I've got a slide hammer tool that does it, for 15mm.
Yup. You generally need to tighten them till they groan. Soldering is generally easier. And assuming you have the skills, far less likely to leak ever.
Practice. A bit of tube and some fittings ain't exactly expensive even if scrap afterwards.
Use a decent active flux like Everflux. But make sure you wash off any excess afterwards, and flush through. And keep it away from your skin.
I did an experiment with some old tube that had been lying around in the cellar. And nicely dull end feed fittings. Everflux made a decent joint without any cleaning at all. Of course in practice I clean everything.
Watched a plumber do that. He just hammered in a sizing drift. Cleaning the inside for solder might be an issue with old pipe.
Ants like to nest in ours!
>
I doubt that unless you have a 2 ft long extension, the ones round here dont have a nut on top but is more a wing nut type of mechanism to turn off/on.
True, but the SOS isn't usually 'install a new sink', it's 'my toilet is leaking'. Maybe that involves installing a new cold fill pipe, but often it'll mean fixing what's already there (replacing the fitting or gasket or whatever). I suspect most low level plumbing jobs don't actually involve new pipe. Although I agree it's worthwhile to be able to cope if it is needed.
Theo
I've used a wet and dry vacuum cleaner in the past to successfully dry out a pipe long enough for soldering. I made a crude vaccum cleaner hose to 15 mm pipe adapter and just used a straight coupling (unsoldered) to connect to the plumbing.
Theo has brought this to us :
I cover for rather more than absolute emergencies in my kit. I have two professional blow lamps, solder, flux, a large selection of fittings both 15 and 22mm (solder and compression), both sizes of pipe, pipe cutters, emery, heat shield pad, strips of heavy duty rubber and Jubilee clips.
I never throw old fittings away, even the solder ones - cleaned up they can be reused. I do all my own plumbing, it's not difficult with a bit of practice. Best get the practice on the bench, under no pressure.
Martin Brown presented the following explanation :
It doesn't need to, all you need do is make sure the water is properly drained first.
It should not be discoloured at all, unless your system is badly neglected. Inhibitor will keep a clean system clean and clear of the black magnetite - basically rust from the inside of the radiators.
My system has been drained just twice in 40 years, each time refilled with inhibiter. On neither occaission did anything but clear water come out.
Copper everytime, if you want it to last! End feed fittings are cheaper, but solder ring are a little easier to use. Compression for where it is impossible to solder.
Once you have the hang of any soldering, it is easily transferable to plumbing.
on 30/11/2020, alan_m supposed :
It works on skin tags :-)
I said a normal DIY car toolkit. With extensions for sockets.
Most car DIYers could cope with 2 ft worth of extensions. And it's a square on my street stopcock.
Then that's not plumbing. Merely maintenance.
John Rumm wrote on 30/11/2020 :
A carrot!
John Rumm has brought this to us :
I never knew they sold a spanner to fit them, I have always just used Stilsons.
A length of timber, with a fork cut in the end and a hole for a bar at the other.
I prefer them since they are:
shorter and slimmer, significantly cheaper, and have slightly less thermal mass, so heat more quickly. At the end, you end up with a neater looking job.
I keep decent stocks of end feed, and just a handful of solder ring for the occasions you have to work with one arm under a floor or similar and can't hold both blowtorch and solder.
They are different. :-)
Again, useful in cases where you can get a pipe dry, or you want something demountable, or are not in a location where it would be safe to use a flame.
Indeed - and I have recommended same myself, although it does assume one has a suitable carrot that's not frozen!
When we had a bathroom fitted the plumbers were clearly instructed - no hot work in the loft.
We have a thatched roof...
Andy
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