Question for plumbers

[Sancho]

I have a leak under my bath. It looks to me like a joint (90 degree, capillary) on the feed to the cold tap is weeping a bit.

I suppose I ought to fix it myself rather than pay some £100 to do a five minute job. My understanding is that I need the following:

1. Gas torch
2. Self-cleaning flux
3. Solder

And that I do the repair by:

1. Turn off the water
2. Run the tap until it's dry
3. Chuck flux all over the joint
4. Heat the joint up
5. Wait for the flux to bubble
6. Jab solder at the joint a few times until there's a ring all the way around.
7. Wait a bit
8. Turn the water on
9. Have a fag and a cup of tea

Is this correct? Any tips?

Thanks chaps.

[sledge]

thats the jist of it

[POPEYE]

Not quite, there may be water left in the pipework which will make soldering impossible, also the joilt will now be coated in scale and solder wont take even with cleaning flux, your easiest method would be to go and buy a push fit flexy 15mm to 3/4" bsp (tap) and cut out the duff section and replace with the flexy, you can get em extra long if needed, it'll work out cheaper than buying all the other tools etc to do it


Forgot to add if your doing that cut the old pipe with a tube cutter and not a hacksaw, the rough end caused by hacksaw will bugger the push fit seal

[Sancho]

Ian,

Are you saying I get a flexi that goes from pipe all the way up to the tap? Will the flexi have the washer in to connect up to the tap? Would I be better off just getting a 15mm to 15mm flexi and cutting the section out and replacing it?

[POPEYE]

Either way mate, depends on how far the duff joint is from the tap, the braded flexy's come complete with tap washer and in my experience seal on the tap better than the old fibre type washer, never trusted them without wrapping with ptfe tape, flexy's come in push-fit or compression ends and either one will do, depends on how easy the pipe is to "get at" sods law being what it is it'll prob be the pipe at the back that leaks makeing it bl00dy awkward to use spanners so with a nice clean cut on the old pipe push-fit will be much easier

[RodLeach]

A large amount of plumbing nowadays is carried out with flexi's an push fit connections.

I dont see much of a problem with them.

Worse thing is companys like Hep20 an speedfit are making fittings that are on show..

Plastic pipe is fine when its in a loft space or hidden. Flexis are fine at the back of a bath or basin...

but plastic pipe coming out the wall into a radiator?!

Pi$$ off!!!

[tintin]

Have to agree with you there Rod, but mostly it's the fittings that are so F****ng ugly!
If your'e coming out of a floor or wall straight to the rad valve you can use chrome or white "pipe snaps" and a matching pipe rosette and never see the plastic!
Alan

[RodLeach]

We've got pipe snaps on our radiator in the Bathroom!

Looks pretty smart.

I'd still prefer copper. I did a pressure test for one bloke in a new build an all i heard was "Theres water pi$$in out up from the floor!!!"

took the pressure off, pulled the boards an found a straight coupling on plastic pipe that wasn't right home!!

Couldn't moan at the fella! I did the exact same thing once!!

My bl**dy brother in law... decieded to take a rad off the wall to decorate!

Sticks a wrench over the tail going into the rad an starts turning! Didn't grip the valve itself. Kinked the pipe all to sh!t!

[tintin]

We've got pipe snaps on our radiator in the Bathroom!

Looks pretty smart.

I'd still prefer copper. I did a pressure test for one bloke in a new build an all i heard was "Theres water pi$$in out up from the floor!!!"

took the pressure off, pulled the boards an found a straight coupling on plastic pipe that wasn't right home!!

Couldn't moan at the fella! I did the exact same thing once!!

My bl**dy brother in law... decieded to take a rad off the wall to decorate!

Sticks a wrench over the tail going into the rad an starts turning! Didn't grip the valve itself. Kinked the pipe all to sh!t!

Both, VERY easily done mate, repaired many of both!
Alan

[Sancho]

As some of you may know, I commission and project manage new builds for a living. I've seen literally hundreds of leaks in my time. I find the HEP2O and Speedfit generally more reliable, purely because they take less skill to fit. They are pretty dramatic when they do go pop though. As you say Rod, almost always someone not hooking it up fully.

Having said that, I am no plumber at all, I just know what works and what doesn't (anything done properly and anything done badly respectively) so thanks everyone for your input. Off to the hardware shop to see what they've got for me now...

[POPEYE]

Aye mateys, i prefer a neat solder joint set up on any new new install, push fit's ok for out of the way pipe and aggree the joints are feckin ugly, saw a heating system done on nowt but plastic and it looked awefull, drops were all bendy nowt done tidyly, did'nt quite trust push fit when it came out but it seems to have proved itself, remember the old glue together "polyorc" stuff
friggin awefull! glue together, leave for 12 hours, do a test, and leave for further 12 hours, then find ya've forgotten to glue one joint seen that stuff blown up like a baloon behind the ball valve when the stats gone and the whole fortic boil'd

[RodLeach]

When Hep20 first came out they did a sh!t load of demonstrations at plumbers merchants.

I cant remember the exact figure in P.S.I that they are stable too.

But i know it is far in excess of a boiler operating pressure.

I guess its just learning to take on new stuff.

Nowadays plumbing is just plastic an flexis. I prefer copper but thank goodness Iron has phased out!

Did a old farmhouse for a family friend an he wanted the original cast iron rads checked an then re fitted. Had to take each one out an then carry them downstairs out the front, pressure test it an then carry it all the way back up.

waaay to heavy!!

Now the companys doing refurbishment an maintenance work im not sure i want to be a part of it anymore.

Next week is london for a few weeks. 4am starts.
Plus the stuff that cubicles are made out of is painfully heavy! Im 21 an not unfit! Ok im not tip top but carrying the panels for anymore then a minute an my arms are about to fall off.

Everybloke i know doing that stuff is crippled!

[MattF]

Did a old farmhouse for a family friend an he wanted the original cast iron rads checked an then re fitted. Had to take each one out an then carry them downstairs out the front, pressure test it an then carry it all the way back up.

waaay to heavy!!

Wuss. Honestly, kids these days wouldn't know hard work if it came up and slapped them with a hard work stick.

[RodLeach]

Wuss. Honestly, kids these days wouldn't know hard work if it came up and slapped them with a hard work stick.

G*bby sh!t!! Learn some damn respect for your erm.... youngers!!!

[MadcapMagician]

1. Turn off the water
2. Run the tap until it's dry
3. Chuck flux all over the joint
4. Heat the joint up
5. Wait for the flux to bubble
6. Jab solder at the joint a few times until there's a ring all the way around.
7. Wait a bit
8. Turn the water on
9. Have a fag and a cup of tea

Is this correct?

Almost. You need a couple of extra steps at the beginning:

1. Suck teeth.
2. Say "tsk, tsk, tsk" at least 3 or 4 times.
3. Ask who did the original job.
4. Call your mate and tell him about the horrendous job you've got to repair.
5. Put kettle on.
6. Get tools from van.
7. Have cup of tea.
8. Realise that you don't, after all, have a shenanigan rod on you.
9. "Nip" back home to get proper tools.
10. Call homeowner and advise that you'll return tomorrow.