Do Sharkbite plumbing fittings preserve the electrical continuity of a copper plumbing system?
NO, I just tested one and they are not conductive from pipe to pipe. at least not mine.
Great info thanks… Roy
That’s weird, I just got the opposite results. Maybe sometimes they are and sometimes they aren’t.
Yet another reason why nothing (short of maybe a good copper compression fitting) is as reliable as the good old solder…
I would check with the manufacturer. Products today go through a ton of third party testing prior to agency approval for sale. Many plumbing products sold in Canada today have not only been tested and approved by third party agencies such as NFS, CSA, and Intertek but also carry cUL listing. The manufacturers engineer should have all testing results and be able to answer your question.
If they can not answer your question in writing that the product preserves electrical continuity then I would err on the side of caution and say no. Leave the liability with them.
To easy just add a jumper and be safe .
Agreed Roy but what about a year down the line, 2 years, five? Under what environmental conditions will it continue to perform as it does today?
I have rejected hundreds of parts and devices over the years on jobs because they did not have the proper listing or were stamped incorrectly. If the fitting has not been tested for electrical continuity nor was it manufactured to do so why assume the liability in saying that it does? If it has been tested then let the manufacturer state that it has
. I have never had an issue in getting a prompt response back from a supplier or manufacturer with questions along this line.
In Canada all water meters are jumped if copper fed and have been for fifty+~ years .
All gas services also are bonded to ground.
What were you using for a table when you tested it
Not sure what you mean by a table. I have a little continuity tester with a battery in it. Attached the ends upstream and downstream of the fitting and it lit up.
Now that I think of it, maybe it lit up because there’s water in the tubing.
BTW, I just sent off a querie to
http://www.sharkbite.com/
That could explain that, being wet. I tested a coupling dry.
Electrical Conductivity
The Sharkbite fitting does not guarantee electrical conductivity when used with copper tubing. This is sometimes referred to as a dielectric system.
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Thanks Marcel, that seals it.
Regardless of the fitting however, would there not be electrical connectivity just by virtue of the contained water?
Don’t know, never tried it. Possible, but might not be a guarantee. 
No Water is not a good conductor of electricity.
It is the minerals that conduct electricity and there are normally not enough to be considered for grounding a system.
Thanks Roy.
The nature of water conductivity correlates well with Murphy’s law… it won’t conduct electricity when you need it to, but if you are not protected by GFCI, it will zap you for sure.
Tap water is far from an ideal conductor.
Too much depends on dissolved minerals/electrolytes, pH factor, etc. etc…
Agreed. There’s no way the electrical authority would accept a non-conductive Sharkbite fitting simply by virtue of the fact that it contains water.That means there’s an issue with the arrangement shown in the photo in post #10…notice the Sharkbite fitting in the upper right.