Olives for compression fittings

I wondered about that. A lot of the fittings from the plumbers merchant come with copper ones for some reason, but you can only buy copper ones in large quantities and the sheds only seem to have brass ones. Brass are harder, and apparently give more support to the pipes. Copper are softer, and seem to require less tightening. I'm sure both should work OK.

Anyone else enlighten us on this ?

Simon.

I think copper ones are ok on plastic (with the insert) but not brass these are too hard

Brass for gas couplings i.e fires ect and copper for water pipes i.e taps ect.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Doesn't explain why its much harder to get the copper ones than brass, round my way anyway. You would have thought more water is done than gas. I think compression for gas is not a good idea anyway. Simon

Copper olives seem to come with fittings which are all plastic. Eg, Some Triton electric showers. Instructions= "hand tighten only" On our bleeding mains pressure? You must be joking.

I notice also the copper olives don't work very well if you try to use them a second time. Probably work-hardening of the copper.

Thats what happens when you live in the vast countryside. ;-)

Why?

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

Dunno ! I thought I heard it said on this group, and decided that a small leak is more likely with gas/compression, especially if the pipes got stressed. But I was simply justifying to myself what I had heard ! Simon.

Copper is best used where the compression fitting is used as a disconnection device at an appliance. The brass olives can indent the pipe, copper rarely do this. On each disconnection and re-connection a new copper olive is used.

Yes but is there an easy way to get the old ones off?

The copper olives are pretty easy to remove. Monument sell an olive remover tool for 15mm only, for...£25.

When I had a gas fitter around to fit the hob (freakin regs!), I questioned his use of compression fittings instead of solder, and he said that they have started to use compression more because "They don't melt in a fire".

Two methods:

Junior hacksaw and big flat bladed screwdriver. Cut through the olive being careful not to touch the pipe. Put screwdriver into slot and twist to expand/break the olive. Be aware of sharp bits of metal on the broken olive.

Get an olive removal tool:

Using a junior hacksaw cut diagonally almost but not quite right through the olive - stop just before you'd be cutting into the pipe. Then insert a flat blade screwdriver into the kerf and twist. The olive will then ping off. Easy.

They only use them around appliances.

I do the same (ish) but it's rarely straightforward. I find the lack of room to manouevre the saw blade and just getting a starting cut without the saw slipping always comes into it.

If these olive pullers are as good as I've heard people say they are then they will definitely be on my tool list.

I know I asked the question, but what I do is adjust a wrench to slightly larger than the pipe, then use the wrench against the nut and tap it with a hammer. Not easy and copper olives are not easy!

Sometimes you can ease the olive off by using waterpump pliers to pull the back of the nut towards the end of the pipe, first at one side then the opposite.

The operative word is "sometimes".