They are nice in a pinch. But you HAVE to do the prep to ensure a lasting seal. Or at least mine have lasted this far.

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Thanks..

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It will never pass inspection in my areas, especially when the fire marshal is involved..should a building catch fire the oring will melt..phosgene gas is very toxic/lethal when the refrigerant hits the fire. The silfos has a much higher temperature rating than the orings..I will always solder/braize the copper for maximum reliability and it is very cost effective compared to the price of the fittings…

I have been on a few commercial sites where natural gas leaks are, the gas company shuts the building gas supply off. They also know that the press fit has lots of issues with leaking and doesn’t recommend it. The nat gas eats away at the orings over time..

I have seen plenty of hot water leaks in plumbing, the rubber o ring inside doesn’t last long in commercial applications due to the heat eventually melting them down..you will see that they have a temperature limit in the product pdf..

Here is an example of hot water press fit that leaked because the oring started melting away..that’s a lot of money wasted on fittings..

 

That picture looks to me like the cutting tool could have melted the o-ring. Not to mention, it doesn't look like they deburred the copper pipe properly. I see a lot of plumber videos showing little to no prep on piping. They just shove the fitting on and press.

 

Not in this case…I was careful enough to not heat it up with the grinder as I wanted to see why it failed..heated up copper turns a darker color and you clearly see it did not..I just took off enough on the outside edge so I could separate it..

Here’s another closer pic

 

Definitely not going to melt a epdm sealing element with 180* boiler water

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Quality control could have missed it or maybe it’s substandard from a different vendor..all suppliers want “cheaper” for maximum profits…it would be nice if there was manufacturer tracking on where they actually came from..

Look at the high cost of parts and vehicles…then look at the recalls … you just never know

Either way when it comes to copper, I’m sticking with soldering/brazing methods that’s tried and true..you can easily fix a leaking joint…

 

A press tool is pretty much all that's used for darn near everything where I am working at.

Piping for: Boiler, chilled water, VAV loops, refrigerant piping for mini-splits.

Brazing is only done where necessary, like putting a 3/4" stub for press fittings onto a VAV hot water coil.

Saves a TON of time. No hot work permits and firewatch, either.

As far as lifespan is concerned, I have not yet seen any old press fit HVAC refrigerant installations. I have no idea when/if there will be a failure due to a press joint failure. So far, the stuff I have seen has passed a pressure test and pulls into vacuum. How long do the "field trials" need to hold up to be considered "good"?

I have not yet heard of any building facilities folks in my travels banning the press tools due to joint failures.

Alleged failures on the interwebs seem to have poor installation as a cause, more than poor quality fittings.

I CAN see where press joint preparation becomes lax due to complacency... and this extends to brazing too. No nitrogen purge (lazy), joint not hot enough (poor penetration), joint too hot...

Buying off brand press fittings certainly could lead to problems, too.

The first big new construction job where I saw press fittings being used for water piping (potable/HVAC water) was almost 20 years ago. It would be interesting to go there and see if there have been any problems.

There is a shit ton of sprinkler pipe in the air held together with rubber gaskets and a couple of bolts.

I do not believe that phosgene is a concern as far as fire and refrigerant is concerned. There will be plenty of acrid smoke from burning plastics in the air. I have been told that the requirement for brazing has to do with the higher melting temperature compared to solder, to minimize piping explosions due to over-pressurization. Some refrigerant piping in my area requires blow off valves to release over pressure. I would suspect that the mechanical crimping of press joints satisfies any concerns about joints coming apart, even if the O ring fails. Otherwise, the press fittings would not be allowed.

I have not yet seen the press tool used with soft copper, so that might be a limitation.

I personally do not own a press tool, yet. It's a lot of money, and I would not use one often enough. It would be a lifesaver for things like water heater swaps and the water line that never stops dripping.

 

Press fittings have their place in HVAC but definitely wouldn’t just throw them in if brazing is an option!