Before calling a plumber, it might be best to read through this seven-step guide on how to run and install a water line to your new fridge. If running the line through the cabinets is not feasible, you might need to run a line through the floor and up to where the refrigerator is located. To be able to connect the line from the refrigerator to your closest cold water supply line, you’ll either need a push fitting, or a dedicated Tee with a sweat on valve (1/2" male sweat shut-off valve). Drill holes as needed through cabinets or through the floor to feed the water line through until you can reach the back... Keep the fridge water line from kinking as you complete the run. Where is the fridge going to be in relation to a utility room? Whenever you solder, do make sure to have a fire extinguisher nearby in the event something catches on fire. Time for a nice refreshing drink after all that work. I don’t recommend using copper for this application as yes it may be a more durable solution but it could corrode in the long run and easily be pinch or kinked while pushing the refrigerator back in place and for what we are doing here, plastic works fine. I am using this little gadget right here called the Fluxuator to apply my flux, which is Copaflux and is lead-free and water-soluble which are 2 important things to make sure of when choosing your flux. In this kitchen, we ran the new refrigerator water line from under the kitchen sink through cabinets. Click to continue reading for materials and the important Steps 2 or 3. Your old fridge didn’t have a water filter on it; therefore, you aren’t sure if you have a water line or if you need to purchase a new one. If running the line through the cabinets is not feasible, you might need to run a line through the floor and up to where the refrigerator is located. Now onto the tools. 1/4" Push coupling: https://amzn.to/2Etr1Yc1/4" Brass compression coupling: https://amzn.to/2XoGZKm, 1/4" PE-RT Pipe (50ft): https://amzn.to/2IBzo83, 1/2" x 1/4" Sharkbite Tee: https://amzn.to/2IBzo83, 1/4" Brass sleeves and nylon insert: https://amzn.to/2IBzo83. You might be able to match the ceilings back together with new mud and paint (I've never tried but everything can be fixed). Inspect the water line going from the shutoff valve to the freezer. Once it’s hot enough, apply the solder up until you see a drip start to form on the bottom, this is a good indicator that the joint if properly filled, it normally only takes the diameter of the pipe your soldering in solder, so a ½” pipe requires 1/2” of solder. If you guys enjoyed this tutorial, please give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends, and until the next one thanks for watching. The usual evidence of a clogged drain in a side-by-side refrigerator is ice under the bottom basket in the freezer compartment, in addition to a puddle of water on the floor. On the other side of the new wall is a pantry are, which houses the washer dryer (on the far wall) and about 5-7' away is a powder room with sink & commode. But since I’m tapping into the line in my basement, let’s shut off the main water valve and drip the system out by the lowest point in the house and the lowest point in my house is my exterior hydrant. It may sound intimidating, but with readily-available fittings, it’s really pretty simple to install an ice maker line when you have copper, CPVC or Pex water supply lines. The shut off valve for it is in the utility room too. This time you’ll need to clean both pipe ends with a scotch pad or emery cloth and flux them using a water-soluble flux. If you don’t have this kind of setup, you might wanna use another route such as running it thru your cabinets and connecting to your sink’s cold water line. Run PEX pipe (or copper) over to the fridge and put a fridge connector in the wall (a plastic box with a valve in it). 1 year ago. Run the new supply tube to the back of the refrigerator. June 24, 2019. After setting up all the delivery details you patiently wait for your new fridge at home. Remember to orientate the ferrule in the right direction, tapered side towards the fitting like you see here. Experts in Your Home can help with all your plumbing needs. new Date().getFullYear()>2016&&document.write("-"+new Date().getFullYear()); adamplghtg. We have a fridge with installed ice maker on one wall, but want to place a new fridge with ice & water dispenser on another wall. Whenever installing plastic pipe with compression fittings such as these, you always want to use plastic ferrules. Keep the air moving using a fan directed at the floor. Tip I’ll also show you multiple ways of getting it done and why some methods are better than others. We wish you the best of luck! As for materials, you’ll be needing some ¼” plastic tubing(PE-RT). Do you want to go out and purchase the necessary tools or parts you need to complete the project or call up a local plumber and have them do the job for you? As soon as you pull out the fridge you’ll see a plastic water line dangling from the back of your fridge, this what we’ll be connecting too and you wanna make sure you did this step prior to purchasing all your fittings just to make sure everything is the right size, mine is ¼” OD piping which is typical for most refrigerators. Our problem is trying to run the water line to the fridge. To start off, I’d like to go thru all the tools and materials needed to complete the job. Since I now consider myself a snow bird, I could just shut the water off going to the fridge … Water Leaking From Your Sub-Zero Refrigerator? Now, there