Ice Makers – Connection Photos
Compression and Flare Fitting Photos
Here are some photos that may help you visualize the way you hook an icemaker up. Visit a REAL plumbing supply house or an old hardware store to get really good parts and advice. They will show you how all of the parts fit together. You don't always get this service at the big box home improvement stores!
This photo shows the 1/4 inch soft copper line coming down from a 1/2 inch copper tube. In between is a brass adapter that screws into a 1/2 inch female copper adapter - you can see the white Teflon tape at this joint. The 1/4 inch tube connects to the brass adapter using a nut and a brass ferrule. The soft copper tube fits perfectly inside the ferrule - it resembles a ring on your finger. You can see those two parts just to the right of this line in the photo to the right. As you tighten the nut on the adapter, it compresses the brass ferrule to make a tight joint.
In this photo, there is a flare fitting coupling. This allows you to connect two pieces of soft copper to one another. The top of the fitting accepts a flared piece of copper. See the nut on the other end? As you tighten it, it makes a tight joint on the rounded machined face you see at the top of the fitting.
Assorted compression type fittings. The top & middle ones are toilet tubes. Bottom one is a Delta tube.
Column B353
Tim built custom homes and did ultra-custom remodeling for 20+ years before launching his Ask the Builder media presence. He was selected as one of the Big 50 by Remodeling magazine in 1993. This award gave birth to Ask the Builder in October 1993. Tim also operates https://DrawPlumbingPlans.com. His @askthebuilder YouTube channel was the first home improvement channel on YouTube.