Sharkbite/Gatorbite fittings and polybutylene

[Alex Franke]

I went to Lowe's to pick up a dehumidifier and while I was there I asked about the leak I have in my crawlspace.

The older man that helped me said we used to be a plumber. From the picture (in the post above), he identified the pipes immediately as polybutylene. Then, he handed me a couple of "GatorBite" fittings and said they should work just fine on the grey polybutylene pipe so long as the cut is clean and straight. (I have polybutelyne from the curb, into the crawlspace, through the water pressure regulator, and then up to the point where it enters the house right before the main shut-off valve -- from there on out it's all copper, fortunately.)

When I got back I looked a little closer at the package and it doesn't mention polybutylene at all -- is that just because it's not certified for use on plybutylene because polybutylene isn't used anymore?

Would these fittings be sufficient at least until I can get the professional out here to replace the polybutylene in the crawlspace with something more modern?

Thanks for all your help!

[Alex Franke]

I found some other plastic pressure fittings at Home Depot that are made especially for polybutylene, so I think I'm just going to use those -- they should hold up long enough until I can get the PB replaced...

[crokett]

Alex, Glad you found something that worked but AFIK at least the Shark Bite fittings will work on the polybutylene. Oh, and just FYI, Lowes has the Gator Bite fittings and another white plastic one that I forget the name of. The plastic ones are crap. Don't ever get them. I have a couple Shark Bite fittings in my basement that were there for a 'temporary' job. Well that was almost 2 years ago and they are holding up fine.