Tell me more ×
Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 4 down vote favorite

I recently bought a house and bought a new fridge to go with it. The copper pipe that connects to the fridge water has a shut off valve underneath the house and is extremely inconvenient to access. The copper pipe is also fairly long once out of the wall (could probably stretch a good 4' - 5' if it was pulled straight) and once hooked up it would be hard to push the fridge back without damaging/kinking the pipe.

Is it possible for me to cut the pipe to around 1' or so in length and attach some sort of flexible pipe that would have a shut off valve on it?

If so does anyone have any good instructions on how to do it/materials needed?

share|improve this question
Usually fridges are installed with soft tempered copper which is flexible - are you sure they used ridged copper pipe? – Steven Mar 12 at 20:44
1  
The coil of flexible copper pipe is there for a reason, it allows you to pull the fridge out for cleaning and maintenance. – Tester101♦ Mar 12 at 21:06
Search for "brass compression fitting." That will allow you to go from copper piping to NPT. From there you can go anywhere. – Monso Mar 12 at 21:07
@Steven and Tester101 the copper pipe is flexible, but there's just too much of it and I won't be able to push the fridge all the way back without being extremely careful and some help. I figured if I'm going to cut it in order for the fridge to fit in, I might as well see if I can cut it all the way back and add something that will be more flexible and have a shut off valve in a more convenient location. – Bryan Mar 12 at 21:50

1 Answer

up vote 3 down vote accepted

The solution is fairly simple. Cut the copper tubing about a foot from the floor and install an inline valve. Use a compression coupler type valve and run the remainder with plastic tubing. Food grade 1/4" plastic tubing will fit well on a 1/4" compression or graduated/clamp fitting. These fitting are available at building box stores or RV stores.

share|improve this answer
Thanks that's what I'll try. – Bryan Mar 13 at 15:29

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.