Bob, How I agree, nothing like a compression fitting on water. It is also a great and inexpensive way to convert copper over to plastic. RJ ----- Original Message ----- From: Bob Kennedy To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 22:24 Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Bathroom Shut-off valves
If you want to take out a soldered in shut off, you can replace it with a compression version. I'm a big fan of these although some will say it isn't the same result. I've only had one leak when using a compression fitting and when I took it back to Lowes the guy that works in plumbing and has a master plumber ticket said the piece was out of round so it couldn't have sealed. Those are probably 1 in a million, and it was my turn to be the millionth guy... But the cool thing about compression fittings is if they leak, just tighten them a bit more. There is a limit to how tight to go, but if you prepare the ends of the pipes you should never have to find out how tight is too tight... ----- Original Message ----- From: Scott Howell To: [email protected] Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 7:26 PM Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Bathroom Shut-off valves Hey thanks. Maybe if I were smart, I'd go the extra step and just replace stuff with CPVC or PEX and be done with it. grin Great Info, I did not realize what was soldered together could be unsoldered. Just really never gave it a lot of thought, but I'd surely have to practice soldering before I would want to get into this. I wouldn't want to screw up the job and have pin leaks. grin I guess that coudl be fixed as well. On Mar 6, 2009, at 6:41 AM, Bob Kennedy wrote: > Don't cut it out. It's only going to be connected 1 of 2 ways, > either threaded or soldered. If it's threaded that can sometimes be > a bigger problem to get loose than soldered or sweated fittings. > > If the pipes are copper, it will most likely be soldered together. > You'll have to turn off the water to that point, open up a tap > somewhere to let the pressure off and then heat the sides with a > torch. It's probably best to go back and forth across the shut off, > or waste gate, to heat both sides together. Much easier since it's > coming apart. Just heat until you can grab the stem with a wet rag > or glove or even a small pipe wrench and make it twist. I say small > pipe wrench so you don't put a ton of torque on it to break it > loose. You can twist the copper pipes easier than the shut off and > then you have a whole new problem. > > Once the shut off breaks loose, it gets tricky. You have to get it > moving and work it loose from the pipe. Once one end comes out, just > keep going back and forth to take it off the other pipe. > I'd say just reverse that to install the new one but there's a bit > more to it than twisting and heating. See past articles on how to > solder copper pipes. > > If the shut off is threaded, you will need to find a connection in > the line, away from the shut off itself. It will probably look like > a large nut on the pipe you can't explain... Break that connection > loose first then you'll be able to back the shut off apart from the > other pipe leading to the water heater. > > Just take your time and plan on a bit of a mess before you start. > That way there won't be that oh crap feeling when water starts > running everywhere. > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Scott Howell > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 5:54 AM > Subject: Re: [BlindHandyMan] Bathroom Shut-off valves > > Hey I got a question and it may seem to be a silly question, but well > I'm going to ask. I have a couple of gate valves in the house that > have gotten so they no longer function. I might be able to get them > working, but it is not worth it since they are quite old and likely > will just leak when shut off. So, I am thinking about replacing them > and the question is they are in the middle of a pipe. An example is > the shut off for the waterheater. Cutting it off would not be a > problem, but just for the discussion, lets say the body of the valve > is 2 inches long. So, you cut this out and now you have a two inch gap > and you will replace the old valve with a new one. If this new valve > body was two inches long, you would be a little pressed for having > room to reconnect either side of the pipes to the valve. Now I hope > that isn't confusing and that might seem like a silly question, but > how do you make the two halves meet? > > tnx > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
