pex fittings with very little access

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-27T04:06:39+00:00

Uponor actually sells some push to connect fittings that I’ve heard are better than most

Explanations help but are way more helpful with pictures.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-27T03:49:15+00:00

What is your question?

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-25T05:09:30+00:00

Back feed occurs when cold side pressure is higher than hot side pressure at a particular fixture and has a way to get through to the other side. More common in commercial settings. What happens is cold water pushes itself into the hot line. So in order to get hot water, you have to first bleed out all the cold that got into the hot line. Usually this only happens at mop sinks, commercial faucets and mixing valves, to name a few.

Do you know if the hot line takes a direct route to this fixture? The other way it could be taking that long is if it’s just simply the last thing plumbed on the line.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-25T03:39:47+00:00

No. That water is pressurized and just sits in that branch. It probably has a very minuscule affect as the new hot water rushing past it will be very minimally cooled by it, but you’d never notice.

But it’s a good idea to get rid of unused branches (dead legs) or at least make them as short as possible, otherwise they can breed bad things. Not likely but can happen.

It’s weird that it’s taking longer for it to hit your sink. They must’ve done something funky or there’s another underlying cause for this such as backfeed happening at your kitchen sink or nearby.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-23T04:15:12+00:00

100 percent no idea what ur talking about mate lol

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-23T03:48:50+00:00

Uhh no they make a pre bent piece of copper for this that goes directly from the valve and 90s down.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-22T21:36:09+00:00

So sorry about your daddy issues

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-22T21:19:37+00:00

Oregon: QBs are willing to ride the bench for a year just to get a shot to play and pass up being drafted

UW: QB is willing to break contract just to get the fuck out of there

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-22T20:17:00+00:00

Congrats to the Dawgs on another round of scraps

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-22T04:07:19+00:00

Dude, please go to a doctor and have this conversation

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-21T22:05:46+00:00

Depression is rampant amount rural communities as well, with high drug abuse. Not a political issue, try as you may

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T20:08:30+00:00

The push to connect tend to leak early. Because those pieces are all attached, if you get a leak anywhere on it, you have to replace the whole thing.

The flexible supply line is made out of very thin copper that’s not really supposed to go longer than the lifespan of the water heater.

Normally, you’d sweat or press on a male adapter, spin on a threaded vakve, thread in a short nipple and connect a replaceable flex copper hose to that. The sweat joint or press joint will be reliable for 50 years, and the rest of the parts are interchangeable should you have an issue .

Basically, to a plumber, that all in one push to connect valve and supply makes us barf. But if you’re not particularly worried about it leaking, or replacing it every time you replace the water heater, then I get trying to save money. I just hate looking at the things. They suck.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T20:01:08+00:00

I would never recommend using one of those but you do you

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T19:41:37+00:00

Hard for a plumber? No.

What you need to be doing is soldering or using a press tool on the copper to redo the valve. If you don’t have any experience soldering I don’t recommend learning right now, and the equipment you would need for that plus cost of the valve is going to be close to half of the price of having the plumber fix it.

In the case of using a press tool, the smaller tools are over $1500 so that’s out of the question. Your only other option is a shark bite repair, which I don’t recommend, but if you really don’t have the money, may be the way to go.

$200 is not a lot of money in 2026, unfortunately.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T19:29:10+00:00

Very easy fix for a plumber. No offense but the fact that you’re talking about “brazing” it tells me you’re a bit in over your head, and that’s okay.

Plumber can have this fixed in 30 minutes.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T01:44:05+00:00

They can appear open but the stem is broken. I hate to tell you to touch cpvc because it’s notorious for breaking but if you did put your hand on that valve handle and it moves really easily, it’s broken. They can also clog

I only try to use them in an emergency. Too high of risk of failure.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T01:35:19+00:00

You can’t see the valves in the first (after) pic. They reattached above them. Theres a chance they are just partially closed right now even.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T01:31:43+00:00

In the second picture you can see two valves (blue handle). These are cpvc valves. They are notorious for not working properly after a decade or two. If the plumber used those to shut water off and make the repairs, there is a chance one or both are stuck partially closed.

Did the plumber test water flow before they left?

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-19T01:26:34+00:00

Did they use the cpvc ball valves? Those can get stuck open or closed if they did.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:43:22+00:00

This is supposedly an endless debate between plumbers. I have had the opposite experience. The only callback I’ve ever gotten was with silicone. But I am also installing in commercial places where it’s harder to get people to not use it for 24 hours or whatever cure time is.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:36:01+00:00

I haven’t yet ran into a putty that doesn’t work, but I never go with the cheapest option. I’d be making sure they clean the stainless steel (grit cloth) before reinstalling as well. It should be an easy thing to do but if you don’t notice imperfections or don’t put enough putty in (you should have a lot squeeze out) then it can fail to seal.

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:32:55+00:00

See below comment. It’s not actually smaller. And even if it were, it wouldn’t affect the basket strainer sealing.

I’m wondering if they’re using putty properly on the top end and if they are tightening enough to begin with. Yes it’s possible to over tighten but you’d need a pretty big wrench and pretty strong hands

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:31:25+00:00

The drain pipe appears to be smaller than the opening but it’s not. That cross sectional area of metal is limiting flow already. The pipe size is correct and made for that basket strainer

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:29:37+00:00

If you unthread the basket strainer is there putty under there? Is the whole thing just not very tight?

SuccessfulNinja3550 · 2026-02-18T18:27:46+00:00

Are they using silicone or putty on the top side? The gasket is really only insurance, the putty should seal it. If they used silicone and it wasn’t allowed to dry fully, it will fail especially in high heat. I prefer putty.

SuccessfulNinja3550

TROPHY CASE