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Topic: Refrig. water line installation help

Thu, 09/21/2006 - 5:01am
Refrig. water line installation help


I would like to install my own water line for an ice making frig. Have searched some on the internet but no luck

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Can you get from the fridge

jeffe_verde writes:

Sun, 11/19/2006 - 6:34pm

Can you get from the fridge to the sink going through cabinets (to hide the water line)? If so, you've got two options, depending on how far apart the two are. If fairly close, there's a mini version of a garen hose made specifically for ice makers that's about 10' long. If you need more than that, there are ice maker water line kits that come with 25' of very thin (like pencil thin) flexible copper line. As far as connecting to water - some kits have a "vampire tap" that pierces a water pipe - others connect via the kitchen sinks shutoff valve. For the vampire tap type, find a convenient location to tap a cold water supply line, and run the line to the back of the fridge. For the shutoff valve type - under the sink, you'll replace your cold water shutoff valve with one that has two outlets (one for the sink and one for your new icemaker line). You probably have a two-outlet shutoff on the hotwater side to supply the diswasher. The tricky thing about shutoff valves is that there are 4 different line sizes (1/4, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2) and 3 different connector types (compression, FIP, and I forgot the third), and it can be challenging finding a valve with all the right outlets. If the existing valve has a semi-flexible pipe feeding up to the faucet, you'll also need a new hose to go from the shutoff valve to the faucet (the faucet side is typically 1/2" FIP). You'll also need to know how the current shutoff connects to the water lines. Typical is a 1/2" copper pipe coming out of the wall, and a compression fitting - but you could have galvanized pipe or copper pipe with a threaded fitting soldered to the end. Once you've got the right shutoff valve, turn off your water at the main, open an outside faucet to help drain the water, remove and replace the shutoff, reconnect the supply to the kitchen faucet and icemaker, and turn the water back on :). I recently installed new kitchen cabinets. So while the cabinets were off, I actually ran copper pipe through the wall and installed a nifty icemaker supply valve that's recessed into the wall. Since the cabinets would cover everything, I didn't have to worry about doing a nice job of patching the drywall.

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Jeffe gave you quite

Shelley P writes:

Thu, 07/19/2007 - 8:57pm

Jeffe gave you quite detailed instructions. I would like to add one thing. I had a plumber install my water lines using plastic tubing and 6 months later the appliance repair man came because of leaks and had to change all the tubing to copper because the plastic does not hold with the amount of water pressure.

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