Never saw those q-tite fittings before but I certainly wouldn't use those......look at how shallow the sockets are.
More and more.......the trade is by far losing its shirt with such easy designs to work with plumbing.
You heard it here first but drain fittings are soon to follow. I can't see how it couldn't.
For one, it doesn't take on a huge amount of pressure, just gravity flow.
I am under the impression that such fittings are commonly used in Europe.
By the professionals.
I really, really think the trade is making a mistake by complaining that this or that makes the job easier for a DIYer or a hack.
Besides all the flaws with that kind of thinking, by focusing on the protectionism aspect we miss the bigger picture.
Look, soldering intimidates people. But all they have to do is educate themselves and almost anyone can make a solid solder joint. I have taught preteen boys how to make them and they picked it right up.
Know how to make a pipe joint is not what makes us valuable. It's the ability to look at the big picture and determine how all the details should come together.
Seriously guys, how much of the code book is devoted to pipe joints? Come on! We spend a LOT of energy *****ing about this one thing and it is only a tiny fraction of the code. Whoop-de-do! It's knowing the entire code and how to apply it that makes us valuable. But instead of recognizing that we would rather ***** that any old shmuck can now join copper or PEX together.
The ability to join a pipe with a Sharkbite does not make you a plumber. It is meaningless. Neither does the ability to solder a joint. Any shmuck can learn how to make a nice solder joint. So what? That doesn't make him a plumber. But we go on and on about how a Sharkbite threatens the trades.
Well guess what? The guy buying a Sharkbite wasn't gonna call you to begin with. Besides, he is gonna screw it up just like he would have screwed anything else up.
We truly are our own worst enemies. And I am referring specifically to focusing on such an easily refutable issue (Sharkbites/PEX/PVC/Whatever killing the trade.) while failing to recognize and communicate the value we actually bring to the table.
Don't get me wrong, craftsmanlike joints are part of every professional plumber's value. You have seen some of my work. You know I am not defending crappy work or lessening the value of craftsmanlike work. Don't even go there.
But until we get off our "Sharkbites are gonna hurt us because anyone can use them." hobbyhorses and learn to understand and communicate our true value better, we will continue the slide into being a commodity. And when that happens some of you will be pointing back at Sharkbites as the reason Joe Blow thinks plumbers bring no value to the table.
