Plumbing - parts and lingo question

[Bierp]

I'm definitely a plumbing amateur. I've replaced a toilet and two faucets in my home, but nothing more complicated.

Now I'm trying to install a bidet on to my Dometic 310 toilet. The unit fits nicely, but I'm floundering a bit with the plumbing and I could use a bit of guidance.

First of all, I am really bad with plumbing lingo. The critical piece in my puzzle is the female threaded screw on collar that is at the end of my fresh water line and attaches to my Dometic water valve. What is the name for this part?



Whatever it's called, that's the piece that plays nicely with my water valve. It has a deep open thread area and the 1/2" hose isn't protruding. After several trips to see my helpful hardware man, I'm still struggling to find a connector that gets sufficient grip on my water valve without risking stripping the threads. Home Depot or Lowes will probably have more selection than the local Ace, but I'm all for an RV supply store or Amazon, if I can figure out what it is I'm asking/looking for.

My idea here is to tee off of the incoming water feed. One branch of the tee goes to the toilet water valve, one goes to the bidet. This should be simple, but I'm continually confounded by connectors that don't work as well as the one pictured.

I've pondered cutting the incoming hose, using the existing adapter on the valve and using barb connectors for the rest, but with my low plumbing skill set, I foresee disaster in this direction. If I ended up having to replace the incoming water lead...well, I don't know how to access the main line and I'm fairly certain that's beyond my ability.

If I can acquire another connector (even better with a male end on the other side of a short hose), I can finish this project before our trip in two weeks.

Any help here would be great, thanks.

[Ron3rd]

Nice work

[Bierp]

Ok, we've taken a few trips now and I wanted to follow up on this. I know that someday someone like me will find this post and hopefully I can save that person some pain. 🙂

The setup above worked wonderfully as far as plumbing was concerned, but I did have to make one more adjustment. I ended up replacing the toilet seat with a 'home' style seat that was specifically flat on the bottom. This allowed me to adjust the bidet far enough forward to give the extendable 'pressure washer' room to fully extend.

This was the final piece and once I did that everything was wonderful!

Having a normal seat is also a lot more comfortable than the default plastic seats. It's maybe 1-2 pounds heavier, but in my case weight isn't really a factor. It's also in front of my axles, which is good.

For those of you still using paper to smudge things around, consider the bidet. It's cleaner and more hygienic and in the RV it means both using less of that flimsy camping TP and having less TP in your black tank. That's a win/win in my book.

It does use more water, so maybe not as good for dry camping, but for those like me who consider roughing it to be bad wifi, this is the only way to go. :B

Thanks again for all the help I got from everyone.

[Bierp]

Ok, I'm declaring victory. Hope I don't eat those words. 🙂

I've tried more things than I care to list and I was close, but I continued to struggle bringing the line into the valve without a leak.

Solution: Don't stop at just two hardware stores.

I had done Ace, then Home Depot. Today, after a few calming days away from this project, I went to Lowes and the guy there found my silver bullet.



That item, which I did not find at the other two stores, seems to have done the trick. It also allowed me to remove my messy double loop of nylon braided hose that I was trying. (We don't need to speak of that.)

I very much appreciate all the help I received in this forum. I'm definitely much more informed about plumbing than I once was. (Not saying much, but I think I get the basics at least.) My ignorance of all things plumbing made me slow to absorb your info correctly, but I got there. I'm hoping this thread will help someone in the future.

In the meantime, I have a bidet nicely installed and working. I think it looks pretty good. Here are my victory shots.

[Bierp]

Well, this has been a little adventure.

I've created...something. It might even work, but I'm going to give it a few days before I claim any sort of victory.

If this is art, it's more of a Picasso than a Rembrandt. 🙂

I'll post my solution once I'm sure of it.

5 of my 6 joints were working just fine, but I was having a very small leak at the water valve. Rereading this thread I wonder if this wasn't self induced. I put teflon tape on all the threaded pieces. I see the above comment about making sure I don't do this on the water valve. Was that just extra stupid? Am I likely to see better results without the teflon tape?

