Jordan Smith helps Matt see if a Sharkbite will cap off an active Leak! This could be an emergency method to fix a burst or frozen pipe if you didn’t have a way to shut off the water!
I can tell you, yes. At full city water pressure I installed a closed ball valve on a hot water line. I was in full panic mode when I cut a line that was supposed to be shut off. I reached for the first valve I could find and rammed it to the stops. Still holding after 6 years too!
I install a shutoff at every repair point so I can use the rest of the system during repairs and for future damage control. "Every cutoff gets a shutoff" is a good way to remember this. Of course the method shown is an emergency fix until water pressure can be shut off but the first part I install is always a valve (gate valves don't suffer from rubber seat deterioration hence their use in industry.)
Just used them for the first time a few weeks ago. It worked beautifully. As long as you get the burs off the end of the copper pipe after you cut it, it will work. It's important to get the burs off because there is a rubber gasket on the inside of the Sharkbite. So if you got a sharp bur on the end of the pipe it could cut the inner rubber gasket and prevent a good seal. Good luck!
How can I get rid of the bur with what tool I have a leak from a boiler and my father in-law can't find the shutoff valve it's an old house I need to get a cutting to to cut the copper off and install this sharkbite for a quick fix I'm not a plumber lol I'm just trynna help my father in-law
@@calisfinest7827 It's been a while, but I think I used a coarse sandpaper to smooth it out. Btw... the sharkbite is still holding up good. These things really do work if you install them right. Best of luck with your job.
Definitely with the valve open works better. I have had to do this a few times where either no one knew where the main shut off was or there was no access to the main shut off valve. Cool video
In some (most?) situations an even better solution to the hose bibb would be a ball valve. Not city water pressure, but I ran into this when our boiler was getting installed. City water was off, and part of the heating system was drained, but another part wasn't. The HVAC contractor started cutting into part that wasn't drained and by the time we realized where he was cutting there was water spraying everywhere. Another guy went to the truck and got a SharkBite ball valve. Initially the valve was closed when they tried putting it on, which didn't work too well, but then they opened it and it pushed right on. Since it has SharkBite connections on both sides they were able to leave it in place and plumb from there.
Done the exact same thing. We had a project where we were up sizing pipe and of course using the new pex pipe, but there was no shutoff on street. Works like a charm with valve in on position.
I used to work on water meters and we had the "oh shit" tools on every job. It had: 1 a piece of wood that you could hammer into the pipe and it works surprisingly well 2 a shark bite ball valve that makes more sense than the hose bib option you made 3 a regular compression fitting valve that I've personally installed without hand tools and it held water under full city pressure.
I worked in a power plant as an engineer where we couldn't shut down the heating system. I used a broomstick, ground it down to a cone shape hammered it in, not a drop of water came out once it swelled up. It held for 2 years under a 160#s pressure.
Best thing to have someone else do while you’re getting things together to make a live repair. Open ever tap in the building hot and cold to minimize the flow/leakage. Sends water down the drain versus out of the leak, plus makes a live repair easier.
I love this channel. I am not handy enough to ever build homes but I can do some basic home repair, etc. I'm just fascinated by the engineering and ingenuity that goes into building a home.
For all those people out there with broken interior system pipes, You use a shark bite with a ball valve threaded in line, be sure it is Teflon taped and is not going to leak, then once you get the leak stopped, turn off the valve and then you can immediately go on and fix your leak and have the water back up and running with in a few more minutes. If you use a hose bib, the leak is stopped but you can go no further.
I had never heard of Shark Bite stuff until a few years ago when I was updating some plumbing at my sister's house. Afterwards, I was almost hoping for a leak or two. They're too much fun to use.
I work utilities for the city and we sometimes use them on live repairs for 3/4 and 1” service lines on our side of the meter. We have a cupling version that goes from pvc to cts (poly pipe).We take a measurement, add the shark bite to our poly with a curbstop attached to the other end. Open the curbstop, and put the pvc end of the shark bite to our service line, Close the curbstop, then re-attache the meter. Sometimes they will have a slight leak once they’re on. But for the most part they work in high pressure, live repairs.
