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Currently this saddle valve is exposed but I would like to close this wall up. Before I do I'd like to know if I should leave the valve as-is or if I should remove it. If I remove it what is the best way to do so?

This used to be a valve that fed a refrigerator. We turned this off some time ago.

enter image description here

Update

I wanted to give everyone an update and hopefully help others looking for assistance. Based on the responses I received I went with a Sharkbite 1/2" coupling (not a slip coupling), and it was pretty straight forward to install. Thanks to all for your feedback.

enter image description here

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    Did you forget a picture? Normally you can't remove a saddle valve without replacing a piece of pipe, but we can't "see" what's going on. – JPhi1618 Dec 30 '15 at 13:43
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    Remove it. Not doing so is almost guaranteed to become a leak problem in the future. – R Drast Dec 30 '15 at 14:26
  • Sorry about that. I've provided the picture of the valve. – dmittakarin8 Dec 30 '15 at 18:49
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Ed has the important part of the answer. Saddle valves are trouble, and since you're not using it, it's easy to eliminate. Even if you were using it, it makes sense to replace with a soldered-in valve.

If this is copper tubing, it might be pretty easy to replace this valve with a slip coupling. It is especially easy if the tubing is long enough to flex it laterally to slide a coupling on. That is a straight copper coupling that doesn't have a ridge or other bumps in the middle.

  • turn off the water
  • using sandpaper now to clean the tubing is easier than after the cut
  • remove the saddle valve
  • cut the tubing right at the pierced hole, either with a tubing cutter or hack saw
  • de-burr the cut, and clean the tubing of any crud from cutting
  • clean and flux the coupling
  • flex the two cut ends apart enough to slide coupling on
  • bring cut ends together again
  • center the coupling over the cut. Mark the tubing if necessary
  • solder
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I don’t need a picture to say “remove a saddle valve that is not in use while the wall is open”. these valves are notorious for leaking as they age. It will be a little extra work now but may save you many hours and maybe thousands in the long run.

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  • This answers the first half of the question. :) – isherwood Dec 30 '15 at 16:37
  • without a photo or type of pipe I dont know what type of pipe so everything else is guess work – Ed Beal Dec 30 '15 at 18:14
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I'd probably use a Sharkbite slip coupling: slip coupling

The advantages are that you don't need to solder, there's no danger of igniting the house, and you don't need to get all the water out of the line; they are also much faster to install.

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