There is some sort of pierce fitting on the cold water supply to my kitchen sink. It began leaking yesterday (I hope no sooner) anyways, I need to fix it.
My plumber friend said I could plug it, but that I should just call a plumber to completely remove it with a few inches of pipe and a quarter turn angle stop, which is probably what I will do. I tried to google pierce fittings, but that didn't really yield anything. Does anybody know what this is called? That way when I talk to the plumber on the phone they know what I am talking about?
thanks.
Best Answer
This is commonly called a saddle valve; they are frequently (and notoriously unreliably) used to tap into cold water for supply to refrigerator ice maker, hence the 1/4" compression type outlet commonly used for 1/4" diameter tubing. IMO you should not try to plug it, you should get rid of it.
If you do not need to supply an icemaker, cut below it and solder fittings to restore the faucet supply valve. If you do need to supply an ice maker, put a tee in the line and get a high quality 1/4 turn valve with the same compression type outlet.