[VAL] Plumbing Magic

[Glyn Judson <glynjudson@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

    All,

    I want to share with you the delight I had replumbing a section of my
Caravel today.  For the last three days I've been fighting the flare
fittings and copper tubing I was installing and after pressure testing it
last night, it leaked in several spots I'd already replaced the day before.

    My neighbor is a recovering plumber and turned me on to Wirsbo-Pex
tubing.  That's no news to many of you as I've seen it mentioned on this
list several times.  What I haven't heard mention of and was introduced to
at the local wholesale house by a plumber today, was the Cash Acme line of
Sharkbite press-on fittings.  http://www.cashacme.com/sharkbite.html
Boy do they work beautifully!!  Cut the PEX to length and simply slip it
into the end of a Sahrkbite fitting.  That's it, nothing more to do but
gently push it on.  I couldn't believe that it would work, it was so easy.

    If need be, to get the PEX off the fitting all you do is slip a little
orange life ring looking removal tool over the tubing and gently take the
fitting into your palm and press the life ring into the plastic brown ring
protruding from the fitting and the tubing comes out just as nice as you
please.  No tugging, no pulling and most importantly, no cussing.

    So to redo three days of sweat labor with the copper and flare fittings
took about 10-15 minutes with the new PEX and Sharkbite and the job was
done.  

    I did have a problem with a mismatch of tubing sizes as the original
tubing slightly larger than 1/2" and it's smaller than 3/4".  We got around
that by using his PEX tube expansion tool on the odd-sided tubing to expand
it just enough to slip a 1/2" copper, male threaded fitting into it where we
then brazed it in place.  The Sharkbite female threaded fitting screws right
to the new male fitting as slick as that stuff on a doorknob.  Job done and
nary a leak.  

    Now, after repairing the frayed marker light wires (no grommet where it
entered the inner skin, grrr! that necessitated removal of the holding
tank), replacement of the dry rotted aft 16 1/2" of floor and the freeze
split plumbing with PEX and laying Armstrong vinyl tile on the new floor to
match the living space, it's on to the reinstallation  of the holding tank,
head, battery box, Univolt VI, etc. and that nightmare project is done.
Yeah!!

    Tune in later kiddies and I'll regale you with the blow by blow
description of laying in a 4" ABS "Tee" from the terracotta pipe running
through the yard to the alley.  The plan is to trench from the Airstream to
the clay pipe, join the ABS to it and make that run to the holding tank
outlet hose beneath the Caravel so it can be a functioning guest retreat
when the house fills up.  Everything else now works just like downtown.

    T-t-t-that's all folks,

    Glyn Judson
    1969 Caravel #508
    Santa Monica CA