Replacing faucets... need to remove compression fittings.

Just completed a pretty good sized DIY project (ripped out bathroom floor to joists, put in tile floor) and thought... well heck i should change out those faucets, that shouldnt be so hard. wrong. lol. after fighting with these things for about a half hour, i did some online research and found out the supply lines are apparently connected with compression fittings. also found out they arent that easy to remove.

so what is the best way to take care of this? anyone got any tips on how to separate the lines, or would it just be easier to cut the lines and replace with something else?

Here is a closeup of the fitting (the nuts have been loosened and slid out of view):



And a picture at the shutoff valve (the nut has loosened, but it wont slide up... it just spins in place -- the line wont release from the shutoff valve either)



This is a picture of the entire line, from shutoff valve to faucet:



Thanks for any help!

the first piture is a 3/8 compression coupling. with the nuts loosened and pulled away just give the copper tubing a shake and the lines will come out of the coupling. same withe the valve side.

hmmm, well i thought that should happen... but they wont come loose. i've tugged on the lines pretty darn firmly (mildly before, and more aggressively after your post) and they wont separate. is it normal for them to be so hard to separate? or could something else be going on? im guessing they have been in place for about 30 years.

There is no reason it shouldn't just pull apart. At the worst cut the copper and replace it when you install the new faucet. Chances are the new faucet will require different supply tubes anyway.

John

Just try one more time to shack the hell out of em before you do what I say. Just don't tear up the lines under the angle stop. Twist and move side to side rapidly...and then repeat.

I've had them stick so bad they would not come loose so its happend before. Are the stops 1/2" compression at their base? Kind of looks like a moble home so are the water lines plastic/cpvc/pvc? Those should come off a bit easier, and just swap the angle stops out and go back with steel supplies.

heh, that did it b4c. it must have been really tight because it was being pressed down pretty firmly from above, or something... jiggled it really hard and bent the top copper out a little, and it finally came loose.

thanks everybody!

b4c, it is a regular house and the water lines are copper pipe. i cleaned off some of the foam to give a better picture:



if you were asking about the nut on the top of the angle stop, a 5/8 wrench fits it.

so what do you guys think i should do? replace the copper supply lines with the flexible kind? will i need to replace the angle stops to do this, or will they attach to the current stops?

I'd advise to go steel braided all the way to the angle stop, and should have no problem locating one that fits.

The new supply lines should match up to the top of the stop valve. If you get copper or PEX supply lines, you will need the 3/8" compression nuts and appropriate ferrules (brass for copper, poly for PEX). The stainless braided supply lines are a "one piece" unit.

Good catch Phish! I myself would eliminate the ferrules and just change out the angle stop.

removed the copper lines, replaced with flexible lines, and everything works great. easy fix for the trouble it gave me at the start. thanks for your help everybody!

Good to hear that you got it fixed.