push-fit stop-ends ?

[Colin Wilson]

I just discovered our shower's leaking where it enters the mixer valve on the wall - i`ve tried tightening up the connections on it, but its still oozing (its one of the cheap plastic things British Gas were fitting ~15 years ago as freebies with multipoints)

Just to make life a little more difficult, access is very limited, and the chrome feeder pipes are sunk into a celcon wall - consequently, the wall is, to put it bluntly, a wet dissolving sponge.

I can probably cap the feeds to the shower without too much difficulty (I know we`d be without one for a while, but the bathroom needs a damn good revamp anyway).

How reliable are push-fit stop-ends ? - should I throw a few more quid at the problem and buy myself a blowtorch and solder it up ?

[daddyfreddy]

Providing the end of the tubing is free of solder or dents then push-fits are fine.

[daddyfreddy]

When I say free of solder I mean solder lumps, a coat of solder isn't a problem.

[fred]

In article , [e-mail] writes

Not sure if this is a temporary measure of permanent, if temp I would have no qualms, if permanent & buried I'd solder it. Also if you're applying these to the chromed pipe then I'm afraid it's another no-no as the barbs in the fitting can't reliably grab the hard surface, you'd need to strip the chrome first without creating gouges or strip & solder or use compression stop ends.

[Chris Bacon]

Yes, I would - it's only a couple of quid, you get an unquestionable result, and you've got the tool for further plumbing/heat spannering/ general titting about with things.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Pushfit work fine for this purpose. Make sure outside of pipe is deburred (ideally, cut with a wheeled pipe cutter) so you don't damage the O-ring. Also, they don't claim to reliably grip chrome -- take it off the copper with steel wool. Make sure you get releasable ones (although that might present a possible non-child-proof risk if you have young children around the house).

[Colin Wilson]

Thanks for the answers chaps, the only place i`m likely to be able to get to the pipework is hard up against the wall just behind the side panel, and its copper at this point...

Hopefully it really would just be a temp measure, as we`ve got 22mm pipework in for most of it, and I suspect i`m going to drop that to

15mm (as advised originally by the guy who fitted our combi) when we rip out the existing...

[Doctor Drivel]

I have seen them shoot off like a bullet and stick in the wall opposite, releasing a full open end. Use a brass compression stop end.

[Andrew Gabriel]

For some reason, that doesn't suppise me. Most of the rest us manage plumbing without your trail of disasters though.

[SimonJ]

No you haven't.

[nightjar]

They are not intended for hydraulic pressure systems, which is about the only use that could produce that result.

Colin Bignell

[nightjar]

I've been using one as a temporary measure in the loft for three years now without problems. (It is one of those round tuit jobs that will eventually give me another outside tap). Just ensure that the pipe is clean and free from all burrs before you fit it.

Colin Bignell

[Doctor Drivel]

These were on sites. I never fitted them, as I would not be so silly as to do such a thing as fit a pushfit stop end.

[Doctor Drivel]

You must making things up.

[Doctor Drivel]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

It was in a normal house. Avoid them and use a compression and do it properly.

[Doctor Drivel]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

Another potential disaster waiting to happen. Change it for a compression now.

[Brian Sharrock]

This'd make an episode of CSI .... Hmmm, how far away was the wall .... (opposite implies room-width ..)? How high off the floor was the end-stop? [Now matter how fast the exit velocity -good old 'g' 32 ft/sec/sec will pull the end-stop to the floor] How far into the wall did the plastic end-stop penetrate ... ? { there's an implication that it must've been ~10mm for the device to remain 'stuck' in the wall ) What was the pressure of water acting on the end-stop to provide the motive force ? [ 15mm diameter circle offer how much surface area? ] What material was the wall made of ? Blu-Tack? Double sided sticky tape?

The world wonders ...

[Brian Sharrock]

"nightjar .uk.com>"

Me too ! After you with the round tuit, ... but not too soon? I cut the pipe with a cutter and used one of those devices for cleaning pipes that's a plastic barrel with a 15mm hole at one end and a 22mm hole at the other, inside the barrels are lots of sandpaper(?) radial flaps that scour and clean the inserted pipe end after a few twists. Pushed the end-stop onto the truncated pipe ... crossed fingers ... enabled water (mains pressure) and .... nothing , no leaks, no seepage , no retightening, it just sits there stopping water flow.

[Matt]

The walls? Usually padded and slightly damp in Dribble's case.

[Doctor Drivel]

Lord Hall, why are you using two accounts?