"ez-sweat" copper fittings vs. old school sweating

[oldsquawky]

I'm about to replace my shower valve and a few other things around the bathroom. I've done a few solder sweating of copper connections in the past, but I am in no way even mediocre at it. While picking up supplies at Homer I noticed a product by Watts Industries called "ez-sweat fittings" that have a ring of solder built into the inside of the fitting, just add flux, heat and yer done. Seems like a good idea for DIY'ers like me. My question is: will this type of copper fitting be as sound and last as long as a traditional copper fitting.

Thanks- jimmy

[hj]

It is an old idea in a new form. The joints are only as good as the person doing them follows the directions, the same as a conventional joint. My 13 year old grandson insists on doing all my soldering when he is with me, so it cannot be too difficult to master. Especially since he has no more leaks than a professional plumber does.

[InspectorGadget]

I picked up a few of these just to see if they were any better or made installation easier. They are about 2-3 times the price of conventional fittings but the ones that I got seem to be holding. Same rules apply to these: clean the pipe and fitting, flux well, heat fitting. Only difference is that you don't have to guess when the fitting is at the correct temp. When the fitting is hot enough, you will know because solder will squirt out both sides. I installed mine in a very accessable area so I could keep an eye on it over time. So far, it's fine.

I'm not sure that it's much of a time saver but it may come in handy for some hard to reach areas.

My other reservation is that I don't know who's solder they are using in the fitting. I'm not sure that it matters but a lot of plumbers have their favorites.

[markdiy]

I used some of these on a basement bathroom install about 18 mo. ago and no leaks yet. On some of the fittings, I used a little conventional solder as well just because that's what I'm used to. They're a little more expensive, but on a simple job like a complete bathroom, I think it only cost me about $5 more to use the EZ Sweat.

[chipshot]

Being new to sweating copper I tried the EZ ones. I found that after doing a few traditional ones I liked them much better becuase I could actually see when the solder was being sucked in and I have alot more faith in the standard fittings now that I know how to do it.