Whether it’s playing a video game or plumbing a building, knowing a trick or two makes everything easier.
Work in the trades long enough and you’re going to pick up insider information that saves time, money or aggravation. Our TechTalk LIVE! hosts Bo DeAngelo and Troy Locke have decades of experience between them and they like to share what they know. We host Tech Tip Tuesday on our Instagram. Often what they’re sharing is covered more in depth on our monthly TechTalk LIVE! shows.
Here are some recent tips:
- It’s not always necessary to upsize when replacing copper with PEX. Avoiding unnecessary upsizing saves water and money. Determining whether it’s necessary requires knowing the fixture demand, doing some math and avoiding unneeded fittings in the system.
- You can transition from ProPress Copper to PureFlow PEX with a single fitting and without a sweat adapter. All it takes is a Viega copper-to-PEX transition fitting available in sizes ⅜" to 2" with multiple connection types. Switching jaws on the press tool is the hardest part (and it’s not difficult).
- The sealing elements in Viega fittings are not backup. They are essential to providing a fluid-tight seal. The metal-to-metal press connection made by the press tool creates a solid, permanent, mechanical connection but the sealing element is what creates a lasting, fluid-tight static seal –- so don’t remove it.
- Viega sealing elements are not O-rings. O-rings are dynamic seals; they move and rotate and eventually crack, dry out or lose their compression set, requiring replacement. Viega’s elastomeric sealing elements don’t move. They create a static seal that’s not in the direct flow path of the media flowing through the pipe so they last longer than O-rings. In fact, the sealing elements carry the same warranty as the fittings themselves.
We hope these are helpful. Check every Tuesday for Tech Tips and be sure to catch TechTalk LIVE! for even more useful information.
