Mixing brass and chrome plated fittings

[Flat Eric]

I am changing a couple of radiators for new rads. The width including new fittings (inc TRV) is the same as the old rad, so I don't need to move the pipes. However, the olives are well and truly compressed onto the pipe, so no chance of removing them and the old compression nut behind the olive. I could cut the pipes back and solder on a new piece of pipe, but what's the point if I don't need to. The fittings on the old radiator were brass, and although the thread is identical, I am concerned about mixing the brass of the nut on the old fittings, screwing onto the chrome plate of the new fittings. Thinking of reactions over time in the metals and possible failure... don't know much about this sort of thing, but think it can happen where metals meet...?

Is there any cause for concern?? If the olives are in good nic and I put a new wrapping of PTFE tape round between olive and fitting will this be OK?

Cheers

[BigWallop]

No problems putting the old nut on the new fitting if the threads match. You'll have to try one first to make sure though. And, I think you'll find that under the chrome on the new fittings is a brass body, so there is no reaction if they're mixed. Take you time, and good luck with it.

[PoP]

I'm sure I saw a hand tool recently which would split an olive which had been compressed onto a pipe, however despite my best efforts I can't find that tool again on any of my favourite web sites.

Perhaps someone here can advise?

PoP

[IMM]

Should be fine. Don't wrap the olive with PTFE, use a smear of jointing compound on the olive.

[Rick Hughes]

Nope as long as they are all metric then you have no problem, chrome fittings are actually chrome on brass.

Rick

[BigWallop]

Junior hacksaw by any chance ? Cutting the olive at an angle across its width removes them easily enough.

[PoP]

Nope. I remember seeing a tool not dissimilar to a nut splitter which had a description of "removes olives easily".

I suppose a nut splitter might do it, though I suspect that an olive splitter might have a curved face on the far side to the cutting edge so as to hold onto the olive.

After much searching I found it:

15mm, or for 22mm:

[BigWallop]

Now that looks like a very handy toy for the plumbers toolbox. And here's me using hacksaws and damaging the pipe with it sometimes too. I could have done with one of these babies many times while doing alterations.

Now on the Christmas Wish list. :-))

[PoP]

I ordered my 15mm version last night immediately I found it again!

As I said, I found it on the Internet whilst trawling for something else many weeks ago and thought "hmm, must get one of those". I assumed (wrongly...) that Screwfix and other places I frequent would have one which I could add to another order - they don't.

BTW, there's also an 8mm and 10mm available. You'd spend over 100 quid getting a full set.

How did I find it this time? By searching google for the exact words/phrase "olive removing". Not "olive removal" or anything else, just "olive removing". That took me to Monument Tools where I did some reading, then more searching, eventually finding TooledUp.com.

Methinks the company that manufactures that tool needs to read up on search engine optimisation.....

PoP

[BigWallop]

And try expanding their product profile around the plumbers merchants as well. I asked around if anyone had heard of it and got blank looks everywhere I went, even after showing them the print out of the web page. I was told to use the hacksaw method. :-))

[PoP]

Methinks they'd sell a few if they got it onto the Screwfix web site!

PoP

[BigWallop]

Very much so.

[IMM]

Debatable. £24 for a 15mm olive remover? Then their isthe 22mm, etc. Even a pro would be hard pressed to justify that cost.

[Flat Eric]

Thanks for all the replies. Fitted new chrome plate fittings to old rad tails with old olive and brass nut. Pressured up and all is fine. Heating again! The threads fitted together perfectly, as the old brass fittings are metric.

I find that PTFE tape rolled between the fingers so it resembles a 'string' wrapped around the end of the olive where it compresses into the fitting works well.

Have used the hacksaw method before, but the access to a rad tail can be quite awkward and didn't fancy trying it in this instance - the pipe is vertical, low down and pipe moves around once off the rad etc

- sure to hack into the pipe too! £24.46 for the olive splitter tool, does seem a tad expensive for something I'd use once in a blue moon. I couldn't justify that myself.

Anyway, job done... now for the next!!