Both guys were hilarious. Just the expressions on Jordan's face had me crackin up! I was actually wondering if a shark bite cap could do that too. Was also brilliant adding the water valve to the shark bite coupling to shut the blast of water off. Very professional but adding the humor made for a great video. Also a good duo. I'll be subscribing. 😎👌
True in the field story here. I once snapped a line off under a sink in a situation where I could not get to the water meter to shut it off. I stuck my finger in the line and held back the water (it was the hot side and was incredibly painful) I was totally panicked, it was 2am, I was on a third floor condo in a "Garden" type converted Apartment Complex in NJ. Anyway, I happened to have a 1/2" compression ball valve in my toolbox in the next room. I mentally planned out my move and let go, ran to the next room, got the valve and 2 adjustable wrenches and tire add back into the kitchen, stuck the OPEN ball valve on the pipe and got to tightening, as soon as it started to squeek I closed the valve and tightened it the rest of the way. Maybe 15 gallons of HOT water was on the floor that I cleaned up and after that, defeated and soaking wet and with scalds all over me I left...because fuck that I had enough at that point and it was time to call it a day lol. Ever since then I always carried 2 compression ball valves and when SharkBites became common I switched them out to SharkBite ball valves and a couple 3/4 and 1/2 caps. They are in my common box that I bring on every job. I recommend every professional keep those with them on every job in case of emergency
Love the story. Good job on handling that. Definitely a stressful situation. Anyone who has seen a wide open residential pipe at full blast wether 1/2 or 1 inch knows that had to be stressfull.
This was very helpful! I had intended to install a fixture with a shark bite ball valve anyway but was worried about installing it on a pressurized line. I see now it is doable. I had also planned to close the ball valve at first. Now I see leaving it open is the smart move. Thanks!
Ditto on using a ball valve. Sharkbite makes a slip fit with an integrated ball valve shutoff. Great product. I recently used one to add a shutoff on the cold water supply line to a hot water heater, worked like a charm. (How does one neglect to put a shutoff on the cold water supply to a water heater? Dang house flippers.)
@EPLURiBusUNUM I keep hearing about shark bite fittings failing, I'd like an opinion from someone that uses them often, I'm thinking of using one on a 1/4 inch line I cant solder, do they hold up in the long run?
I like the SharkBite pass through valve. It has a SharkBite on both ends so after shutting off the valve to stop the leak you can run and connect plumbing and just leave it.
THAT THING REALLY WORKS, I live in Puerto Rico and i get a shark bite from home depot just to fix a pipe i got outside my house, hurricane Maria came with 200 mph winds and plus flying debris, that thing withstand everything and i still using now. Great product.
I just did this yesterday when i was hooking up my washing machine, the hot water shutoff did not work and i didn't realize until i had cut the pipe. I got soaked but it worked and is holding strong. Great video!
I came here from a video were A plumber named Gilbert flooded a whole apartment from a leak that sprayed hot water all over his back and the apartment complex! I guess he schould have watched this video first. Great video.now this is a life hack that is worth a fortune.
All praise sharkbite! I rehab houses and i couldnt count how many times, "sharkbite" saved my ass. Further more, ive been able to do projects that i couldnt do or wasnt safe for me to do without a shark bite fitting. For example, i had to change a copper water valve the other day. Since it was copper piping it certainly. Needed to be sotered, if you ever had to do plumbing work under a kitchen\bathroom sink you know how small of a space you have under there, so sothering under there would of been dangerous and very difficult. But with a sharkbite water valve i had it done in 2 seconds with out burning my face off with a torch. All praise sharkbite😀
I used a 1/2 " ball valve on my boiler and I did get wet when I cut the line, but I did this to install a water pressure reducing boiler feed valve. It is made by Cash Acme A-89, with 1/2" Sharkbite fittings set for 14 psi. I also installed a 1/2" Sharkbite back flow valve to keep bad water from going into my drinking water. I love these Sharkbite fittings. Great Video's you have, very helpful, Thanks.
I don't think you guys anywhere near 80psi but I can confirm they work in emergency situations. These Sharkbites have saved the day many times when Ive attended frozen/burst pipes, the biggest one being 90psi on a 1" copper line in a restaurant. I probably saved them $15,000 in flood damage while everyone else was running around in a panic with buckets trying to find the main. I now carry every Sharkbite ball-valve up to 1.5" in my service truck.
when you cut copper tube, the end is very sharp. Trying to force anything on to the end of copper tube (and slipping) is a good way to send your helper to an urgent care for stitches.
