SharkBite

SharkBite fittings are brass push-to-connect couplings, elbows, tees, caps and valves for joining or repairing copper, PEX and CPVC water lines. Cut the pipe square, push it in to the mark, and the joint is made. There’s no solder, glue or crimping, and the fitting goes on a line that still has water in it. That’s why SharkBite is the fitting people reach for when a line splits in January and the house needs water back tonight, and why plumbers use it to tie new PEX into old copper without dragging a torch into the framing. More than 550 million SharkBite connections have been made worldwide.

SharkBite is a plumbing brand of Reliance Worldwide Corporation (RWC), the company that also owns HoldRite, Cash Acme, John Guest, Eastman and EZ-FLO. SharkBite came to the USA in 2004 and calls itself the pioneer of push-to-connect plumbing. Today it makes the push fittings, PEX pipe, crimp and EvoPEX fittings, valves and the tools to go with them, and its PEX tubing, EvoPEX fittings and other core fittings come out of RWC’s plant in Cullman, Alabama. So a whole run, pipe to fixture, can come from one maker.

Brass push fittings for repairs and tie-ins

The brass push couplings and elbows join PEX, copper, CPVC, PE-RT and SDR-9 HDPE in any combination, in sizes from 1/4 in. to 1 in. An old copper stub can carry on as PEX in the same fitting, which is most of what a remodel asks for. The brass is lead-free and dezincification-resistant, so it holds up in hard water, and the EPDM O-rings resist chlorine and chloramine in city water. SharkBite also makes push fittings for PVC, so a cracked sprinkler or irrigation main takes a slip repair coupling instead of a glue joint in a wet hole, and a conversion coupling for tying into old polybutylene.

Pick the fitting for the turn you need. A straight or reducing coupling splices a line or steps it down a size, and a slip repair coupling slides over the pipe to close the gap where a split section was cut out. A 45° elbow eases a line around an obstruction, the 90° elbow fits a tight bay, and drop-ear elbows screw to the framing behind a shower valve or hose bibb. Tees, end caps, male and female adapters, ball, gate, check and stop valves round out the range, along with push-connect water heater connectors, ice maker kits and washing machine valves. For an outside faucet, the push sillcocks come in 8, 10 and 12 in. lengths. Pick the one long enough to put the valve seat well inside the heated wall, because in a Montana winter the few inches of pipe in the cold side of the wall are what freeze first.

Cut it square, deburr it, mark it

Push fittings need no special tools, but they do need a clean pipe end, and bad prep is the reason most of them fail. Cut copper with a tubing cutter and PEX with a PEX cutter. A hacksaw or utility knife leaves a ragged end and scratches that keep the O-ring from sealing. Deburr the pipe inside and out, because a sharp lip can nick the O-ring on the way in, and a nicked O-ring can hold today and weep months later. The SharkBite deburr and gauge tool does both jobs: it marks the insertion depth and deburrs the pipe with one turn. Push until the depth mark meets the face of the fitting. If the mark sits short, the pipe hasn’t reached the tube stop, so push it home.

Closing a push fitting inside a wall

The real question about push fittings is the one that goes behind drywall for good. The brass Push 90-Degree Elbow is approved for use behind the wall without an access panel, and for burial when it’s wrapped (SharkBite sells a silicone wrap for the job). It’s listed to ASSE 1061, which requires a push fitting to hold three times its maximum rated working pressure, or 600 psi, and SharkBite tests to its own standard well above that. Every fitting also gets a 100% inspection at the end of the production line. Household water pressure runs far below any of those numbers. The fittings that leak inside walls are the ones with a burr, a saw-cut end or a pipe pushed short of its mark, so the prep above is what makes a fitting safe to close in. Pressure-test the run before the drywall goes up, and keep the joint on the warm side of the insulation. No fitting, soldered or pushed, survives a line that freezes solid.

Taking a push fitting off

That’s the other thing solder can’t do: a push fitting comes back off. Shut off the water and open a faucet to drop the pressure. Snap a disconnect clip that matches the pipe size around the pipe with its lip against the release collar, press the collar square into the fitting, and twist the pipe as you pull it out. Disconnect tongs do the same job where there’s no room for fingers and give more leverage on larger sizes. If a fitting seems stuck, press the collar evenly all the way around.

SharkBite PEX and fittings for a new run

For a new run, lay SharkBite PEX with crimp fittings and save the push fittings for tie-ins and repairs. Flexible pipe bends around corners, so it goes in faster than rigid pipe and needs fewer joints, which means fewer places to leak. SharkBite PEX is PEX-b, in red, blue and white, in coils and straight lengths from 3/8 in. to 1 in. It carries a 5306 rating, the highest chlorine-resistance rating there is, which matters on a hot-water recirculation loop that runs long hours. Brass and poly alloy crimp fittings go on with copper crimp rings and a crimp tool or with stainless cinch clamps and a clamp tool, and SharkBite makes the tools, the ring remover, the bend supports and the brass test plugs for pressure-testing the rough-in. EvoPEX fittings push on PEX with no crimp at all.

Keep the pipe and fittings one brand and the warranty is long. SharkBite crimp fittings with SharkBite rings or clamps, and EvoPEX fittings, each carry a 25-year warranty on SharkBite PEX pipe. SharkBite pipe with another brand’s fittings is covered for 10 years.

SharkBite specs

Spec	Value
Brass push fittings rating	200 psi and 200°F (93°C)
Push fitting sizes	1/4 in. to 1 in.
Push fitting listings	ASSE 1061, CSA B125.3, NSF/ANSI/CAN 372, NSF/ANSI/CAN 61
Pipe it joins	PEX, copper, CPVC, PE-RT, SDR-9 HDPE
Copper tube	ASTM B88 hard-drawn, types K, L and M
CPVC	ASTM D2846 or CSA B137.6
SharkBite PEX pipe	PEX-b, ASTM F876 and CSA B137.5, 5306 rated
SharkBite PEX UV rating	6 months
Copper crimp rings	ASTM F1807 or F2159

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you put a SharkBite on copper pipe?

Clean the part of the pipe that goes into the fitting with emery cloth first. Old solder drips, paint or green corrosion where the O-ring seats will keep it from sealing. The fitting is made for hard-drawn copper tube, types K, L and M, and it needs a round end, so cut back past any dent or spot where the pipe got pinched, deburr it, mark the depth and push it home.

Can you use SharkBite fittings on PEX?

Yes, the push fittings take PEX directly, no insert or crimp needed. They’re made for hydronic heating as well as drinking water, so the same fittings work on a radiant or baseboard heating loop. Mark the insertion depth on PEX the same way you would on copper, because soft pipe slides in so easily that it can feel seated when it’s still short of the tube stop.

Is SharkBite PEX-a or PEX-b?

The red, blue and white SharkBite pipe is PEX-b, made to go together with crimp rings, cinch clamps or EvoPEX fittings. Push fittings take PEX-a or PEX-b, so they’re the simple way to tie into a line when you don’t know what’s in the wall.

How do you install a SharkBite shut-off valve on copper pipe?

Shut off the main, open a faucet below the work, and cut out just enough copper that both ends of the valve reach their depth marks without forcing the pipe sideways. Keep the handle closed while you push it on, then turn the main back on and check both joints before you open the valve. The push ends on a SharkBite ball valve carry a 25-year warranty.

Are SharkBite fittings up to code?

The brass push fittings are design certified and agency listed to ASSE 1061, and those are the listings an inspector checks for. SharkBite PEX, Universal, EvoPEX and crimp fittings also carry Fire Resistive Construction listings, which matters when a line runs through a fire-rated wall or ceiling.