What Adapter For

How to connect PEX to PVC pipe

Use a CTS x PVC transition coupling, which grips PEX on one side and PVC on the other, or join the two by thread through a brass PEX x female NPT adapter.

What fits

A copper-size x PVC push-to-connect transition coupling

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

PVC is iron pipe size (1/2" is 0.840" across); PEX is copper tube size (1/2" is 0.625")

Available on Amazon

CTS x PVC push-to-connect transition coupling

As an Amazon Associate, What Adapter For earns from qualifying purchases.

  • 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.
  • Threaded instead: glue a PVC male adapter onto the PVC and screw it into a metal female fitting (such as a brass PEX x female NPT adapter). Plastic male into metal female is fine for cold water. Never put metal male threads into a plastic female fitting.
  • PVC is rated to 140°F at most. Indoors, the codes’ water-line table lists CPVC, PEX, copper and others, but not PVC.

1/2" PVC is wider than 1/2" PEX, though they share a size name, so a fitting for one won’t grip the other.

More: Connecting different pipe

What the code requires

Between two kinds of plastic pipe, the IPC calls for an approved adapter or transition fitting and the IRC for an approved adapter fitting, both installed to the maker’s instructions. Local code decides which fittings are approved where you live.

Common questions

Does the PEX need a stiffener in a SharkBite PVC transition coupling?

Not a separate one. SharkBite's PVC fittings have a tube liner for PEX built in.

Keep going

Connecting different pipePVC to copperPEX to copperSharkBite fittingsWhat pipe do I have?Garden hose to 1/2" pipeGarden hose to 3/4" 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 Uponor, International Code Council, National Bureau of Standards, Copper Development Association and JM Eagle (plus 3 more).

See all 10 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)
  • Uponor, Plumbing Design Assistance Manual (PEX is copper tube size)
  • 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
  • Uponor, PEX Piping Systems Installation Guide, seventh edition (2025): ProPEX expansion fittings, pipe colors, copper and threaded adapters, no soldering within 18" of PEX
  • 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
  • Michigan Administrative Code R 408.30727 and R 408.30729: Tables 605.4 (water distribution) and 605.3 (water service pipe)
  • 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)

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.