Incredibly over thought. The inside of the cut is sharp, yes. But likelihood it will injure someone (worse than it would if sanded smooth) is not accurate. Just an Indiana licensed plumbers opinion.
@@mitchjones2821 Over thought?...I didn't give it any thought...I've seen it happen...it's a knuckle buster to try to do what's portrayed here...any plumber knows that. So, you are not a plumber....you probably have clean drains and such...Hand me a set of plans and I'll plumb that huge/fancy custom house by myself, start to finish. 1,000's of houses
I’ve done it before, I was absolutely soaked, and just to put the cherry on top the house was demolished with the main exposed to the pressure was coming directly from its aces point
We work in excavation, always carry a couple of sharkbite ball valves, 1/2", 3/4", 1". I've found water lines for other property's on my digs. They work well for temporary situations until we find the valve in the street.
Thank you very much! You helped me a lot! I had to fix pressured main water line coming to the house. The valve outside was corroded and I wasn’t able to close it, and I didn’t want to break it either. Since the damage was before the main valve inside the house, I did your way by cutting the pex pipe and installing the new shark-byte valve. Problem solved!!!
Did it yesterday. Wanted to terminate two lines to the shower. It made the place a little wet, but its already a disaster zone right now. Cut pex, stick open valve on the pipe, shut valve off. It even cleaned some drywall dust off the floor. DOUBLE BENEFIT!
About 100 comments on here that can't understand the difference between pressure and flow. Judging the pressure by what is "dribbling" out of a line cannot be done. As he goes to cap the pipe the pressure in the line will equalize to the pressure in his water main. For those curious he will need 16 pounds to overcome the water pressure on a 1/2" diameter line and 35 pounds on a 3/4". Plus whatever friction the sharkbite itself has.
Handful of Tranquility Whoa, whoa, whoa... There ain't no way I was struggling that hard to overcome no measly 16 lbs of force! That's just...that's...that sounds about right actually.
I made my hose bibs the same way, with three feet of pex and a Sharkbite valve. Now I can disconnect the hosebibs and replace when needed, and they won't split if they freeze. I also keep a couple Sharkbite ballvalves on hand for leaks, and it's saved my butt.
I had an exact situation like that. I opened all the faucets to reduce the resistance, cut the pipe and slid on the cap. When I say I opened all the faucets, I mean there were 7 faucets and i had them 100% opened, before I cut the pipe to slide on the cap. Years ago, in a new subdivision, I was swapping around a meter, to track the watering of the trees we had planted on the lots. Low and behold, the meter and valve unscrewed. First I thought the pipe broke, then I pulled up the meter and there was the valve on it. I removed the valve from the meter, opened that valve and back screwed it on, until I felt the threads click, then I screwed it in the correct direction to thread it on, shut the valve and sat there so happy, I was almost crying. Then I went on with moving the meter to the next lot to water it's tree. We payed the bill on that meter, that is why I had to move that meter to where ever i was watering.
Just had a plumber do this on a 3/4” pex line that I cut into in my condo. One meter for 6 units, water company would not shut it off because the service was not in my name. HOA was useless. Plumber cut the line, shoved an open Sharkbite ball valve on then closed the valve. Full flow, 70 psi. Pissed me off that I didn’t think of it myself.
That's how we drain and pull fire sprinkler heads. Use your second method with a half inch pipe and a ball valve. So much easier to get the pipe threaded in as water flows thru it and you're not working against it.
I just used one of these literally a few minutes before I posted. I was able to shut the main off though. But the valve that fed from my house to my outdoor irrigation would not shut off. Even when closed water was going past and overflowing. I don't even use the outdoor irrigation system, so I cut the pipe at the valve, cleaned the paint off and shoved on a cap. Seems to be holding perfectly, and now I am not wasting water.
