Plumbing – the name of this water source for a whole house humidifier

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A plumber told me that the type of water feed I have tends to leak. I've owned the house for 10 years and it has never leaked, but I would like to think about upgrading. I plan to search the web for DIY instructions. But I have no idea what the feed is called or the name of the better method of feeding water. So, what is the feed below called and what is the name of the better approach?

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Best Answer

These are called "saddle valves" or "vampire taps". They just poke a hole in the pipe with a little pressure around the hole to seal it. They almost always leak after some time but they are quick and easy to install.

The right way is to cut the pipe and install a tee fitting that then supplies a standard valve. You can use push-to-fit connectors these days to make the job simple or you can used a traditional soldering approach.

Because of the number of fittings in that small space and the fact that the pipe is damaged with two saddle valves, you'll be replacing that entire bendy section.