Do you pressure test?

[Phil]

How many domestic plumbers on here actaully pressure test their new pipework after fitting.

If a fitting failed and flooded a customers house, will the insurance pay up?

Mind you there would be no proof that you didn't pressure test.

 

[newbie1]

having has a mini flood once i think pressure testing is an excellent idea as soldering after water has been in the pipes is a pig
on another note what do people use for the pressure test

 

[Winston]

Not often but I do occassionally surely we should have some confidence to you work

 

[Jimbob]

yes its all about confidence, and you can tell if a soldered joint is suspect. If just moving rad or something small, wouldnt bother. But if its a new installation i always pressure test, takes no time at all and the helps your confidence when you filling it up. I used a compressor and pump it with air to about 5 bar

 

[newbie1]

well it was a soldered joint that gave out over a weekend and was soldered on the friday morning so not immediatly apparent
confidence is one thing but on a full install i would rather pressure test than try and slder a joint that has water in it


what compressor are the guys who use them using..thks

 

[Bernie2]

Hmm! Interesting.

Everybody knows you should test to 1.5 times max working pressure.

But I worked on new housing sites for years and never where we told to pressure test water pipes and I never saw any other companies do it either.

On industrial sites in certain situations yes, housing no.

The same applies on repair work.

It's perhaps understandable on things like underfloor heating or even on combi systems. But like it or not its something that never seems to get done.

And without test equipment you can't bang a combi system up to 5 bar to test it, if the mains pressure only goes to 1 bar. And to use the equipment the companies have got to supply it to you.

If you read a specification few of them mention it either.

The only way of course is to get the insurance companies to stipulate it as a requirement for any claims.

 

[garry]

I dont pressure test on homes but i do check every joint twice after fitting and touch wood never let me down yet having said that i do if using alot of plastic joints, i had one once that was fine for three weeks and then gave way after having investgating, it turn out that it didnt seal correctly a it ended up with building up back pressure on the joint which gave after three weeks of been fine. On the up side the makers of the part did say it was the part that failed and sorted everything saving my insurance. Thank god i was douting myself for a bit

 

[w1nxn]

i agree its down to confidence in fittings and u soldering them, but i have found once that if a joint hasnt soldered completely, that flux can hold a seal, but only for say overnight, then u get a call back.

 

[Phil]

Garry, was there much damage?

Where was the fitting that failed?

I haven't been going all that long but I do consider myself a good plumber and the only call backs I get are for faulty parts etc.

But I'm dreading the phone call (I'm sure it will come one day) that a fitting has failed and the lounge ceiling is on the floor.

Did you customer give you an ear bashing Garry?

 

[stevetheplumber]

i air test anything above ground level especialy when workin in flats ground floor flats i just fill if some thing leaks its not going to flood below
one thing is i never fill up and leave anything larger than a small alteration better to come back next morning for a couple of hours

any plumber tells you he has never had a leak is either very slow or a liar

 

[Plucky]

Pressure test on commercial work but rarely in domestic as its easier to keep track of everything and your usually working within reach of everything.

Where as working in a school recently with 76mm copper, 3 buffer tanks with 2 and a half inch bushings, 100 square metres underfllor heating. Pressure testing is essential

 

[Jimbob]

We did some luxury flats once, pressure tested them a couple times, ones on first fix, and once before filling. Filled system all was fine. Had to go back 2 weeks later because a hep fitting blew off. Ceiling had to come down and carpet below had to be replaced. My employer wasnt happy. But at the time i did recommend he fitted PRV's, as they turned up the pressure in the summer in this particular seaside village.

Often find leaks with a compressor, takes 2 seconds to sort them then.

 

[garry]

Hi phill yeah she did but was just as quick to sorry when she found out it wasnt my fault, the part was under the floor in the bathroom which hadbeen tiled since i finshed it was a 't' on a cw supply for a electric shower hense why it took three weeks every time they turned the shower on it built up back pressure then one day they was in the shower all the lights went out a they could hear water runing down stairs it was coming out off every light fitting damage in the region of £6000 everything was ruined. Just a tip for every new plumber on hear get insurance it may seem a pain but if the makers of the part came back and said it was my fault and dint have it i would of been in a bit of poo

 

[bobpape]

Newbie1 asked what compressor you use,

All you need is a tyre inflator type foot pump and a fitting with a schrader valve to
connect to,
and a few plastic end plug fittings.

 

[migoplumber]

i use a cheap b&q brand compressor newbie, as bob states a couple of different push fits on the end get you onto most pipework, never air test to more than 3 bar, it just starts getting dangerous.

no matter how much experience you have, you can never know if a joint is bad, you can have an inkling that its a dodgy one though

 

[Phil]

Thanks for the reply Garry, was it a pushfit tee then? It sounds like it.

Was it used on plastic or copper pipe?

What manufactuer was it? John Guest, Hepworth, Polyfit, Polyplumb?

 

[newbie1]

i use a cheap b&q brand compressor newbie, as bob states a couple of different push fits on the end get you onto most pipework, never air test to more than 3 bar, it just starts getting dangerous.

no matter how much experience you have, you can never know if a joint is bad, you can have an inkling that its a dodgy one though

do you just connect to one of the rad pipes and any pics of the type of fitting you use as most of the compressors seem to come with tyre fitting on the end..tks
looked on web at compressors just not sure how to connect up to 15mm pipe to test..bear with me for asking what must seem a silly question

 

[Winston]

I have to admit I had a job where installed a fair amount of copper and new rads to a combi ch system. I pressure tested and all was fine, then I got a mate to fill her up whilst I went and bled the rads all was well. Until I found my mate hadnt quite followed my instructions!

They had whacked the pressure right up to 3 bar! removed excess pressure put boiler on all was well. Then was preparing to drain down after 2 hours, to refill with sludge remover to help older pipework. Then woosh a joint failed just where my customer was standing I have to say it was better than most power showers

Shortly afterwards my mate decided he needed to be elsewhere! Anyway job done and customer was happy after all

 

[david williams]

For your own peace of mind always test your own work,hydrolic ,air,but you should not test work put in by previous plumbers unless you have the authority to do so from custermer .as the damage you may cause if pipework is defective ,you may be held liable for.always get authority in writing and explain test may damage old instalations.

 

[Bernie2]

I must admit I am not a fan of plastic pipe for water systems. Soil yes!

I had a plastic coupler blow off once for no apparent reason even though it had been working fine. On inspection it looked fine as well.

The thing is with a solder joint, you can usually tell right away what's wrong with it. Even a compression fitting on copper is fairly obvious, but "push fit" always seem dodgy even those for copper pipe.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of using plastic water pipe and "push fit" in certain situations, its just that the couplers seem the weak point.

 

[helpsy]

I'm new in the business and I've asked various plumbers I'd come across about this issue and I was personally told by them all that they didn't pressure test domestic pipework.I have a hydrostatic test pump and an air pump.I am testing any pipework that is out of sight/in awkward places

 

[heinz57]

In new properties of any kind you should test all the pipework, its in
the regs and its just good practice, I have a sheet that ive drawn up on
my pc that gets handed to the customer, it covers my ar##.

 

[jonathanb]

With Heinz on that, I pressure test to 8bar for at least 1 hour on all new development work and have it signed off and witnessed by site manager - no combacks then. Have seen plastic fittings in all their various forms pop at around 6 bar for no apparent reason, with no manu better than the other, it just happens every 10th house or so. Better to happen in an empty plot at that stage than later down the line..