Nothing matches up to the quenching power of a cold drink on a hot day. The mere thought of a fizzling drink and ice cubes in a tumbler makes your mouth crave for some action.
Well, in that case, you don’t need to run to lemonade stand to satisfy your quench when you can fix yourself one.
Ice trays are one of the common and the pioneer of ice cubes making. But let’s face it, they are tiny, and a single tray can only hold up to around fifteen cubes.
If you are hosting a summer party or something, that means a big part of your fridge will be stacked up by ice trays.
However, some modern refrigerators come with an automatic ice cube maker. The ice maker has the edge over the trays in terms of carrying capacity and minimal space occupancy in the refrigerator.
The ice maker comes with an exterior installation kit that connects it to the water source. That is why you are reading this, getting a successful guide on how to install the pex. So let’s jump right into it.
How to Connect Ice Maker Water Line to Pex?
Starter Pack
Since this is a Do-IT- Yourself (DIY) process, you require the aid of a few tools. You’ll need a utility knife, a drill, a screwdriver and a wrench by your side as you go through the process.
For the installation kit, you’ll come across a clamp, the pex tubing, two brass rings, and a couple of nuts and sleeves. Now let’s put the pieces together, shall we?
Moving the Refrigerator & Water Line For Refrigerator
The first thing you have to consider is the positioning of your refrigerator and the water line for refrigerator. If you are drawing your water source from the water line in your sink, then have to drill through the kitchen cabinets.
The alternative way is through the basement. If the refrigerator is closer to the basement’s water line, you drill on the floor towards the basement.
So the first hands-on process was drilling, which is quite a simple task. What follows next is pulling your fridge out.
That gives you room to access it from the back where the water line gets fitted. You can place hard cardboard in front of before you move it, to counter any chances of it scratching the floor.
Fitting the Tubing Through the Holes
Usually, the polyethylene tubing measures about 25 feet in length. That is quite long. Here is where the utility knife comes in. You’ll need to cut the tubing according to the distance between the waterline and the refrigerator.
However, you must bear in mind that you’ll be moving your refrigerator forwards and backward from time to time. Therefore, it is crucial that as you cut the tubing, ensure you leave enough allowance for that activity.
After doing that, you can now fit the pipe through the drill holes. Since you were drilling through the cabinets’ cardboard or the wooden floor, there are some sawdust spills.
To curb the chance of the sawdust getting into the pipe, seal the end going through the holes with a cello tape. Once the tubing reaches the waterline area, remove the cello tape and move on to the next process.
Clamping
The clamp carries a lot of detail and components, which is so because it acts as the link between the cold refrigerator water line and the tubing.
So the clamp has a top, and bottom base joined together by two long screws at their ends. It forms a rectangular shape. The bases act as a contact point on the waterline.
The clamp has a saddle valve, a valve regulator, a rubber gasket, and a puncture needle at the end of the regulator. With that in mind, this is how the clamping process falls into place.
You sandwich the refrigerator water line between the top and the bottom bases of the clamp. Using your screwdriver, tighten the linking screws in a way that both bases compress the waterline.
The next step is to close the valve regulator tightly such that the puncture needle bores a hole into the waterline.
While you are at it, it is better off if your water source is off to avoid spillage. The role of the rubber gasket is to exert pressure on the waterline. That way, there will be no spillage as water flows through to the valve once you loosen the regulator.
Connecting the tube to the clamp
The first step for this stage is sliding in the brass nut and ring, respectively. You then put the brass sleeve inside the pipe. Once you got all that done, you attach the pipe to the valve on the clamp and tighten the nut using a wrench.
You’re probably wondering why we fitted in the brass tubing, right? Since plastic is the make-up material for the pipe, the brass sleeve prevents it from crashing in when you’re tightening the nut. The final step is to connect the other end to the refrigerator.
Like the pipe end in the clamp, you slide in the nut and ring and fit in the brass sleeve, then attach it to the back of the refrigerator. Once that is complete, it’s time to give it a test.
Turn on your water source and loosen the valve regulator at the clamp. Check for any leakages at the attached ends of the pipe. If there’s none, restore your refrigerator to its original position and turn it on. It shouldn’t be long now before you find a bucketful of ice cubes.
Conclusion
That is all it takes to run a successful installation process for your ice maker water line. Ensure you got the right tools by your side that will give you a clean job. The installation kit, however, comes with a manual that you can use as a reference if you are stuck.
There are houses built that already have the most of the installation process completed. All it takes is only connecting the pipe to the recessed water line box at the back of the fridge. Meaning you only have to do the last step of the installation process in this review.
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