Should you use screw pipe, soldered joints, push fittings or press fitting technology? Good question with some good choices, so what should you choose? Well from my perspective I will generally try to match what already exists on the job. The majority of homes I work in features screw pipe a.k.a. i.p.s (iron pipe size) which is typically brass pipe. When making small repairs whether inside or outside of the wall I carry an assortment of brass fittings and pipe nipples from 1″ to 6″ in length in half inch increments. If I have to make a larger repair which goes beyond that 6″ threshold I will transition to copper pipe and fittings. Why? plain and simply it would be cost prohibitive to purchase, cut, thread and install brass pipe in today’s world.
When copper become the material of choice over brass pipe I thought there goes the skill required to fabricate a properly working water distribution system but in order to stay competitive the marketplace we had to make that transition. The soldered joint has been a widely accepted method of joining copper pipe for decades and does require a fair amount of skill to be done correctly. Just when you thought skill was back in demand, enter the Push Fitting! UGH! The most popular name associated with push fittings is Shark-Bite. You simply cut, prepare and then push the pipe into the fitting which is held in place by a series of stainless steel teeth that lock onto the pipe. The watertight seal is made by a single “O” ring washer and if you need to disassemble the joint, you can do so by using a removal tool provided by the manufacturer.
I’m not particularly a fan of Shark-Bite fittings but will admit that I do carry a few couplings and caps in 1/2″ and 3/4″ sizes to make emergency repairs until I can make a permanent repair with a soldered joint. There are several manufacturers who make removable push fittings and they all share the same methods in assembling and removing the pipe. Thankfully at present in New York City we are not permitted to use removable mechanical connectors, and hopefully, they’ll write that into the plumbing code permanently. It’s only my opinion, but I just don’t like them. We are however allowed to use non-removable push fittings made by a few manufacturers and once the pipe is pushed into the fitting, that’s it! The joint is permanent and if you make a mistake, you have to start over again. A little more skill required!
Next is Press Technology which is becoming increasingly more popular especially if you’re performing larger scale renovations. Although the cost of a press fitting is typically four to five times more than the cost of a traditional copper sweat fitting, the savings in labor (no cleaning, fluxing, heating or solder) far outweighs the price difference. You’ll have to make and investment in the Press Tool to the tune of about $2000.00 plus depending on model and manufacturer, but if you’re cranking out a large amount renovation work, you’ll make that investment back in no time. The joint is formed by preparing the pipe which is inserted into the press fitting and then with the appropriately sized set if jaws clamped around the fitting, you pull the trigger and in about seven seconds you have a leak-free joint.
I personally have not invested in the tool because the majority of the work I perform is service and repair work and I can’t justify the expense for the tool or the fittings at this time, but that could change in the future. So in this video, I go over the pros and cons of all of these connecting methods
and hopefully, bring some new light to those of you wondering which one is right for you. And if you enjoy this video I would appreciate you heading on over to You-Tube and give me a thumbs up and also SUBSCRIBE to my channel.
Regards and HAPPY PLUMBING…Bob
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