Identify the pipe material. Determine if a stiffener is necessary. Cut the pipe squarely. Measure and mark the insertion line. Connect the fitting. It’s a streamlined process plumbers and DIYers have been familiar with since push-to-connect pipe fittings hit the market. In May 2024, Legend Valve further simplified push-connects by launching the ClearLOC, a transparent fitting system that cuts out the measurement step entirely.
With 50% faster push-connect installs, according to Wade Tennant, Legend Valve director of sales, the time savings add up.
“Our approach is cut, insert and then confirm,” Tennant says. “Pretty quick.”
See-through PPSU PEX material is more commonly used in the medical field than in plumbing, until now. Tennant says ClearLOC is the first clear push-to-connect pipe fitting on the market. Intersecting push-to-connect and PEX has two key benefits: Incorporating PEX’s signature compatibility with multiple supply line types, solder-free design and resistance to corrosion and cracking, while carrying over cost-savings to plumbers.
“The intent is this plastic fitting does everything that our typical brass fitting would do and more because you can see through it and it’s quicker to install,” Tennant says.
As with any PEX fitting, the ClearLOC is susceptible to UV rays and primarily suited to indoor, underground and behind-the-wall plumbing applications. It is rated at 200 psi and 200 degrees F, exceeding ASSE 1061 standards by over 300%.
While Tennant says the ClearLOC can be a semi-permanent plumbing system fixture, many professional plumbers value push-to-connect as a transition fitting or temporary solution before installing another connection type.
“ClearLOC could be a transition fitting,” Tennant says. “If it’s an old system, it’s likely copper, in which case you’re making changes, you can just put up an adapter on there, bingo bango, and you have a system ready to go with PE-RT or PEX or PVC.
“Or you’re doing a lot of repairs, this fitting is really coming as a strong player in that they use these pieces when they need to make a short fix. Because of the capability of removing it.”
After removal, ClearLOC fittings are reusable. Fittings are available in 1/2-, 3/4- and 1-inch sizes in 13 different configurations from couplings to adapters to elbows to tees to test caps. All products come with insert stiffeners for PE-RT and PEX connections.
“We’ve talked directly to contractors across the country. Everyone’s excited about it because of how easy it is to install, and the fact you can validate it’s been installed properly. That was a big key: It wasn’t so much you could just see through it. It was that you could tell it was installed properly.” 800-752-2082; www.legendvalve.com
