Author Topic: Battery operated crimp type tool for viega and China fittings  (Read 6216 times)

Offline crankshaftdan II

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Battery operated crimp type tool for viega and China fittings
« on: November 10, 2018, 09:19:13 PM »
Talking about plumbing tools, I had to oversee a plumbing job at my daughters home as the city had to replace a lead service line(Bout 65' long) due to a major leak.   It was a 1" dia. type "K" flexible copper line from service in curb/street to basement/with new meter.   They used a combo of brass threaded valves and viega crimp style fittings.   Had a $5000.00 milwaukee battery operated crimping tool that squeezes from 3/8 to 4" dia. fittings in 8 second cycle time!   This looks to be the way to go if you can justify the cost and have a lot of plumbing to do??    I looked on line and they have a manual squeeze type with dies from 1/2 thru 1" for about $200.00 for the casual user/DIY guy.   Anybody have one or tried same?   They claim that there are no leaks or FIRES with these???    The fittings are five times the cost of reg. sweat/compression type! 8)

Offline slip knot

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Re: Battery operated crimp type tool for viega and China fittings
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2018, 11:19:45 AM »
I gave up on copper a while back. 100% PEX for water, yellow Jiffy pipe for gas. The jiffy pipe uses mechanical fittings that just use a wrench. The pex has several attaching systems. My plumber uses rehau connections that use a proprietary tool @$ 600 last time I looked. I've been using a crimp ring system on the pex. The tool was @$100 for 3/8 to 1in connection and the connectors themselves are <$1 each.

The muni utilities guys I work with all use a pex type product but they use an Upanor type connection. it goes on the outside of the pipe rather than restricting the inside with a fitting. that's what they use for service connections.

Offline GNAP

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Re: Battery operated crimp type tool for viega and China fittings
« Reply #2 on: November 12, 2018, 07:47:05 AM »
I see them almost everyday, like most systems, some people swear by them, others swear at them, they can and do leak, they require a good STRAIGHT cut. Can be a problem in tight places, you have to have room for the tool. If the installer knows what he is doing, they can be incredibly fast, safety driven people, like them, no open flame to sweat the fittings.
jack