Where to find RV water line fittings

Correction: I did not know what shark bite fittings were...thought they were what I used....I used the Watts push in vs. the shark bite push in. Again, they worked. Anyone have experience with the watts? seems good enough.

"DH sent me to HD to get the crimpers and then he ARGUED with me"....Bad position to be in...can't win. He shoulda asked you nicely to go to Lowes for these:

Apollo Crimper and these fittings.

My whole house has been done with these products as well as repairs on my rig.

Regards
Gemstone

westend wrote:

Stars101 wrote:

westend wrote:

Stars101 wrote:
We just looked at a PEX crimper yesterday at Home Depot - $94.00!

"Only" $25 for the "cheapie" one that you need to use a pair of vice grips with. Horribly expensive when the manufacturer of your brand new TC screws up a crimp fitting and ya don't discover it until your are 5 hrs. from the dealer :) And if you need the tubing it comes in 25' rolls... when you only need a 6 inch piece.

Don't know what you are finding for crimpers out there. FWIW, I did my whole rig with Pex and used a $25 die crimper (50 fittings). A 3/8" ratchet w/socket and a clean workplace made it easy to do. I did have the "go-no go" tool but after the first five I put it away. I haven't had a leak. I did use one Sharkbite fitting, from the existing copper supply line near the water heater to the new Pex. I Might have to put a bypass loop in at some time and the Sharkbite fittings are removable.

Well Home Depot only had two PEX crimpers. When I asked the sales guy he showed me the $94.00 ones and then the $25.00 ones that had no handles - you had to use your own vice grips as the handles. So that's what I reported on... the 2 choices my local HD offered.

Understood, I don't know what HD offers, just thought I'd add in an alternative. This crimper is similar to what I used.

Sorry I got a bit defensive. DH sent me to HD to get the crimpers and then he ARGUED with me on the cell phone when I called and told him the price :) Like he didn't believe that I actually asked the plumbing guy to point me in the right direction and was an freakin' idiot and didn't understand what he wanted me to buy. He kept repeating "I just want a PEX crimper, you know for tightening the fittings. It. Cannot. Be. That. Expensive. You just have the wrong thing. Are you in the plumbing section? Look again and call me back". It nearly got a lot more expensive after I almost hurled my phone across the plumbing aisle while cursing my DH.

Stars101 wrote:

westend wrote:

Stars101 wrote:
We just looked at a PEX crimper yesterday at Home Depot - $94.00!

"Only" $25 for the "cheapie" one that you need to use a pair of vice grips with. Horribly expensive when the manufacturer of your brand new TC screws up a crimp fitting and ya don't discover it until your are 5 hrs. from the dealer :) And if you need the tubing it comes in 25' rolls... when you only need a 6 inch piece.

Don't know what you are finding for crimpers out there. FWIW, I did my whole rig with Pex and used a $25 die crimper (50 fittings). A 3/8" ratchet w/socket and a clean workplace made it easy to do. I did have the "go-no go" tool but after the first five I put it away. I haven't had a leak. I did use one Sharkbite fitting, from the existing copper supply line near the water heater to the new Pex. I Might have to put a bypass loop in at some time and the Sharkbite fittings are removable.

Well Home Depot only had two PEX crimpers. When I asked the sales guy he showed me the $94.00 ones and then the $25.00 ones that had no handles - you had to use your own vice grips as the handles. So that's what I reported on... the 2 choices my local HD offered.

Understood, I don't know what HD offers, just thought I'd add in an alternative. This crimper is similar to what I used.

westend wrote:

Stars101 wrote:
We just looked at a PEX crimper yesterday at Home Depot - $94.00!

"Only" $25 for the "cheapie" one that you need to use a pair of vice grips with. Horribly expensive when the manufacturer of your brand new TC screws up a crimp fitting and ya don't discover it until your are 5 hrs. from the dealer :) And if you need the tubing it comes in 25' rolls... when you only need a 6 inch piece.

