Proctologically Violated©® wrote:

For 1/2" to 1 1/4" copper pipe fittings.

Possible to desolder *and* be able to re-use them??
Worth the trouble for the various fittings, T's, unions, etc? 1 1/4 unions
are expensive!

Yes, it's possible, in fact it's quite easy and straightforward to do. If
you can get any old lead solder off it's fairly sensible for DIY usage.

A professional plumber won't do it though, for several reasons - legal
regulations - the fittings won't look new, and the client is paying for new
fittings - the time it takes to desolder and clean them is too long, do you
know what a plumber gets paid? - the supply of used fittings is unreliable,
and a reused fitting is slightly less reliable than a new one - plumbers buy
in large quantities, when end feed 1 1/4 unions are no longer expensive,
they become quite cheap [1], - and last but not least, in the UK at least,
it's illegal to use lead in plumbing solder and the old fittings will have
lead solder on them.



--
Peter Fairbrother


[1] maybe 35c each, translated from UK sizes and prices, with a 40% trade
discount.