compression fittings

[Scott Mills]

Hello

The new christmas bathroom is coming along well, but slower than plan, the

300+ tiles took longer to cut and stick that I thought. Yesterday I did a measly 70 tiles, everyone needed to be cut. arrrgh!

Now for the next problem, Lead pipes.

I have the lead-lok fittings but at a tenner a go I'm hoping to take them back. I have about half an inch of copper pipe on the end of a wiped joing which has a compression fitting onto a tap on. I'm wondering if I can reuse the olive in the compression fitting already on the copper. I'm worried that I might damage the wiped joint when trying to remove the olive as access is difficult.

Any ideas if this is possible, or am I pushing my luck too far? I have lots of boss white...!

If not does anyone have any tips on removing the olive without smacking at it with spanners like I normally do?

Cheers Scott

[Chris Oates]

Lead pipes !!! why are you torturing yourself like this get some push fit plastic

[Set Square]

There's no reason in principle why you shouldn't re-use the olive and nut - provided the olive is in reasonable condition and that the nut has the correct thread (some do, some don't). You can check the first by inspection. You can check the second by trying a nut off your new fitting on the fitting which used to be on the pipe. If the new nut fits the old fitting, the old not will fit the new fitting!

[Andy Hall]

Very carefully with a junior hacksaw. Cut through the olive carefully with the saw at an angle - i.e. not directly along the length of the pipe to avoid the nut.

It will ping off with a small screwdriver.

Be careful not to damage the pipe.

.andy

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[Paul C. Dickie]

In article , Chris Oates writes

Dare one ask if the lead has already had some effect on his CNS? o-)

[Ben Blaukopf]

I've had some success using (carefully) water pump pliers, and wriggling the olive off by rotating first one way then another, and applying gentle sideways pressure.

Nothing like working in confined spaces for finding new techniques!

Ben

[Andy Hall]

True, and I've done it as well. However, I didn't suggest it here because this is a joint into a lead pipe, and applying a twisting force might not do the joint any good......

.andy

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[Stuart]

Personally Ive never done it any other way than sawing through the olive with a junior hacksaw and pinging it apart with a small screwdriver

-worked every time . Stuart

[Dave Plowman]

Plenty of places have the lead pipes buried in the walls. To replace them with new - which also doesn't show - could be a vast amount of work.

[BillR]

I'd second that. If there is some copper there already then try to use it even if you have to adapt the existing compression nut to 15 or 22mm. BTW leadlok/leadline are a lot cheaper online. If you are going to use them you need to be sure that you have the correct one for your poundage of lead pipe, before you pass the point of no return. The poundage can't easily be determined by looking at the lead pipe unless you can make out some writing on it.. Also its not allowed to make a wiped lead joint to copper any more but I guess using an existing one is ok..

[Dave Plowman]

Wonder why that is? The very first one I attempted was when I moved into my present house over 25 years ago when I broke the internal stopcock and couldn't get a replacement that would fit. I did a lead to copper either side and used a normal 15mm stopcock. Of course all the internal lead is long since gone, but that original incoming lead to copper is still there...

[Scott Mills]

Thanks for all this. I am going to attempt to reuse the olives as I think it is worth a shot and I don't want to kill the wiped joint if I can. I was always under the impression that olives were a one trick shot but thinking about them I don't really see why I can't reuse them with some care.

Scott

[Set Square]

They're a one trick shot only in the sense that you can only compress them onto the pipe once. However, that doesn't stop you from removing the pipe from the fitting and replacing it (or, in your case, moving it to a different fitting) as long as you don't disturb the olive.

[Rick Hughes]

Get rid of them .... I think you can get a grant to replace them so it won't cost you ... you certainly don't want to be getting any water via lead pipes.

Rick

[Niall]

PTFE tape is your friend here.

[Dave Plowman]

In a hard water area, they get coated inside.

[Dave Plowman]

I recently tried out the new Fernox jointing compound - it appears to be a form of clear silicone by the smell. I changed a load of TRVs where the olives all had to be removed from the old ones, so the pipes weren't pristine - there was some distortion where the old olives were. I don't *expect* a compression fitting to leak, but non of these did and I'd say it was a pretty severe test.

[Scott Mills]

Good news! I have managed to changed all the taps (4 in total) and have reused the compression fittings sucessfully without damage to the wiped joint also. I used plenty of PTFE and the Fernox 'white' compound which is a putty smelling paste. Worked a treat!

I've saved myself about 30quid of leadlok fittings and a tenner on flexi pipes. Cheers!

[Scott Mills]

I'm definitly not worried about the lead pipes. The water is in the bathroom fed from a tank which I certanlty would not drink from anyway. I don't do anything from other than washing my hands and top up the bath with that water.

What interested me was that the hot pipe was lead, on following it back there was a another wiped joint in the kicthen which then ran to the combi. I could not see why they didn't run copper all the way to the bath and had a

1.5m run of lead. lazy!

[PoP]

You've been diddled, my son.

Screwfix 15mm to 1/2 are £0.79 each:

sizes and connector types are in the same ball park as far as cost goes.

Someone's onto a money winner selling you flexies.... ;)

PoP

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