Anyway, fingers crossed on this one. It wasn't leaking when I tested it this afternoon. I'll leave it under pressure while we work on loading tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the feedback.

-B

[wa8yxm]

I googled pex to 1/2 inch IPT FEMALE

and found some on assorted sites.. Tried to post links but ye old RESET bug bit

[Bierp]

I had taken many of the parts into my local Ace, and they were very helpful, which is nice, but they didn't really have what I needed.

I'll be heading out to Home Depot in a few hours. I know I won't get any help, but hopefully I can muddle my way into an answer. I'll definitely be taking my parts.

I very much appreciate all the feedback here. Fingers crossed.

-Bierp

[Bierp]

SoundGuy wrote:
PLEASE reduce the size of these pics! 😉

Yeah, sorry about that. I was at the 'pulling my hair out' state last night and didn't reduce sizes or crop.

I've replaced the images with what I hope is something a bit more tolerable. 🙂

[myredracer]

The fitting in OP's first photo looks like a standard "swivel" connector fitting like in photo. These are used for connecting a PEX pipe or braided/reinforced flex hose to faucets and toilets and are available in straight or 90 degree and in plastic (RVs) or metal. Swivel fittings have a washer in the end. The flex hose is typically (but not always) connected to a swivel fitting using a clamp like in the 2nd photo. The clamps and tool are readily available all over and the last time I looked are available together with a few clamps for around $30 or so. Can't hurt to have the tool and a few spare clamps in your camper in case you ever need to do a repair on a trip. Do not use a gear type hose clamp, esp. if not using a regulator otherwise you risk the chance of a leak (def. not good for an RV). Another option would be to buy a braided hose like in the 3rd photo with a swivel connector at one end and shark-bite at the other. Also, don't connect to the toilet using a female fitting that would need teflon tape as it will likely leak.

[SpeakEasy]

My experiences as a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to plumbing have taught me to actually take the pieces in question to the bricks-and-mortar store with me and fit them to the parts I'm buying. There are a dizzying number of different types of fittings, and many of them LOOK like they should fit together. It's only by trying the fit - hand-on - that you're able to be sure you have the right thing. I would not advise you to continue to try to get the lingo right just in order to get the job done. It will be quicker and easier to take the parts in to the store with you - whatever they are called. Of course, if you just want to know the names of the parts in order to be well-educated, that's another story. I would never try to get plumbing fixtures online.

-Speak

[wa8yxm]

They use that same nut on both PEX and Flex hose. the entire assembly is a barbed Hose/Pex to 1/2 inch IPT adapter..

NOTE if the problem is stripped threads on the "What it attaches to" a 1/2 inch coupler and close nipple may be restorative to those threads..

[westend]

The name of that connector is 1/2" (appears to be from image posted) female flanged connector with hose bib. You can purchase a "T" with two hose bibs and a threaded connector for the bidet supply line. In that case, you would cut the braided hose to install the 'T". A conventional steel braided supply line should connect to the fitting and have as much sealing as your original plastic connector, even though the center sealing gasket "protrudes" more than the original.

If the supply valve has stripped threads (and it looks like the braided hose has an injury), it may be better to remove the hose and start with conventional fittings, a new valve, and a steel braided supply line from the wall. Installing a full-flow ball shut off valve while you're at it isn't a bad idea, either. If the toilet or bidet develops a leak when you're traveling, the shut off valve allows use of the rest of the fresh water system until repair is completed. I have shut off valves and steel braided supply lines on all my fresh water fixtures.

Good luck with the plumbing!

BTW, don't reef on the steel connector to cover all the threads on the valve like your plastic connector. It's not necessary to thread it on to cover all the threads on the valve. I believe this is your original problem.

[RoyB]

You can find all the items you need at the LOWES plumbing section...

If I have part numbers I have great success finding these parts through AMAZON and with the Prime membership I have they get here in two days shipping even over the weekend...

Roy Ken

[RandACampin]

SoundGuy wrote:
PLEASE reduce the size of these pics! 😉

Why, you can see them better larger.

[SoundGuy]

PLEASE reduce the size of these pics! 😉