Don't know what you are finding for crimpers out there. FWIW, I did my whole rig with Pex and used a $25 die crimper (50 fittings). A 3/8" ratchet w/socket and a clean workplace made it easy to do. I did have the "go-no go" tool but after the first five I put it away. I haven't had a leak. I did use one Sharkbite fitting, from the existing copper supply line near the water heater to the new Pex. I Might have to put a bypass loop in at some time and the Sharkbite fittings are removable.

Well Home Depot only had two PEX crimpers. When I asked the sales guy he showed me the $94.00 ones and then the $25.00 ones that had no handles - you had to use your own vice grips as the handles. So that's what I reported on... the 2 choices my local HD offered.

Stars101 wrote:
We just looked at a PEX crimper yesterday at Home Depot - $94.00!

"Only" $25 for the "cheapie" one that you need to use a pair of vice grips with. Horribly expensive when the manufacturer of your brand new TC screws up a crimp fitting and ya don't discover it until your are 5 hrs. from the dealer :) And if you need the tubing it comes in 25' rolls... when you only need a 6 inch piece.

Don't know what you are finding for crimpers out there. FWIW, I did my whole rig with Pex and used a $25 die crimper (50 fittings). A 3/8" ratchet w/socket and a clean workplace made it easy to do. I did have the "go-no go" tool but after the first five I put it away. I haven't had a leak. I did use one Sharkbite fitting, from the existing copper supply line near the water heater to the new Pex. I Might have to put a bypass loop in at some time and the Sharkbite fittings are removable.

Watts makes a PEX push on fitting line that mimics Shark Bites. The difference is they are all plastic. Had a factory crimp fitting (Vanity water supply) fail on our 4th night of use after purchase. It was a holiday weekend so our only option was call local mobile service tech. He undid connection, cut directly beneath crimp with a PVC snip, slid on watts supply coupling and screwed on. He then had me turn city water on while he checked for leaks. No leak. Took him longer to write the service ticket than the fix. I should add that Wildcat (Rod Batts is the warranty rep) reimbursed quickly with no problem. I went to our local Ace hardware when we got back and found that they stock the Watts fittings. I bought 5' of pex and couple Unions and water supply fittings to add to our RV tool kit. Cheap insurance. :)
Greg

Thanks for the info. Got it fixed. I used the "shark bite" style that the tube slides into. So far, no leaks. Bought a few extra fittings for "just in case". If it does not leak, I'll leave it. If it leaks, we'll work on it when it happens.

Funny thing is, this all started with the water pump making a ton of noise when on, or under load. Tightened a few fittings and it quieted down. Took another cover off under the kit sink and saw the leak. Line was split, leak not horrible but glad I found it and fixed it.

The frustration of trying to relax in your TT....Argh!

downtheroad wrote:

mlts22 wrote:
Please correct me if I'm wrong , but don't Shark Bite/Pro Bite/Gator Bite fittings leak after a while, especially due to vibrations and eventual O-ring failure (chlorine eats at the ring)?

I repaired a leaky toilet supply line while on the road. Used Shark-Bite fittings.
It hasn't leaked a drop in three years..They will only leak if you install them wrong or cut the tubing wrong..

Makes no sense to buy the crimp tool for just a couple of fixes.
Makes sense to buy the crimp tool if you are going to do LOTS of plumbing using Pex.

x2 however I have a crimp tool if you are nearby and are welcome to use it. Larry

mlts22 wrote:
Please correct me if I'm wrong , but don't Shark Bite/Pro Bite/Gator Bite fittings leak after a while, especially due to vibrations and eventual O-ring failure (chlorine eats at the ring)?

I repaired a leaky toilet supply line while on the road. Used Shark-Bite fittings.
It hasn't leaked a drop in three years..They will only leak if you install them wrong or cut the tubing wrong..

Makes no sense to buy the crimp tool for just a couple of fixes.
Makes sense to buy the crimp tool if you are going to do LOTS of plumbing using Pex.