On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:47:24 +0000 (UTC), "Kevin Brady" wrote:

I'm preparing to carry out extensions to domestic hot & cold water pipes
for a new kitchen & utility.
(A proper plumber is doing anything to do with Gas and central heating
pipes).

This is just a short message to guage support for the various types of
copper pipe fitting available to me.

e.g. Compression, Push Fit (plastic), Push Fit copper (cuprofit), (End Feed
& Capillary - see below) - any others?

Assume all pipework will be hidden i.e behind/beneath kitchen cupboards,
this does not need to win any beauty contests.

I'm a fairly capable DIYer (and always spend twice as long as I need for
peace of mind), but the thought of solder joints does seem quite daunting.

I have generally bought through screwfix, but happy dealing with plumb
centre, jewsons etc in order to get the lowest cost.

Let the arguments (sorry - debates) begin!!!

I only trust solder, and prefer end-feed, except in hard-to-get-at places where I'd use capillary.
Apart from being cheaper, a big advantage with end-feed is you can solder one end at a time - this
is very useful for pre-assembling fittings onto bits of pipe - with capillary, the heat from one end
will melt the solder in the other.

Get a blowlamp that has a pre-heat tube (passses gas through edge of flame - often promoted as
useable at any orientation without flaring), and use propane/butane mix for maximum power.