Fridge with water hookup Q.

[Boar]

wife got here dream fridge, with water, hook is supposed to be a snap. ok aint bad. nowthe problem i have is to.tap.into the cold line. the i mstal.calls for the saddle puncture thing to be afixed to the water line, i just reserve puncturing the water line. cause if things arnt working, or installed properly, i have to shut of main line and be with out water til i put in a compression valve. tell me do thes things work. pros.and cons??

I haven't punctured yet. cant quite bring myself to do till I get some reviews.

[RebelSS]

Good thing waiting, Boar.  OK, ya asked.....they aren't recommended. There's far better. From my buddy, the master plumber.  My uncle too...master plumber for 60 years. They have a far higher chance of leaking than a regular valve.

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Take it off.  Shut the water off.  Throw a T on with a shut off valve and install it however you want after that.  Then worst case you can quarantine the leak if you get one.  

[LindellProStaf]

Yup Reb is right.  I used to work for an appliance store 30 + years ago and we used those quick things all of the time.  A cool quick thing at that time.  Lot's of them end up leaking.  Cut the copper and put in a T and a valve on the side to your fridge.  Then plumb down to that size of fitting.  Now you can shut your water off when the ice maker conks out.  We want a frig with an ice maker too.  

[Boar]

whew!! thanks guys!! i knew i needed to wait.

ok next question, how coper to cut out to in stall a compresion valve T

[Boar]

ha they arnt re comended, all retailers do, hardware store ect. lol but i just had a bad feeling of having no way to isolate a leek.

 

 

[RebelSS]

Dial 1-800-Plumber.   

3 minutes ago, Boar said:

ha they arnt re comended, all retailers do, hardware store ect. lol but i just had a bad feeling of having no way to isolate a leek.

 

 

When the water's spraying in yer face, yer pretty close.  

[LindellProStaf]

Find someone who can solder it for you.

 

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Does the pipe have any wiggle at the top or bottom?  If so, two cuts 1/2 inch apart or so with a pipe cutter(4 bucks at the store) clean up the ends with a wire brush then pop you T on.  I don't use compression on a line like that usually.  Just solder it on.  Heard good and bad about the snakebite connectors too.

 

LPS We seem to be timing our posts pretty well!

Edited August 9, 2016 by Moon Lake Refuge

[RebelSS]

Emery cloth the fittings and flux, flux, flux!!!  Heat to cherry red and let it suck that solder in!!!  

 

O poo, you guys beat me!  

[LindellProStaf]

And must be dry.  Actually soldering is kind of fun Boar.  Just need a propane torch and you are set.  

[Moon Lake Refuge]

Also they make pre soldered connections.  I usually add a bit just because I dont trust myself with the amount they add but they are good for telling you when your at the right temp at least.  If you havent done much before with T's I usually fit all three and do them all at once so I dont have to reheat my connections.

[RebelSS]

44 minutes ago, LindellProStaf said:

And must be dry.  Actually soldering is kind of fun Boar.  Just need a propane torch and you are set.  

That could  get  dangerous with Boar......*POP*WHOOOOSH*  

[spearchucker]

I have had good luck with the Sharkbite snap together connectors.  A little expensive but for one connection it won't kill you.  They work on PVC or copper.  Make one cut and snap it together and you are done.

[delcecchi]

We have the saddle thing for our icemaker and it has been fine for years.

[rossco1418]

Here is a picture of mine. I used a shark bite tee to a copper pipe shutoff valve

 

Edited August 10, 2016 by rossco1418

[rossco1418]

I previously had a saddle valve at my old house that hadn't been hooked up in a long time. Long story short is when I went to hook up the waterline it broke and shot water all over myself and the basement. They may not fail in the next 10 years but will eventually. 

[PurpleFloyd]

2 hours ago, spearchucker said:

I have had good luck with the Sharkbite snap together connectors.  A little expensive but for one connection it won't kill you.  They work on PVC or copper.  Make one cut and snap it together and you are done.

I agree. On bigger jobs soldering is the way to go but this situation is perfect for sharkbites or the John Guest fittings. 

[Boar]

big question, should I go on the cold line just abouve the water hearter/ where is the ideal place to place a vaulve.

rosco, how you attach that valuce to the copper was it threaded.?

[rossco1418]

I'd put it as close to the fridge access as you can. It doesn't draw much water so it shouldn't be an issue where you put it on the cold water side. 

[rossco1418]

Not threaded. That was a compression fitting on the valve. Basically it has a collar that you put on and tighten the nut and it compresses the collar

Edited August 10, 2016 by rossco1418

[RebelSS]

Just a suggestion...I'd put it where there's lots of easy access, and won't cause a disaster if it starts to leak. 

[PurpleFloyd]

One other suggestion is that I would install a reverse osmosis unit to feed the fridge. They can be purchased relatively cheap on the interwebs and will give you great tasting water and crystal clear ice cubes. 

[Pat K]

I'd recommend a copper line instead of the plastic one. When I inspected flooring for warranty and insurance claims I saw  lot of damage caused by those plastic lines cracking behind the fridge and flooding kitchens.

[cavalierowner]

Yep, I learned my lesson with plastic, but it took a while. When it developed a pinhole for the third time in about 9 years, I replaced the whole thing with copper. And yes, it was the correct type of plastic.

Edited August 12, 2016 by cavalierowner

[DANR]

On 8/11/2016 at 8:12 PM, PurpleFloyd said:

One other suggestion is that I would install a reverse osmosis unit to feed the fridge. They can be purchased relatively cheap on the interwebs and will give you great tasting water and crystal clear ice cubes. 

The only problem with RO ice is that if you don't use a lot of ice, you need to clean out the line often and disinfect it with bleach. Since the chlorine is filtered out by the RO unit, you can end up with musty tasting ice after time.

Edited September 6, 2016 by DANR