Bad batch of copper pipe ?

David Hohengasser

Mueller is also a large player in copper tube. I supply them steel marking stamps.

Unknown

Is anyone else having trouble

getting fittings on 3/4 inch type M Cerro copper pipe ? Making 10 to 20 joints up a day is giving me premature arthritis . Is it a local thing or is this widespread ? This isn't the 1st time we got a " tight batch " .

J.C.A._3

I too see this occasionally....

My first thought is...that fittings usually are the culprit. I will go to someone elses truck and grab an older fitting to make sure it is one or the other.

During a freeze spell a couple years back we got some pipe that everyone thought was tight. Turned out to be the slip couplings that we purchased recently were the problem.

If the older fittings go on, the problem ain't the pipe. If it is the pipe, send it back ! The suppliers are charging enough for it, it should be the right size. Chris

Unknown

Definitely

not the fittings . When we connect to existing copper , the fittings go on smooth . With this pipe we have trouble with ells , streets , 45s , valves , everything . What are the other major players in hard rolled copper ? The only other company I know is Wolverine .

Unknown

Yet another reason to go Pro Press™

I recently did a boiler room and it seemed that I had to fight nearly every 3/4" & 1" sweat fitting in there. This causes all sorts of lost time not to mention aggrivation Seems to be happening more & more lately. Could China be to blame here? Seems nearly all the fittings and pipe our suppliers have now is from China.

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jeff_51

If I'm not mistaken

Cerro is made in New Joisey. We have certainly had trouble with nibco fittings. The side they stamp nibco into. Never really had a problem with the pipe before, but I'm sure it happens. Call the rep and squack

Ken D.

copper

Had the same problem with a batch of pipe last year. Turns out they were Chinese made. The sizes were not true. A couple thousandths too large. Told the supplier we never want to see that kind of problem again. We have gotten many black iron fittings not cut right and with sand holes that leaked. Yup, Chinese again. Real quality materials.

Al Corelli

I thought it was just me.

The last batch of Cerro has been really bad.

We've switched to Wolverine, and have not had problems.

First, I thought it was the PipeCat, but even my trusty no.15 had to have its cuts outer edges severely deburred.

I want to try a "ProPress"- like tool, but the fittings are scarce around here.

Plus, our last big purchase (Wirsbo cordless expander) has failed miserably. It is difficult to convince my partner to "get out of the dark ages" and spend money when real expensive tools fail and do not pay for themselves.

Dingo

I work for a wholesaler

and could not agree more that the problem may be imported stock. IT certainly is a two edged sword though .... who among you has gone to their distributor and offered to pay more for quality- American made materials? Unfortunately the market, driven by contractor demands for lower and lower pricing have forced many wholesalers to seek manufacturers that deal with more aggressively priced and produced product.

Dingo

Constantin

Hmmmm....

Well, this mere homeowner specified that all fittings, tube, and other water-system related components be sourced from components manufacturers that produce in America. Reading a whole book on plumbing houses convinced me that the upcharge was well worth it. Very small voids, cracks, and other nonsense may not manifest themselves for years... but when they do, things get ugly!

Naturally, I wouldn't have such reservations if the no-name east-asian imports were of better quality. The uneven quality of copper, high cost, etc. may also explain why so many people are switching to PEX-based water distribution systems.

ScottMP

My past expereince

has been the fittings... like Chris said.

Now we have to check the pipe and if its the pipe than I can't see how that won't effect the ProPress fittings as well.

Scott

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