How to Hook Up a Water Supply Line to an Ice Maker

The product of healthy ice maker.

The wonderful modern convenience of a refrigerator equipped with an ice maker becomes worthless without water. Water supply line installation requires only novice plumbing skills and basic tools, so there's little reason for the ambitious do-it-yourselfer to avoid tackling the project. With a little planning and secure connections, you can help any ice-making fridge live up to its full potential.

Things You'll Need

• Vinyl tubing
• Saddle valve
• Scissors
• Wrench
• Compression fitting (connects tubing to refrigerator)

Instructions

1. Clear the space surrounding your work area. Move the refrigerator away from the wall. If necessary, unplug the refrigerator's power cord. Turn off the water supply. Locate the main water supply and turn the valve to the off position.

2. Attach the saddle valve to the water supply pipe nearest to the refrigerator. Saddle valves feature two plates. The plates are placed on opposite sides of a pipe and, when threaded together with screws, the compressive force causes a needle to puncture the pipe, create an opening and supply the valve with water. Place the plate featuring the valve assembly onto the water supply pipe. Position the other plate on the opposite side of the water supply pipe. Adjust the valve assembly's position so that it faces the refrigerator. Thread the screws through the top plate, into the bottom plate and tighten.

3. Attach compression fitting to refrigerator by first locating the pipe that feeds water to the ice-maker. Apply a double-thick layer of pipe-thread seal tape to the pipe before installing the fitting.

4. Cut the vinyl tubing to length by first holding an end of the tubing near the saddle valve and extending it to the compression fitting on the refrigerator. Pull the tubing taut. Hold your fingers in place where the tubing must be cut. Cut the tubing using scissors.

5. Attach the tubing to both the saddle valve and the refrigerator. Compression fittings, such as those at the saddle valve and refrigerator, create a tight seal by compressing tubing between a nut and a ferrule. To attach tubing to a compression fitting, slide the fitting's nut over the tubing, place the ferrule inside the tubing, push the tubing into the fitting and tighten the nut to its threads. Perform the process at both the refrigerator and the valve.

6. Turn on the water supply and check for leaks.

Tips & Warnings

• Read your refrigerator's owner manual to determine the proper size of tubing and fittings for the ice maker.

• Thoroughly check for leaks. After-installation leaks often go unnoticed until major damage has been caused.

References

• GE Appliances: Sample Manual and Installation Instructions