Solder v Compression v Pushfit

[Bunglebonce]

Sorry if this has been asked about previously but I wanted an opinion re the specifics of my case.

I'm about to relocate the rad pipes in my kitchen so I can fit a new rad.

if I can fathom it, I'll also be putting the old rad in the hall.

My first thought was to buy the kit to do soldered joints as I don't like the thought of there being leaks when I've put the floor back down and had it covered.

However, having read about the difficulties of soldering wet pipes I'm wondering if I should invest my money in compression fittings or possibly even pushfit.

Any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[AlF2008]

Over the weekend I've drained down our central heating, added thermostatic valves to all but one radiators and moved/replaced one radiator.

I used compression fittings as I've never tried soldering and hence cant. I dont like the idea of pushfit. the above took me 2 days, taking my time and making sure I was happy with all joints. Filled the system back up and the only joint that was leaking was on the old valve which I hadn't changed but obviously disturbed when removing the rad. Got to admit I was quite chuffed.

Hence compression gets my vote. I'm sure the pros here will advocate soldering and if its done well is defintely neater than compression. If you cant solder though......

 

[Bunglebonce]

Thanks for that.

Your on the same train of thought as myself.

Fancied doing the pucker job with soldering; for some reason don't have much faith in pushfit; which leaves me with the mechanical connection of compression fittings.

I imagine the pre-soldered type of fittings are reasonably easy to master but as I'm breaking into wet pipework, I'm worried I'll never get it dry enough to get a proper joint.

Compression is winning at the mo

Any other thoughts???

 

[Bunglebonce]

Bump

Any other opinions here before I go out and spend my wedge today?

 

[marsaday]

best not to have compression under the boards as cannot see if leak - not good practise. go for the glue copper bottle. it glues your copper in 4-10 seconds. looks good, but i havent tried it myself.

plastic is fine, i would use that over compression.

i am not a plumber by the way.

 

[JohnD]

solder everything except the final connection to your wet pipes first. Then you only have two difficult joints.

if you have an aquavac you may be able to suck air through the open ends to help dry them. you may find it easier if you are working on a horizontal run (no drips) and can bend it uphill a bit while you work.

put a mild flame on it and wait until it stops steaming before you assemble the joint

if you want to give yourself the best possible chance of a good joint, you can tin the pipe ends with flux and solder before assembly, polishing it off the end with a clean dry cotton rag before it cools.

I am not a plumber either.

 

[mrgtv01]

best not to have compression under the boards as cannot see if leak - not good practise. go for the glue copper bottle. it glues your copper in 4-10 seconds. looks good, but i havent tried it myself.

plastic is fine, i would use that over compression.

i am not a plumber by the way.

I second that. Just used some last week. very easy, very strong and cheap. Beats soldering on cost and reliability.
compression should only be used if you are likely to remove teh joint in future.

 

[seco services]

best not to have compression under the boards as cannot see if leak - not good practise. go for the glue copper bottle. it glues your copper in 4-10 seconds. looks good, but i havent tried it myself.

plastic is fine, i would use that over compression.

i am not a plumber by the way.

I second that. Just used some last week. very easy, very strong and cheap. Beats soldering on cost and reliability.

never will beat soldering, that will always be a plumbers first choice.
rather use compression than glue them.

 

[TEC]

I've replaced two rads in the house using compression joints and would do it again. They have been going strong for several years now and I would defiantly do the same again. However, on one of them I did have a drip after it was first connected, a little tightening sorted it but if it had been under the floor then I probably would not have noticed until it was too late.

 

[megawatt]

Solder

 

[chris1973swinton]

I would use plastic, you would have to use a barrier pipe to stop the ingress of oxygen into the heating system so would recommend the hep2o barrier pipe which will leave you no joints under the floor so once installed you can forget about any potential leaks.

 

[seco services]

I would use plastic, you would have to use a barrier pipe to stop the ingress of oxygen into the heating system so would recommend the hep2o barrier pipe which will leave you no joints under the floor so once installed you can forget about any potential leaks.

unless you have rodents.

 

[chris1973swinton]

unless you have rodents

you could consider using the microbore copper tube which again would leave no joints below the floor but also has its disadvantages.

 

[Softus]

There are ways and means to make any method work.

As JohnD pointed out, if you have multiple joints to solder, do as many as possible 'in hand' and the last one under the floor.

I'm not a fan of soldering in a floor void because of the risk of igniting sawdust and wood chips etc. Even if you use lots of mats, unburnt gas can sometimes accumulate in the void.

Pushfit fittings are ideal for your application, but don't let an O ring anywhere near pipe/tube that isn't round, clean and completely free of surface imperfections.

Compression on heating pipes under floors is less appealing because they're prone to weeping after a few heating/cooling cycles.

Whatever method you choose, follow the relevant manufacturer's instructions, and have some practice goes on a metre or so of new pipe.
_________

PS Copper glue?

 

[unkle]

FWIW I recently moved a couple of radiators and for under the floor went for push fit, the newer type that screws up tight.

Like this;

Really easy to use, just make sure no sharp edges on the cut pipe, then just bent pipe to come up through floor and connect to the radiator in the usual way. The only leak has been where the radiator valve connects to the radiator which was cured with some hawk white.

My preference anyway as a) i'm no good at soldering and b) even easier than compression.