[ShrimpBurrito]

I have used Flair-It fittings on the exterior drain lines before. I find them to be excellent, especially the valves -- they are a far superior valve product. In fact, the last time I used them was in replacing the ones at the rear of the camper a year or two ago on one of my TMs, as it had those same crap-ola black gate valves on there that had started leaking. Slide a cup of near boiling water up over the old valve till the spot where the PEX attaches to the valve is submerged, hold it there for maybe 2 minutes, and the job will be much easier.

For the new Flair-It fitting, if you preheat the PEX with some hot water in the same way, it will slip right on, and the compression nut will screw on fairly easily. It goes on by hand - no tool needed. Then as it cools, the pipe should take the form of the new barb, which is being compressed by the nut.

Dave