Ice maker water line?

[Wade Lippman]

I got a new refrigerator a week ago. The ice maker is hooked up with 1/4" copper. The installer wrapped teflon around the threads on the compression fitting, but it leaked. I told him you don't use teflon on compression fittings, so he did it without and it seemed fine. A week later there is a small amount of water behind the fridge; so obviously it leaked. (I put a water detector back there, and I guess it paid off) The instructions say to use new fitting (he reused the old one) and to tighten it by hand and then one additional half turn. He really cranked it down.

I cut off the old fitting and reinstalled it. I couldn't really finger tighten it at all, but tried to follow the directions and not over tighten. It leaked. I gave it another quarter turn. It seemed fine, but in 30 minutes I saw some water, so it was leaking.

1) Do the directions make sense? I have to disconnect my 1/4" copper line to my humidifier at least once a year to replace the inline filter. I have always used the old fitting and cranked it as tight as I could using 2 wrenches. It has never leaked. What is the proper procedure? Should I give it another quarter turn, or will that risk damaging it?

2) I bought a braided steel line 10 years ago but never used it. Is it going to be okay to use, or does it get old just sitting there? If I use a braided steel line, what do you do with the extra when I push the fridge back in? (not knowing that might be why I never used it)

For the moment I have the water turned off.

[Jerry Bruette]

Is it a flair or ferrule fitting. If it's a ferrule fitting the ferrule may be damaged and won't seal. If it's a flair fitting the male threaded part on the refrigerator may be damaged. Sometimes a drop of oil on the new fitting helps it go together better.

[michael langman]

Wade, It should be ok to use the braided line if you want to. I would ignore the extra line if the refrigerator goes back against the wall easily.

Sometimes the small round ferrule has to be replaced when it has been really tourqued down on to. Sometimes it is difficult to get the ferrule off the copper pipe because the end of the pipe is distorted. It may be easier to cut the ferrule and pipe with a pipe cutter for copper if you have enough pipe length to do that.

[robert wiggins]

On new 1/4" compression fittings with a new ferrule the straight section of the tubing is inserted until it bottoms, the nut is run up with the fingers until it stops and then the nut is tightened one (1) turn. This is a swedging assembly and I prefer a drop of oil on the ferrule and a drop on the brass nut threads never hurts. Nut threads, that's an inclined plane and things slide better. On a re-use disregard, the above for the most part. The nut will suddenly feel tight with the wrenches because the ferrule has already been set when it was new. On a re-use when it feels tight that's when you stop.

[Wade Lippman]

It is a ferrule fitting. I cut the old one off and went with a new ferrule.

[robert wiggins]

Sometimes it is difficult to get the ferrule off the copper pipe because the end of the pipe is distorted.

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Never attempt to remove a ferrule and re- use the section of tubing it was on. Either re-assemble the old or cut that section out and go with a new section of tubing and ferrule. The old nut can be used if need be.

[michael langman]

Good point Robert. Thanks.

[Lee Schierer]

Compression fittings are routinely abused by many installers. If tight is good tighter is better in everything except compression fittings. On a new fitting you assemble the parts, insert the tube until it bottoms out and then finger tighten the nut. Then tighten it as shown in this illustration:
Capture.JPG
If the fitting has been properly tightened and you need to loosen it for servicing, you can reuse the fitting. Assemble it and tighten it with your fingers. Then no more than 1/4 turn.

Note that fittings, nuts and ferrules are NOT interchangeable between brands. If you don't know what brand it is replace the entire assembly, otherwise you are asking for leaks.

[Stan Calow]

Make a loop or two with the extra line, zip tie it, and find a way to hang it on the back of the fridge. You dont want the weight of the line filled with water hanging on that connection. IME.

[Bruce Wrenn]

The nut could be deformed from over tightening it. A new nut and ferrule are in order. If your new fridge is a GE, you can't use a saddle tap to furnish water to the ice maker. DAMHIK! It has to be a full 1/4" valve. It has something to do with the way GE's make ice

[Dave Zellers]

I smell a plumber conspiracy.

But now the cat is out of the bag. 1/4 turn. Done.

[Bill Dufour]

Loop the supply hose and attach a bungee cord near the top of the fridge to hold it up.
Bil lD

[Jim Koepke]

The installer wrapped teflon around the threads on the compression fitting, but it leaked. I told him you don't use teflon on compression fittings, so he did it without and it seemed fine. A week later there is a small amount of water behind the fridge; so obviously it leaked. (I put a water detector back there, and I guess it paid off) The instructions say to use new fitting (he reused the old one) and to tighten it by hand and then one additional half turn. He really cranked it down.

Good help is hard to find these days. They hire kids out of highschool for these jobs who know everything but can't do anything right.

jtk

[Stephen Tashiro]

I got a new refrigerator a week ago. The ice maker is hooked up with 1/4" copper.

My choice would be to use a braided line, assuming it has an o-ring type of connection. The ice makers I've seen on refrigerators turn the their water supply on and off suddenly and this can cause vibrations. Copper lines and compression fittings are reliable for for many applications, but I'd avoid them in situations where the lines vibrate.