I currently have a water valve behind my refrigerator, but it's not hooked up to our current refrigerator. I have no tubing coming out of the valve. We purchased a new refrigerator and want to hook up a water line to it. The company we bought it from will bring a water hose with it. Do I need to do anything else to the valve before they hook up the water hose?
Water – What do I need to connect a refrigerator water line
applianceskitchensrefrigeratorvalvewater
Related Solutions
They make "taps" specifically for that purpose - you can get them at home depot/lowes or probably any plumbing store.
They clamp on to an existing water line and have a sharp pin inside. You attach a vinyl or flexible copper line to it and run it through the floor to the fridge. Then you crank handle on the valve down and the pin punctures the copper water line and lets water into the valve.
When I did mine, I was a bit worried it would leak at first (they just look like something that wouldn't seal well) but haven't had any problems with it for well over a year now.
I think kitchen sinks are 3/8" (but I can never remember). So you'll want a 3/8" female, 1/4" male, 3/8" male tee. You should be able to find one at the local big box, or hardware store.
Something like this
- Shut off the water using the shutoff valve.
- Remove the existing supply line.
- Attach the tee where the supply line used to be.
- Connect the sink supply to the 3/8" male outlet on the tee.
- Connect the refrigerator supply to the 1/4" outlet on the tee.
NOTE: Use your preferred pipe dope method (tape or goop), however, since it's a brass fitting dope should not be required.
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Best Answer
You will need a compression fitting for both ends if you don't already have them. Often the fridges will come with a plastic supply line but I always like to replace it with a copper one as they last longer and are less prone to damage.
You might also want to verify the valve works correctly. If it is a piercing-type valve, the often fail and should be replaced with a soldered/compression fitting.