@@216trixie Yes.....usually multiple o-rings....they certainly have there place....most will be dripping into a sink, toilet, tub or shower and goes down the drain..... and if they leak onto the floor or cabinet you can...in most cases... turn them off at the angle stop...there are no guarantees in plumbing....but using shark-bite increases the chance for catastrophic damage (blow apart)....UPC National Code prohibits any rubber sealed fittings inside of walls or under slabs. Must be threaded, welded or the like....rigid. Otherwise has to be deemed accessible. (outside of slab/wall)
I just did my water main line this REALLY WORKS!!! I couldn’t reach and shut off my water curb valve so I had to make an executive decision I REALLY TOOK A CHANCE BUT.... I DID IT AND IT WORK!!! Now I can do anything around the house 😊
In the UK, we've been using pushfit fittings and pex pipe for many years. Our most commonly used brands are Hep20 and JG Speedfit. Those Sharkbites are identical to another commonly used brand called Yorkshire Tectite Brass. I still use copper and soldered fittings as well as compression, but have absolutely no issues in using pushfit systems too. I'll use the pipe system that is best for the job and don't have any hangups about using pushfit. The only pushfit failures I've seen are from incorrect use by people who couldn't be bothered looking up the manafacturers instructions before use.
The shatkbites work good when properly installed. As in copper pipe de-bured, copper pipe cleaner with sandpaper, a sharkbite depth tool so you know you have sharkbite ushed on all the way. I get so many calls because of contractors install sharkbite couplers, shut offs, elbows incorrectly. Then the customer calls them back up and of course the contractor does not bother to answer the call or go back and fix his mistakes, so they call me a real licenses master plumber to fix there mess ups. To many contractors out there in 2023 who just don't care and do really bad work and never go back to fix there mistakes, it's a shame but it's reality. I seen one contractor at a restaurant in the men's bathroom when I was on lunch break use a hacksaw to cut copper pipe then tried to push a sharkbite on the pipe , I couldn't believe it.
I LITERALLY just had a fitting failure in my wall last night and used a sharkbite cap to alleviate the issue until I can assess all my plumbing. The timing here is amazing. I even wondered the same thing as I was adding the cap: "could I do this with the water on?" Haha.
This happened to me today! Haha. I was going through cutting and capping all the cold lines in 8 offices inside the wall. I was only doing colds because the cold was shut off and the hot was not at the time. Unfortunately in the 3rd office I cut the hot line on accident!!(they were reveresed in 1 room) Instant water shooting everywhere I was trying to plug it with my hand haha. Cut my hand as it was fresb cut copper. Finally grabbed a shark bite and shoved it on. However the line was 12" off the ground and was awkward to get on. Thank God it worked!
One time during a freeze I used a pex ball valve to stop a wide open bursted pipe . There was some recent road work done and we could not find the meter because it was covered up we found out the next day after contacting the city. It was easy so easy I could not even believe it.
in the end I have to find out what these devices are......appreciate the vid!! building a house soon, so any tricks are helpfull. while I may not be dealing with that many leaks, those fittings look way easier than sweating in silver. I did not know sharkbites existed, thanks!
"Winter time in Texas, pretty cold outside" ???!!! Your kidding right? What do you call cold, 64 F Ya"ll need to come up to Vancouver in winter time. LOL
Had a house one time with broken shutoff at the street.Used tubecutter on 1 inch incoming,full pressure came out,I was ready with a shark bite ball valve...few seconds of spray,got it on,then no problem.
Had a compression shut off come loose just above the meter . TRIED to push it back on , getting wet , but after a few seconds the same reality popped . Opened the valve , pushed it on, tightened it down and turned off the flow . (I think Matt realized this before he sent Jordan out the first time )🤐
Sharkbite 1/2" one end 3/4" on the other with a ball valve in center is in the door of my service truck always, "or in my plumbing box while plumbing an active job", just incase. Save a ton of damage if i ever have to use it. Tip of the day!
I made due with the vice grips I had in my pocket one time while doing demolition. I pinched the pipe shut and it worked but I got wet before I got done.
+Darren Woloshyn No doubt! I'm sure you folks are no stranger to sub-zero (Fahrenheit) temperatures at this time of year! My post is actually a little bit of a tease to the Texans, because we're having a fairly unusual January warmup in WI. It's not bad at all -- we were actually above freezing today. But it'll be (at best) 10 or 20F everyday again, in just a couple of days.
Really? For the last 6 years I've used HUNDREDS of these fittings and I've never had a leak. I've seen plenty of copper sweat fittings looking nice and corroded though.
sharkbites are sealed by a SINGLE o-ring with very low pressure (by design). They are complete garbage if dealing with liquids that can corrode them (water) or high pressure.
