What Adapter For

How to connect CPVC to PVC pipe

Use a CTS x PVC transition coupling. House CPVC is copper tube size, narrower than PVC of the same size name, so a plain fitting for one won’t take the other.

What fits

A CTS x PVC transition coupling, which takes copper-tube-size CPVC

On the package: CTS x PVC transition coupling, e.g. SharkBite 1/2 in.

CTS is copper tube size, the size house CPVC is made in

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CTS x PVC push-to-connect transition coupling

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  • Shut the water off and drain the line before you cut anything.
  • SharkBite’s CTS x PVC transition coupling joins Schedule 40, 80 or 120 PVC to copper, PEX or copper-tube-size CPVC, with no primer or glue. On SharkBite’s PVC fittings the white collar takes PVC.
  • Where a PVC service line meets CPVC, the IRC allows a mechanical fitting, an approved adapter or transition fitting, or a single glued transition joint: on clean, dry surfaces, primer, then ASTM F493 (CPVC) solvent cement, assembled while the cement is wet. That joint still needs a fitting made for both pipe sizes. Copper-tube-size CPVC won’t glue straight into a PVC fitting.

Most house CPVC is copper tube size and PVC is iron pipe size, so 1/2" of each isn’t the same width.

More: Connecting different pipe

Which CPVC do you have?

Read the print on the pipe. CPVC marked CTS or ASTM D2846 is copper tube size, the kind used for house water lines: 1/2" is 0.625" across, against 0.840" for 1/2" PVC. CPVC marked Schedule 40 or Schedule 80 is iron pipe size. Charlotte Pipe’s Schedule 80 CPVC has the same outside diameter as its Schedule 80 PVC, and SharkBite’s white-collar PVC fittings take Schedule 40 and 80 CPVC as well as PVC, so a white-collar coupling joins that kind with no glue.

To join them by thread instead, glue a PVC male adapter onto the PVC and screw it into a CPVC x brass transition fitting with a female thread. Charlotte Pipe recommends plastic male into metal female for cold water only.

Can you glue CPVC to PVC?

  • Not with PVC cement. Oatey says PVC cements are too aggressive for CPVC and will cause probable failure, and that joints made with the wrong cement should be cut out and finished with approved transition fittings.
  • Each pipe has its own cement in the code. The IPC calls for ASTM F493 cement on CPVC (orange with a primer, or yellow one-step where the pipe maker allows it) and, on PVC, ASTM D2564 cement over a purple ASTM F656 primer. Between the two plastics, it asks for approved adapters or transition fittings. Local code decides which rule applies where you live.

Hot water and drains

Keep the PVC to cold water outside the house, such as the service line from the street. Charlotte Pipe rates PVC to 140°F, and the IPC’s table of pipe for water distribution inside the house lists CPVC but not PVC.

In drain lines, the IPC and IRC also call for an approved adapter fitting between two kinds of plastic pipe. The one glued joint those drain sections allow is between ABS and PVC; see ABS to PVC.

Common questions

Can I use CPVC cement on PVC pipe?

Oatey doesn't support it. Its FAQ lists CPVC cement on PVC among the wrong-cement joints that should be cut out and finished with approved transition fittings.

Are PVC and CPVC cements safe on drinking water lines?

Oatey says all of its PVC and CPVC solvent cements are tested to NSF standards and approved for drinking water systems.

Keep going

Connecting different pipeCPVC to copperPEX to CPVCPEX to PVCABS to PVCWhat pipe do I have?Garden hose to 1/2" pipe

For a different part on either end, open the adapter finder with this pair picked.

Where we get our information from

The sizes on this page come from published standards and the makers’ own documents. Checked against published data from International Code Council, Charlotte Pipe, National Bureau of Standards, Copper Development Association and JM Eagle (plus 2 more).

See all 13 sources
  • National Bureau of Standards, Handbook H28 (1957) Part II: Table VII.2 (American Standard taper pipe threads, NPT) and Tables X.1–X.3 (hose coupling threads, NH)
  • Copper Development Association, Copper Tube Handbook (ASTM B88 tube dimensions)
  • JM Eagle, PVC Schedule 40/80 submittal (ASTM D1785 outside diameters)
  • Reliance Worldwide, SharkBite PVC Fittings Sales & Specifications Sheet (2015): white collar fits Schedule 40, 80 and 120 PVC
  • Charlotte Pipe, Plastics Technical Manual (2026): PVC and CPVC colors, standards, temperature limits, Not for Pressure print, plastic-to-metal threads and brass transition fittings
  • Charlotte Pipe, FlowGuard Gold CTS CPVC submittal and product page: ASTM D2846, 180 F, solvent cement
  • International Plumbing Code 2021, sections 605.23, 605.23.1 and 605.23.2: joints between different materials, copper to galvanized steel (as adopted in South Carolina)
  • International Residential Code 2021, sections P2906.18 and P2906.18.1-P2906.18.3: joints between different materials, PVC service to CPVC (as adopted in South Carolina)
  • Charlotte Pipe, Plastics Technical Manual (2026), product data: average outside diameter and minimum wall of PVC Schedule 40 and 80, PVC DWV, PVC and ABS foam core, 4" sewer and drain pipe, and CTS CPVC
  • International Plumbing Code 2018 (as adopted in Georgia and Oklahoma), 2021 and 2024 (as adopted in South Carolina), section 202 (building drain, building sewer) and sections 705.2, 705.3.2, 705.3.3, 705.10, 705.16 and 705.16.4: ABS, cast iron and PVC joints, joints between different materials, plastic to other piping, the one ABS to PVC solvent-cement joint (ASTM D3138)
  • International Residential Code 2021, sections P3003.13 and P3003.13.4: joints between different drain materials, plastic to other piping, the one ABS to PVC solvent-cement joint (as adopted in South Carolina)
  • Oatey, solvent cement FAQs (Solvent Cements page): PVC cement not for CPVC, joints made with the wrong cement cut out and replaced with approved transition fittings, PVC and CPVC cements tested to NSF standards for drinking water
  • International Plumbing Code 2021, sections 605.14.2 (CPVC solvent cementing, ASTM F493), 605.21.3 (PVC solvent cementing, ASTM F656 primer and D2564 cement) and Table 605.4 (water distribution pipe) (as adopted in South Carolina)

General guidance from manufacturer and standards data. Parts vary by brand, so check the size printed on the package against what you measured. For gas lines or anything inside a wall, use a licensed plumber.