'll wait to see what happens. This has been more than a year since I've been to his house. I'll have to check up on him.
Joined
·
18,380 Posts
They don't like freezing temps. I found out the hard way with around 150 bucks in fittings. Now everything is crimped.
You probably don't have that problem down there, so you should be good.
You probably don't have that problem down there, so you should be good.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
I had to keep raising her licker as she grew from a little twerp. I just kept adding pipe with shark bites. Until the last time I thought "ok she's done growing". Weighing in at 175lbs! So I thought I can now permanently solder her licker. Well the next day she got ill. I even flushed the line. I was thinking maybe I didn't flush good enough and she swallowed some flux. Then I bought that new hose reel and tied into her water supply line. Couldn't bring myself to soldering the line. Just a little gun shy.
Me three, but if the one I have on a .75" pipe dumps it, there'll be a lot of water in the basement and hope I'm around and not away. I think people would be surprised to learn they're only supposed to use a sharkbite once, so for temporary fixes/rerouting, that could be somewhat expensive.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
Yep, here's what it says in the FAQ on their website
*Is a SharkBite fitting re-usable?
A: *Yes,*fittings can be reused for testing purposes, but any fitting used repeatedly for testing must not then be used in a permanent installation.
Joined
·
4,054 Posts
Use La-Co flux, you can eat it.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
I knew I should of asked you guys.
Joined
·
72,840 Posts
Is it possible the water from her licker is pulled back through from the pipe the hose is attached to? I ask this because that hose pipe is exposed to the heat. Although it's on the other side of her Line that's actually mostly underground.
There's a tee one side goes to the hose and the other to her licker
There's a tee one side goes to the hose and the other to her licker
Joined
·
339 Posts
Ive got two sharkbites here at home buried going on 4 years no problems whatsoever.
I have seen them in clients basements and all dry so I cant imagine it wouldnt hold.
I have seen them in clients basements and all dry so I cant imagine it wouldnt hold.
Joined
·
124,300 Posts
Sounds like what the anti-syphon spigot is designed to alleviate.
Joined
·
16,795 Posts
Maybe if there was a burst main in your street it could happen but highly unlikely in normal situations.
Why not compression? I still have not warmed up to sharkbites or crimps. Accessible stuff I guess is would. My plumber insists on pex/crimped.
Im sure it will be fine as long as the plastic collar doesnt degrade in the sun. If its buried the dirt will likely prevent future removal.
Im sure it will be fine as long as the plastic collar doesnt degrade in the sun. If its buried the dirt will likely prevent future removal.
1 - 20 of 59 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
