Press fit....... Good or bad

[Mark Woodcock]

I'm thinking of taking the plunge into press fit. Just with working in lofts etc it seems a lot safer. Can anyone recommend any and if they think it's worthwhile.

Thanks

 

[ShaunCorbs]

novopress aco 103 and its brillant you can hire a tool for around 70 for a week to trail it if you like it pull the trigger etc

 

[Plumb Tidy]

Is there any situations or downsides where you wouldn't recommend press fit like it not fitting in chases or underneath boiler close to kitchen worktop etc. They seem brill and look the way forward i see a lot of Pros only one con the price and passing the cost on to the customer for the fittings in domestic purposes.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Fit them anywhere no distance required from a boiler like plastic

Slightly more bulky but around the same area as solder ring / tec tite

tool access can be a con but you have to think head when installing and most of the hard ones you can press out and reinstall etc

 

[MOSSEP]

I use a REMS press gun and X-Press fittings, Williams stock them so easy to get hold of. As long as you can get the jaws in then they are great, as Shaun said, you need to think ahead - space pipes around 50mm apart and a similar distance from walls or ceiling so you can get the jaws onto the fittings.

 

[ShaunCorbs]

The REM’s 45 d jaws help alot

 

[WC1]

Rems 45 jaws look interesting but I see that Rigid do a small profile ring that goes around the pipe which looks even better for tight spots

View: https://youtu.be/DIKlvSz76Ok


Most of my domestic work is in teeny tiny flats and I haven't taken taken the plunge yet because of the chunky jaws...

Ps also not keen on another charger and battery system - currently running makita and I don't think they do or are intending to do a press tool. Big thumbs down for makita!

 

[Roy_66]

Just an amateur view:

Tools choice has been discussed in other threads I think. Search Google for Xpress.

I know these things are expensive (battery may not be main cost (?) ) but think if I was a pro I would want one of these to do Xpress fittings.

Trick is to try to design new pipework ( or redesign old pipework) so joints in places you can get the tool on.

Perhaps do a thought exercise over next few jobs to see how much time it would save, then extrapolate that to a couple of years to see how it pays for itself.

I'm also thinking it has potentially several long term health benefits, and you can't price that.

Could you hire one for a bit to give it a go?

Cheers,

Roy (Amateur)

 

[cr0ft]

A few years back when I was running my business I looked at one of these tools. I decided not to buy one as my work was mainly domestic at the time and I couldn't justify the outlay. Unless the domestic market has changed significantly in the last 3 years you can't pass extra costs on easily and remain competitive. This means the tool has to speed you up (as the fittings are expensive) so you can fit more jobs in each day! I wasn't convinced it would do that for me in the domestic setting.

When I moved into commercial work on the tools with the NHS I convinced our managers to buy a REMS press fit solution for fittings up to 54mm. It also did 15mm pipework fittings too which was handy in instances where you couldn't solder the pipework. I remember one memorable occasion where some dodgy copper pipe in one property had pin-holed through. We couldn't isolate the section of pipe as the gate valve wouldn't close fully. It would however close enough to cut the pipe where the small pinhole was and press fit in a slip coupling Made a job that would have been very tricky very simple!

Others with more recent domestic experience will correct me if I'm wrong but I see their use in domestic being a bit more limited. In general the press fit machines are quite large and you would be restricted getting them into certain positions between floor joists etc.

In summary, if you do or plan to get into commercial work or you like buying gadgets - go for it! I think you can even get press fittings for natural gas now too.