Customer Reviews

Cash Acme 22222 Shark Bite Push-Fittings Ball Valve, 1/2-Inch

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I am by no means a professional plumber, but I do not hesitate to at least try to tackle my own home repairs first. I had to replace a cheap water heater that was put in by the contractor that built the subdivision, a fairly simple job. However, the cold-water shut-off valve was very close to the water heater and required that it had to be cut off to get the new water heater in. Not anticipating this, I did not have my blowtorch handy to solder in a new valve and I could not find it to save my life.

Being too cheap to by a new blowtorch kit when I know I have a perfectly good one at home, I asked my local home improvement store what I could use that would not require soldering. The gentleman introduced me to the SharkBite fitted valve.

The employee demonstrated how it worked for me in the store. To engage the fitting to the copper pipe (or other materials from my understanding), simply make sure the pipe is relatively burr free and press the fitting on until it stops. Repeat with the opposite side and viola the job is done.

When the product was demonstrated in the store, I was less than impressed. The valve seemed loose and rotated freely, but the employee was a plumber by trade and said they were great so I thought I would give it a try. I cut the pipes to length and inserted the valve. The first attempt leaked, but thankfully I had bought the removal tool. I removed the pipe on the leaky side, cleaned it again, and tried once more. With the second attempt, the connection was leak free.

Once connected, the valve rotates freely and prior to being stabilized with piping, feels a bit sloppy. To my surprise, the fitting held tight and once the pipes were clean, it worked great.

If you are scared to solder, the repair is in an area where the heat from a blowtorch could cause some damage, or need a quick fix and you do not have all the proper tools, this is an excellent choice. I would highly recommend purchasing a SharkBite Demount Disconnect clip as well, incase the fitting needs to be removed or a correction needs to be made. The clips are size specific and cheap, and could very well save a trip to the hardware store or another Amazon order.

I put two of these in, for hot and cold feeds to my laundry room. They are very easy to install compared to solder type valves.

However, one failed immediately. It had a defect in the seal. I got it replaced, and the new one worked fine.

Five months later, one failed, spraying lots of water out of the seal around the incoming pipe. I could get it to stop by pushing the pipes into the valve, but as soon as I let go, it would leak again.

I will never buy any plumbing device with this kind of "bite" connector ever again.