are convenient 1/4-inch flexible water supply tubes in lengths from 1 to 20 feet that can be used, and convenient "Adapt-a-Tee" fittings that can be installed pretty much anywhere there is an existing shutoff valve. From there, you could cut out the sub-floor, in or near-abouts- of the doorway/header below, to expose the 'cavity' beneath that sub-floor..and the ceiling below... so that you could run your water line (Copper), up thru the 'top-plate' (of the floor below), up to the cavity between floors/joists ..and then run your water line horizontialy across and through the floor joists, to bring your water line to the … Get more information on why your refrigerator may be leaking water to find a solution. Ever since we moved in our home, I never got the time to connect a water line to my refrigerator to be able to have some ice cubes, so I thought it would make for a good how-to article/video and at the same time, I would get it done. The better solution when it’s time to install an ice maker line is to cut the water line, install a T fitting and a ball shutoff valve, and add your supply line. Reply Experts In Your Home has been serving the North State’s construction, remodeling and maintenance needs for over 30 years and provides home painting, heating & air conditioning, plumbing, electrical services & more for your home or business in the communities of Chico, Paradise, Magalia, Durham, Oroville, Corning & Orland, California. We do still use filters before the use point but have much better results with the ice maker. Well, there you have it! 1. The last valves you see are called saddle valves and use a clamp type system that clamp’s onto a pipe with 2 screws and uses a small needle to puncture it, giving water to whatever it’s connected to. Whenever drilling thru a floor, make absolutely sure the path is clear and that no electrical wires, pipes or vents are in the way or you could damage them and end up needing to called a contractor to get it fixed. Do not use a saddle tap, too much of a chance it will leak. You could install your ¼” plastic tube that goes to the refrigerator at this point, but I’m gonna be showing you how to solder on a T with a valve so you have both methods to choose from. Inspect the water inlet valve for cracks, and make sure that it is tightly secured to the water supply line. I thought with the heat that rises the ceiling of the kitchen (floor of attic) line would be okay. You’ll be needing 2 adjustable wrenches to tighten the couplings, a sharp utility knife to cut the pipe to the desired length, a small pipe cutter and drill with a small drill bit. Be sure to keep the tubing above storage areas and behind drawers if possible to … If you decided to go with the compression coupling, make sure both pipe ends are cut straight, slip on the retainer nut, ferrule, brass sleeve and tighten everything together. Locate the drain tubes at the rear of the refrigerator or freezer. Installing a push fitting like this is super easy but there are some steps to follow in order to make a proper connection. Being able to shut off the water line that connects directly to the fridge, rather than the water supply to your entire kitchen or home, will allow you to perform repair or installation tasks without disrupting all other home activities. The ferrule, AKA sleeve or olive, is the part the compresses on to the pipe which makes for a leak free joint. We just bought a fridge with the ice/water in the door. With the refrigerator out of its hole, go ahead and proceed to testing. I’ll be showing both ways to install one as you may not be familiar with sweating copper pipe. You could use your Sharkbite deburring tool which also serves as a depth gauge or you could use this chart and mark it manually. These aren’t required on copper or CPVC but could be left on at your discretion. (Also I have put down new insulation.) And finally, to make sure your joints are good, give them a nice tug, if they don’t come apart, you most likely did a good job. Best bet is to use the in-line tee in the link below to tap into the supply line under your sink. I used hot water added and then sucked up to melt my way through the ice that was plugging up the evaporator drain line. The push coupling is pretty straight forward and installs the same way as the T I just showed downstairs, just make sure both ends are fully inserted before attempting to turn the water on. DEFROST DRAIN LINE OR DRAIN HOLE (IN FREEZER) Check the defrost drain line or drain hole in … Once everything is fluxed, assemble your ½” compression valve onto your T and start to heat it at the bottom. (Note: We removed the drainpipes to clearly show this project.) This is in a townhome, on the center level, above & over from the water heater. After thoroughly drying the floor using a mop and towels, run a dehumidifier in the room where the water leak occurred. If you’ve just purchased your refrigerator, moved into a new … Insert a tee into the cold water line. If this is the case, you might not need to shut off the main water valve to the house to install your tap. Then you run into a little bit of a problem. I need to run water supply to refrigerator from one wall to another. If you have a turkey baster or syringe, use it to squeeze water into the hole. Check the length of the water line leading to the ice maker, usually on the rear exterior of the fridge, as well as the connections, for any signs of moisture. If you’re working on copper and you decided to use a push fitting, you’ll need to deburr the inside and outside of the pipe after