Tips for using Flexicable Copper Tubing???? Downsides?

I need to connect some plumbing and cant sweat them for nothing...

so I will go around it with using copper tubing...

Talk to me bout it

Do you use it? if so any tips?

Thanx

What's your problem with sweating? This is a pretty simple process with just a few basic principals to follow.

Gary Swart said:

What's your problem with sweating? This is a pretty simple process with just a few basic principals to follow.

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I suck at it...always leaks...

plus I am dealing with a valve that is not shutting off completly ....

It sounds like you've discovered, it is impossible to solder a wet joint! There are tools that can stop the flow, but they may be more expensive than you want. Although a wad of white bread can work, and it's cheap.

Two ways to connect flexible - compression fittings and flared. Don't do either right, and they can leak or spontaneously come apart, so they have their advantages and disadvantages. Not sure about the relative wall thickness, but it's hard to kink rigid pipe! Much easier to do on flexible stuff. Bending takes some level of skill and sometimes the right tool, depending on the radius.

jadnashua said:

It sounds like you've discovered, it is impossible to solder a wet joint! There are tools that can stop the flow, but they may be more expensive than you want. Although a wad of white bread can work, and it's cheap.

Two ways to connect flexible - compression fittings and flared. Don't do either right, and they can leak or spontaneously come apart, so they have their advantages and disadvantages. Not sure about the relative wall thickness, but it's hard to kink rigid pipe! Much easier to do on flexible stuff. Bending takes some level of skill and sometimes the right tool, depending on the radius.

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thanx for the response...

I need to install a foot of it in a 90 degree turn

Maybe I should have mentioned that initally....

so can it be done?

Here's a trick that worked for me in a similar situation. I made a swab out of a piece of old towel and attached it to a stiff wire (coat hanger) The swab was thick enough to fit firmly inside the pipe but not so tight to make it difficult to pull out. I soldered in coupler to an male adapter that would later screw into a ball valve. Then I threaded the adapter/coupler onto the wire, fluxed the coupler and pipe, and pushed the swap into the pipe. It went in about 10" or so. Then I pushed the coupler on the pipe and soldered it. When the joint cooled, I pulled the swab out, screwed the new valve in place, and went on with plumbing perfectly dry pipe. I made absolutely certain the pipe end and coupler inside were exceptional well cleaned and I used an excessive amount of flux just to be sure everything was ready to solder without delay. The meter valve still leaks a tad, but I can turn the water off 100% with the ball valve.

jadnashua said:

Two ways to connect flexible - compression fittings and flared. Don't do either right, and they can leak or spontaneously come apart, so they have their advantages and disadvantages. Not sure about the relative wall thickness, but it's hard to kink rigid pipe! Much easier to do on flexible stuff. Bending takes some level of skill and sometimes the right tool, depending on the radius.

Click to expand...

I grew up flaring copper in an RV factory, and that is my preference. But, you need a really good flaring tool to get a really good flare. So, compression is easier and less expensive. Keep in mind, however, that neither flare nor compression fittings should ever be buried inside walls where leaks cannot be easily located and repaired.

Bending a foot of soft copper into a 90 should not be difficult. Just go slow and easy while using your thumbs as the inside mandrel and working the tube from one end to the other and back a little at a time.