I’m getting ready to install a Toto bidet. The only thing I’m not sure about is my water line which appears to be pretty inflexible. I need to add a splitter to the end of the water line next to the toilet, which would require the line to be slightly more bent. The splitter is about 3” long. Is there a way I can easily bend the existing water line to accommodate the extra 3”? I like the look of the water line and would prefer not to change it to a flexible line.

Here’s a photo of the line. https://imgur.com/gallery/TPwwVhr

 

Braided lines often need to be longer than needed in order to loop, because depending on the length, a bend can put too much stress on the line.

 

I would change the shutoff valve to something similar to this.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Keeney-Bras...-Valve/3191043

 

Interesting. Is it easy for a non-plumber to change out a valve? Would appreciate any and all tips. Thanks.

 

Usually. Assuming your main water shutoff valve works.

You would just need to determine what your inlet pipe beside the toilet is. 1/2" copper? 1/2" galvanized?

And I would probably suggest you just get a new braided stainless supply line to the toilet.

 

Would you mind telling me how to do it, step by step?

 

I'm not there, I can't tell what your pipe is just by looking at a photo.

 

Maybe post a well lit, closeup photo of the bottom of your shutoff, or tell us how wide that pipe below the shutoff is with a tape measure.

 

Does this picture help?

 

Why worry about the look of your rigid water line? You are going to be installing an ugly extension T and a flex line to the bidet so that area is going to get a bit messy looking.

 

Yes, that helps. Looks like a 1/2" cpvc line coming into the toilet.

You would need to shut off the water to the house at the main valve. Flush the toilet to relieve any pressure at the valve. Have a bucket and rags ready to clean up spills. Disconnect the toilet supply line from the shutoff valve and put the bucket under it to catch water from the toilet... you may need to remove that line from the toilet completely. Cut off the cpvc below the existing shutoff... use a hacksaw or similar.

Get a sharkbite valve similar to the one I linked to. The two outlets should be 3/8" compression... the inlet will be your 1/2" cpvc. The sharkbite fittings just push on... you can likely find videos about them on youtube.

Once the fitting is on, I would use stainless braided supply fittings to go to your fixtures. Turn your water back on (toilet valve off) and check for leaks at the valve. Then turn the valve on and check for leaks on both ends of your supply lines.

 

So if I replace the rigid water line with a flexible one, can I get one with the same size fitting to attach it to my existing water supply valve?

 

Just saw your reply. Thanks for your help. I just replied to someone else who is encouraging me to use a flexible line. I do feel a bit overwhelmed after reading your instructions. I got nervous at “hacksaw.” We’ll see....

 

Only thing is, you may have a hard time finding a shark bite valve that has dual 90 degree outlets. So you would want to see if you can find one wherever you are shopping first.

 

If I decide to just go with the flexible water line, would I still have to replace the valve to have the proper connection between the line and the valve, or could it work with the existing valve?

 

No I doubt you would need to replace it. But i don't know what your splitter looks like.

 

Splitter: https://imgur.com/gallery/Bfgdq9e

Why would the line need to do a 360 loop?

 

If your bidet seat it Toto it should come with a T that hand screws onto the bottom of your toilet fill valve where your current line attaches. Then you'll use a standard flex hose from your house's shutoff valve to the T that you just installed. Your bidet seat should also have a flex hose to go from the T to the seat, so if you already had a flex line feeding your toilet you wouldn't need to buy anything.

When screwing the Toto T fitting onto your toilet fill valve make sure it is threaded straight and is not cross threaded. When working at an odd angle it's easier than you think to cross thread it. It should go on reasonably easy and screw up with light force and only get tighter when you get to the last bit. If you just started to put it on and it's getting tight after only a turn or two it's a good chance it's cross threaded.

 

I personally prefer the soft chrome-plated copper supplies. They'll never ever burst and aren't all that difficult to use.

You can cut the 3" off of the bottom of the supply and use a new brass ferrule. The old ferrule compressed the 3/8" line and probably won't come off.