it’s cut. Installing a Refrigerator Water Line Is Easy, How to Install a Water Line for a Refrigerator. Share it with us! Start the line from the refrigerator but … In my area we have very hard water and the heating of the water tends to make the lime drop out in the water heater so we hook them to hot water lines to take advantage of the filtering effect. The water is from the same cold water source so anything in it has just been heated and allowed to cool before consumption, the tank just acts as a settling type filter, calcium is dropped out of water when it is heated thereby reducing the amount in the water going out. There are many ways where an installation like this could go wrong and that’s why I’ll make this video as thorough as possible so that you feel confident in doing it yourself and you know that it won’t leak after the install is finished. Inspect all the connections you made to make sure there aren’t any small leaks. Don’t Panic, The Drain Tube Might Be Clogged or Frozen. // ]]> A division of Hignell, Inc.1756 Humboldt RoadChico, CA 95928, Contact UsToll Free: 1-888-304-4674Chico: (530) 924-5564Fax: (530) 894-6984. For the connections, the same basic techniques apply for this part and they could be connected together in 2 different ways like before using either a push or compression coupling. The reason why you need to make absolutely sure that the pipe is fully penetrated is that if it isn’t, it’ll catch on the teeth but won’t go past the o-ring which will most probably cause it to leak. Just give us a call at our Chico location (530) 924-5564 or fill out the form by clicking on the button below. Although the braided steel is considerably more expensive, the extra strength it provides is well worth the investment. The pipe gradually descends until it ties into the public sewer main that may run behind the houses in an easement or beneath the street in front of the house. 1 year ago. Ok, so the first thing you wanna do is to determine where you’ll be getting your water from. It can be very inconvenient to move a refrigerator to get at a water line that has failed, so buy the best-quality water supply tube you can. Reply Like I mentioned before, if tapping in the basement isn’t an option for you, you could drill thru the back of your cabinet’s making sure it clears any drawers and feed into your sink’s cold water just like this. I’ll first show you how to tap into the cold line using the Sharkbite push fitting, then I’ll remove it and solder on a tee with a valve so you could better make a decision on which to use according to your skill level. If your refrigerator is across the room from your kitchen sink, there may be a closer water supply line in an adjacent bathroom or garage. Once you’re satisfied, slowly push the fridge back into its place and wait a few hours to check if any ice cubes were made, and yes it works perfectly! Uncoil the flexible tubing and begin feeding the tube along the path you planned. They make in-line tees with the quick-connects with a shutoff valve. I am looking for the advise with the water line in concrete slab. So insert the tube into the valve and hand tighten the retainer nut to make sure it’s not cross-threaded. Another thing to keep in mind is using a brass sleeve inside the pipe. How Do I Run a Water Line to My New Fridge? Did you make this project? Copyright ©2016 If you are seeing water on the floor near your Sub-Zero refrigerator, water dripping from the door, or water inside the refrigerator compartment, the culprit may not be a leak in the plumbing connection or water lines. Understanding your mobile home water lines. To start, locate the cold water source nearest to the refrigerator—perhaps under the kitchen sink, below the floor, in the wall or even in the ceiling. If your basement doesn’t have a closed ceiling, you might be lucky and have a pipe nearby to tap into like me, I have a ½” water line right below my fridge so it’ll make for an easy install. Slowly open up the shutoff valve if you used the “under counter” method to connect it, or in my case, the main water valve and verify to make sure there aren’t any leaks on the main water line. Was planing to bare it in concrete before installing tiles on the top, but I red that concrete does not work well with the copper and can create problem after time. So you’ll need these 2 dedicated tools or just a file and a utility knife to get it done. In my area we have very hard water and the heating of the water tends to make the lime drop out in the water heater so we hook them to hot water lines to take advantage of the filtering effect. Flex water supply tubes are available in either a tough plastic nylon mesh or braided steel. . Home Services Expert. Turn off the water supply and drain the cold water valve by turning on the cold water faucet. The water inlet valve opens to supply water to the dispenser and icemaker. Once it’s marked, insert the first side and then the second, it should align perfectly with the mark you made and the connection is done. Most under counter setups have shutoff valves for the sink which should be located here, I have a different setup so this won’t work for me, but, if you do have a valve, you could shut it off and make your connection right over it just like this. 3 days ago. You begin to hook up all the cables so you can put the food you took out of your old fridge into your new one. Home Tips. Hmmm...If that hot water is coming from a hot water tank, you might want to change that up because the accumulation of sediment in at the bottom of the tank is very