There are many ways to join piping to achieve leakage-free joints and still be able to handle high temperatures and pressures. The classic methods are often considered welding, soldering, or threading, but now there are products in the market that will offer a quick solution such as press fittings, according to Caleffi’s January 2020 edition of idronics.
“Press fittings have gained wide popularity in both the plumbing and hydronic trades. They require significantly less time and skill compared to soldering, brazing, or welding,” reports Caleffi. “Although press fittings are more expensive than standard copper tube fittings, the time savings associated with their use typically counteract their higher cost.”
Press fittings in HVAC/R applications have been used in Europe for decades, but only made their way into the Canadian market back in 2015. As such, there has been a natural hesitation from contractors with bringing this type of product into their repertoire. “There is a process of transitioning from traditional brazing and soldering to pressing to connect tubing. However, we’ve found that most contractors adapt well to pressing once they’ve received training because of the benefits of time savings, safety, and consistency,” reports Ashley Martin, executive vice president of Nibco.
Something new
There is something to be said regarding balancing the new and old methods of connecting HVAC/R piping. Gary McCreadie, president of McCreadie HVAC and Refrigeration Services Inc and the creator of HVAC Know It All, has been using press fittings on his job sites for around a year-and-a-half to two years. “I didn’t really know much about the technology beforehand because I had never used it. I’ve never held it in my hand. I’ve never seen it on a job site, and then when I got the tool in my hand and opened the box, I’m like, man, this is impressive,” explains McCreadie.
Like so many before him, he initially was trepidatious because he didn’t fully understand the technology. But after he was sent over one of Rapid Locking System’s kits, he says that he’s addicted to pressing now. That doesn’t mean that he still doesn’t braze on the job site, “But I think it’s important to know both because you’re going to be putting applications and situations where you might need to braze. But then if you dismiss press, you might be put in a situation where the engineer specs you to use press. If you dismissed it for so long, and now, you’re not in the right headspace to use it. So, it’s always important to know both for sure,” explains McCreadie.
Although he admits to having to battle some people in the online stratosphere about being more open-minded and not dismissing this type of technology. These types of conversations, whether it’s someone curiously asking questions about the fitting or someone arguing over whether or not contractors should be using them at all, help bring press fittings for HVAC/R applications to the front. “These conversations and these little mini arguments, they work in helping enhance the brand,” explains McCreadie. “Just as long as we’re respectful and we’re giving true technical information and showing other people that are using and showing past jobs.”
Currently, press fittings only have a single-digit market share, but as more contractors look for the proper training, there is hope it’ll increase even more. “I’ve already predicted, online publicly, that in 10 years you’re going to see press coming out of a factory like factory press machines instead of factory brazed machines,” explains Paul Schubert, president of Rapid Locking System (RLS). “I’m sure we’re going to see in the next 10 years, factories pressing fittings and rather than factory brazing and they’re going to land on a roof and they’re all going to be pressed.”
Pros and cons
The cost of tooling is one reason that press fittings haven’t taken over more of the market share. “A contractor would need to know how to use a press tool and jaws designed specifically for the press fitting to ensure a successful crimp during an installation,” explains Martin. “When compared to the trade skills that are required for brazing or soldering, pressing can be learned rather quickly!”
Oftentimes, work vehicles can have somewhere in the ballpark of $20,000 worth of tools, so trying to get a contractor to buy another tool for around $4,000 might be a difficult discussion they’d have to have with their significant other.
There are still plenty of reasons why a contractor would choose to go with a press fitting. The most mentioned benefit is the increased speed of installation, “The more joints that you have, the more press fittings become a bigger solution for you. You’ll kind of lean towards that, especially with a commercial ductless application where there’s just lots of joints,” explains Schubert. “There are also other benefits. It’s safer and more repeatable. Those kinds of things that press fittings give you over traditional brazing.”
According to Martin, press system installation takes as little as 30 seconds to create a permanent, leak-free seal, and requires as much as 95 per cent less time to install than with traditional soldering or brazing.
Health concerns
As mentioned prior, there are instances on the job site where brazing, soldering or another type of pipe joining method might be the best option. But there are applications where press might be the best fit. One such reason is due to fire permits. “We were in a building in downtown Toronto at a Cadbury chocolate factory, which smelt delicious,” explained McCreadie. “It was an old factory, and they had a fire watch time of four hours after the flame went out. So basically, after the flame went out, you had to stand there and wait for four hours before the security and sign-off. In an application like that, where you need a fire watch and fire permits to bypass smoke alarms, you get rid of all of that with a press system. It’s completely gone because there’s no worrying about it.”
In addition, by using press fittings, there are fewer health concerns for the user. When it comes to brazing, there is the chance of ingesting burning oil or insulation because the contractor is in such close proximity to the material. Using something, like a press fitting, takes away the whole health concern because there isn’t any smoke to be breathed in, explained McCreadie.