Howdy,

I was at the local big box store and saw something that called it self an alternative to sweating copper. It was a liquid called Just For Copper.

Being a geek and interested in things that can make my home improvement life easier, I thought I would give it a try.

Well, I am not at all the pleased. I made a bypass for a new water filter that I was going to install. There were a combination of 3/4 ball valves, 3/4 to 1" elbows, 1" ball valves and miscellaneous other fittings.

Some of the fittings I sweated, some I used the Just for copper on. All of the sweated joints didn't leak. The ones where I used the Just for Copper fared far worse. I think only one of the joints worked. Luckily, the Just for Copper joints were on the bypass portion of the hodge podge so I was able to isolate them.

Has anyone else tried the Just for Copper? If so, had anyluck?

Thanks, Dan

I've seen it and was curious, but haven't used it... so I'm no help there. I'm a diy'er whose done some copper sweating from time to time. So anything I say here is just from my limited experience.

I don't know if I'm just more patient with sweating copper now, but I swear my connections got better once I started using oatey's 95 tinning flux, sold at the big box stores. Before, id commonly have a pinhole leak now and then. Since I switched, I haven't had a single leak, even when I've been a little sloppy. I just did a couple of connections last week, one of which I thought for sure id have to redo (tight corner, hard to heat well) and they were just fine. Maybe it had nothing to do with the oatey's 95, but I'm not going to switch anytime soon.

Also, the home depot "presoldered" connections seem to do a nice job, though really unnecessary probably... I tried a couple of these on a bypass line just to see how they'd work, and I used no extra solder other than what they'd already placed, and the oateys flux. Heated until I saw the solder liquefy and it worked like a charm. I don't care to spend the extra money on them, and if I did id still use some extra solder probably, but I was curious and I seemed to do a nice enough job.

Thanks, I too normally sweat the joints as I have found the joys of MAPP gas. (Honest honey, it's not me, I was sweating some copper joints and, it is the MAPP gas you smell)

I just thought I would try the stuff as the thought of sweating a 1" ball valve to a short length of pipe to a Union was causing my arms to shake. Man, they take a lot of time to heat up.

I had sent an email to the company and they responded quickly and provided some possible explanations as to why the joints didn't work. AND they offered to send me a replacement as well as suggesting an alternative to taking the joint a part. I thought that this was pretty classy.

Don't let my lack of experience in using the stuff stop the rest of you. I may have done the prep work wrong.

Well let us know what you discover.

Id be reluctant to trust it until someone else (like you) tried it and was happy, or one of our experts came along and said it was OK, even if pricey.

But I've already run into one situation where not having to sweat a connection would have saved me about three days work of tearing out a part of a wall and patching, etc.

Let us know if you get it to work!

I registered just to post my experience with "just-for-copper"
I have been disappointed with this product...
Just as dherman1 I did some joints with just-for-copper and some were soldered. (lots of joints actually as I was doing bathroom remodel)
The result - none of sweated joints leaked (and I don't do plumbing for a living) and more than half of just-for-copper joints leaked and what's worst they didn't leak initially but some time later (few weeks) some developed a very slow leak (like one drop in a few minutes) but that's just unacceptable... luckily I didn't close up the floor and the walls and caught it before was too late...

Again, some just-for-copper joints did NOT leak and I did them all the same just as per instructions that came with the bottle so I don't know why some did develop a leak but I didn't want the risk of developing a leak later on so I just soldered all of the joints.

For something that's easily accessible I might try it again but for piping inside the walls - please do yourself a favor and just solder it. And regarding a 1" ball valve taking too long - you just need a right tip for the job...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by dherman1

Howdy,

I was at the local big box store and saw something that called it self an alternative to sweating copper. It was a liquid called Just For Copper.

Being a geek and interested in things that can make my home improvment life easier, I thought I would give it a try.

Well, I am not at all the pleased. I made a bypass for a new water filter that I was going to install. There were a combination of 3/4 ball valves, 3/4 to 1" elbows, 1" ball valves and miscellaneous other fittings.

Some of the fittings I sweated, some I used the Just for copper on. All of the sweated joints didn't leak. The ones where I used the Just for Copper fared far worse. I think only one of the joints worked. Luckily, the Just for Copper joints were on the bypass portion of the hodge podge so I was able to isolate them.

Has anyone else tried the Just for Copper? If so, had anyluck?

Thanks, Dan

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I have bought and used just for copper. Am I happy with it definitely not. I made around 30 connection which was quoted for $1000 by a professional plummer. And now I have around 7 leaks, Which I had fixed with clams. My biggest problem I sent email about it and how to fixed but never got reply great idea but not very dependable. How did you fix your leaks.

I heated them up, cleaned them off and redid them and it worked. The JfC folks did send me some replacement product and that seemed to do the trick.

Dan

Go to HD or Lowe's and buy so called "Shark Bite Fittings". They are great alternative to sweat connecitons. You just cut your pipe to length and snap it into the fitting of your choice with your bare hands. No Mapp gas, no solder, no flux - no health hazards.

If heat is not a problem, then end-feed copper fittings soldered on with a good flux is neat, tidy and watertight. Just as effective but not as tidy is the use of Yorkshire (in the UK but there are others in Europe and the US that are similar) fittings which are pre-loaded with solder. If heat is a problem, then compression fittings properly tightened will give a watertight joint that is reliable but you do need space to get the tools in to hold the fitting and tighten the backnut. An alternative or to join dissimilar materials - copper to barrier plastic for example - then the push-fit fittings are good. They are bulky and much less tidy to look at but once the pipe is pushed in, they usually take higher pressures than the pipe itself will stand. Don't push a finger into a fitting to see how they work; you'll look and feel a fool sitting in A&E (ER for those in the US) with blood dripping down your hand asking them to cut the fitting, not your finger, off. Some fittings can be dismantled but many - usually the metal ones - cannot and the grab-rings inside are very sharp and, in effect, barbed so the harder you pull, the deeper they bite into your finger.
Plumbing is a logical process; pipes convey the water or gas to where you want it, tidy, logical runs minimise frictional loss and pressure-drop, cleaning off acidic flux while it is still warm prevents hideous verdigris and corrosion later, screwed joints with a little jointing compound and hemp or PTFE tape and pulled up tight will be watertight, NEVER allow water to flow from copper pipe into galvanized steel pipe to avoid pinhole corrosion pits(the other way is OK), careful, neat and thorough workmanship, proper pipe clips and supports at reasonable centres will avoid water-hammer, AAVs at high points to vent out air will help avoid air-locks, servicing ball-valves before appliances or taps will allow them to be serviced without having to shut the whole system down in five years' time. To close a servicing valve to allow a tap (US = faucet)to be re-washered takes seconds and avoids the opprobrium you'll come under when the whole water system has to be shut off while you dismantle and re-washer a tap and, perhaps have to re-cut the seat while the family wait to take showers, fill the kettle or whatever. Flush the system out to remove bits of swarf, old flux and the like so that they don't get trapped under the diaphragm of the WC cistern and cause an overflow. None of it is rocket-science - just a thoughtful process before picking up any tools and continuing the thought while tools are in hand.
M. A. N.

Hi Man and welcome to the Plumbing pageat at AskMeHelpDesk.com. You piggybacked on an a 5 year old dead thread. In the future, before you post, look in the upper left hand corner for the date.
However, we thank you for your most informative post. Please feel free to answer more questions. Regards, Tom

Speedball 1,
Aha, good point, thanks for that. The date box was one that slipped my observation! As Mr Simpson might put it; "Dohhh..."
M.A.N.