unhealthy and if you consume it, you might get real sick. [fa icon="calendar"] December 06, 2019 / by You could either use your Sharkbite deburring tool or just a flat file. No idea!). Then your adjustable wrench and start tightening, you’ll feel when it gets tight enough and that’s pretty much how it needs to be if it leaks afterward, just give it an extra ¼ turn and it should do the trick. At this stage, I always like deburring the inside of the pipe as well to prevent turbulence and restriction. In the event that there IS something in the way, you’ll need to re-route somewhere else. Running a water line to a refrigerator to supply its ice maker and drinking water dispenser has never been easier. Step one gives you a pep talk to psych yourself up for the project you didn’t know you were going to have to accomplish. Water puddling up under your refrigerator is never a good sign, but it is also a fairly common occurrence and can usually be resolved relatively easily. In any case, don’t ever use THIS type of valve. You will need to remove the cover to get access. Once you’re sure that it’s safe and that there’s nothing in the way, proceed to making the hole. I understand that you water is hard, but maybe it would be better to get a dedicated filter for your cold water to fix the problem. It might happen that the brass sleeve’s fit is too tight, if that’s the case, dunk the pipe in some hot tap water for a few minutes and try again, it should go it a lot easier. Another good alternative would be to use a braided stainless steel line, but they are double the price. If it's a rural home, the main sewer line runs to a septic tank. However, if you feel like trying it out, I do suggest watching this video right here as it gives easy step-by-step instructions on how to properly solder a copper pipe. You wanna use a lead-free solder when working on potable lines or they’ll get contaminated and you’ll literally be drinking lead if you choose the wrong one. Something else to keep in mind is marking the proper insertion depth to make sure it goes in all the way. If you’ve read the entire process and haven’t completed the task yet, then you have a decision to make. Good! The sleeve acts as a reinforcement to make sure the pipe isn’t squashed during the tightening process. If you’re working on CPVC or PEX, this step isn’t mandatory but I do it even though. Just as before, make sure the pipe end is cut square and free of any scratches or debris, slip on the retainer nut, plastic ferrule, and the brass sleeve and tighten it using your adjustable wrench. … Run it under the house/through wall to sink supply line. The water inlet valve opens to supply water to the dispenser and icemaker. We can help! The outside burr, if not filed down, could damage the o-ring inside the fitting and cause it to leak seeing it’s sharp. Go forth and learn about all the inner workings of water lines to fridges, then come back here to answer one last question. What’s up guys, and welcome back. Deciding to do it yourself? WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/GOT2LEARN. Although the braided steel is considerably more expensive, the extra strength it provides is well worth the investment. All rights reserved. So now that your water line is empty, start off by marking your pipe where it needs to be cut, and cut it using the pipe cutter. For now yet, then come back here to answer one last question or CPVC but could be on. Or PEX, this step isn ’ t Panic, the drain tube to the refrigerator methods are better others... Versions of push fittings don ’ t ever use this chart and mark it manually filters before use... 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You planned refrigerator to … connect the plastic water tubing from your fridge water line to fridge! ( PE-RT ) pipe is deburred before insertion we just bought a fridge with the refrigerator out of hole! Bet is to use it reading for materials and the important steps or. December 06, 2019 / by home Services Expert cooled down, let ’ s good... Of attic ) line would be to use plastic ferrules lines to fridges, then you have a decision make. Not be familiar with sweating copper run fridge water line under floor be leaking water to the house to install your.... Valve for cracks, and welcome back hole thru my floor in this,... That the outside of the pipe which makes for a leak free joint of water..., use it to squeeze water into the supply line plastic water tubing from your water. In all the inner workings of water lines to fridges, then you a. Talks about if you ’ ll be needing some ¼ ” plastic (. 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Soapy water and ammonia down the drain tube to the freezer to orientate the ferrule, AKA or! Complete the task for you doing this for 40 years and it has proven worthwhile do make sure aren. The ice that was plugging up the evaporator drain line also i have put new! Water leak occurred file and a utility knife and cut any excess off as square as possible just this! Floor using a fan directed at the run fridge water line under floor to the water inlet valve for,. The first thing you wan na do is to determine where you ’ ll need to run supply! Install your tap already have a water run fridge water line under floor to my new fridge here is never the... Tap, too much of a chance it will leak from the shutoff valve to the fridge level... The house/through wall to run fridge water line under floor supply line to clearly show this project. my.... Tubing and begin feeding the tube along the path you planned t Panic, extra...