Virginia Plumber Uses SharkBite Max Polybutylene Coupling for Leak Repair
Overview
When master plumber Luis Peregrina, CEO of Peregrina Plumbing, arrived at a customer’s Manassas, Virginia, townhome to assess a pinhole leak and saw polybutylene, he knew he would need a quick solution for the customer that would last until they could replace their entire plumbing system. To meet both needs, Peregrina used a SharkBite Max polybutylene transition coupling for the pipe repair.
Finding an Easy Polybutylene Repair Method That Lasts
The customer had done what they could to control the spraying pinhole leak in their basement, wrapping the burst pipe in cloth so it dripped instead. When Peregrina saw the dreaded grey piping, he called other pros in his network to gauge the best solution.
“We wanted something that would be a more permanent solution for them if they needed more time [before a full repipe],” Peregrina said.
He weighed several options for repairing the polybutylene leak.
“From the research we had done, we saw using the poly crimp technology to transition was OK but had a lot of known failures,” Peregrina, who also mentioned that using press could cause the brittle pipe to leak, said. “Whereas from my research, SharkBite Max was able to transition properly and, when installed correctly, seemed to have really little issues.”
SharkBite Max push fittings don’t require any specialty tools for installation and can be used in wet lines unlike glue and solder. All you have to do is cut the pipe, deburr the edges, measure and mark the insertion depth on the pipe, and push the fitting up to the mark. An o-ring inside the fitting creates a watertight seal, while stainless-steel “teeth” in the fitting latch onto the pipe for a permanent repair solution that takes a fraction of the time to install than other pipe repair methods.
Read More: See What’s Inside a SharkBite Max™ Fitting
With this in mind, Peregrina went to The Home Depot to get a SharkBite Max polybutylene adapter, which has a grey collar and a stiffener on one end for the polybutylene connection and a tan collar without a stiffener for the transition side, which is compatible with PEX, copper and CPVC. When he returned, he cut out a length of the polybutylene pipe going to the water heater, transitioned to copper with SharkBite Max and pressed new fittings down to the water heater.
The whole leak repair took about 45 minutes. Without some of the installation challenges he encountered with the polybutylene pipe — such as having the ideal pipe cutters for a clean cut — he estimates the job could’ve taken as few as 20 minutes.
The quick fix was a win for both the customer and Peregrina’s business. The coupling allowed Peregrina to solve the customer’s immediate issue while also paving the way for a future repipe job. To keep the job more affordable for his client, Peregrina plans to use PEX to replace all the brittle polybutylene instead of copper, which they traditionally like to use.
From SharkBite Sceptic to SharkBite Stocker
As a plumber with 12 years of experience, Peregrina had known about SharkBite for a while but never really cared for it, as he’d heard people say it’s just temporary (Fact check: SharkBite fittings are code-approved for permanent behind-the-wall installation). On the flip side, he noticed a lot of plumbers in his network liked to use the fittings to transition from CPVC.
Read more: 3 Myths About Using SharkBite Behind the Wall and Underground
But what really caught Peregrina’s eye was the launch of SharkBite Max, the stronger, faster version of the 1st generation push-to-connect fitting. Max fittings have a pressure rating of 400 psi — that’s twice as much as the original fittings — and feature a new stainless-steel collar that gives them additional strength and durability. Plus, the re-engineered fitting body lets you insert piping using half the insertion effort as SharkBite (1st Generation) fittings.
“I also saw some plumbers doing live tests,” he added. The fittings were holding up better under pressure than other connection methods.
The technology enhancements convinced him to try the new fittings. In this service call, if he hadn’t had the SharkBite Max polybutylene adapter, he likely would’ve had to cut more pipe until he could comfortably use crimp, which would have taken him double the time.
“Maybe cutting and gluing isn’t the best scenario,” he said. “[With] SharkBite, I don’t have to worry about squeezing the pipe or hoping this glue holds.”
Now, Peregrina keeps SharkBite fittings for polybutylene stocked on his truck for scenarios just like these. “Now that I own a company, there’s value in every product and being able to cut time and also … [offer clients] a semi-permanent repair,” he said. “[That’s] what we aim for.”
About Peregrina Plumbing
Peregrina Plumbing is a family-owned plumbing company offering residential and commercial plumbing service in northern Virginia. Luis Peregrina entered the plumbing trade at 19 when he worked with his father at a construction company. He spent years learning many aspects of the trade, including commercial, residential and restaurant-based service before starting the plumbing company in February 2023.