Rothenberger press tool

[Welderpaul]

I borrowed a Rothenberger press tool (Romax 4000) recently to do a new bathroom. What a revelation compared to soldering! So quick, clean and easy and no scorching, faff when there is water in the pipe etc. I probably don't do enough to warrant buying a new one but..

I appreciate fittings are a bit more expensive, but they seem to have a decent reputation?

This one had 15, 22 and 28mm jaws. I've seen a seperate jaw which can be put around a fitting in a tight space and the gun used (with pincers on the end?) to close up. Anyone know if that is a Rothenberger 'thing'? I'm not sure of their proper name to find them on the web.

There's a few different tools on the market, are fittings compatable with them all?

Ta

 

[Nomad]

I recently had a cottage renovated, I didn't see what kit the plumbers used ( 1 doing inside work, another fitting external water tank) but the finished crimped joints are top quality.
Things have moved on a lot since I was shown how to use solder joints, compression fittings, and push-fit connectors.
Interesting thread, keen to see what is best these days.

I used to have a manual Rothenberge pipe bender when I was doing renovations full time, top quality kit.

 

[Welderpaul]

The fittings are quite bulky, not as neat as end feed or solder ring fittings, but for the bulk of the work they are very fast.

 

[knighty]

I keep getting tempted to get one... but I keep worrying about the fittings eventually leaking.... how do they seal? Some sort of rubber ring in them?

 

[indykid]

The plumbers at work seem to like them but I'll hold my judgement til they've been in service 30 years

 

[Welderpaul]

I keep getting tempted to get one... but I keep worrying about the fittings eventually leaking.... how do they seal? Some sort of rubber ring in them?

Yes they have a rubber O ring inside

 

[knighty]

I'd be worried that would break down over the years?

I need to replace the full heating system here... but im worried about press fit in hard to get to places starting to leak in 20 years etc

 

[JimmyS]

The ends for tight spaces are called press rings. They are available for the rothenberger press tools. Ive got the 15mm one. 2 types of fittings M press and B press best to use the fittings that match the jaws.

 

[Kayos]

There used to be a couple of different jaw specs but they seem to have aligned these days

I did a huge care home refurb in press fit, buying the tool was cheaper than the insurance for hot works, client paid for the fittings, plus we saved in flushing costs as no flux in the pipes so was a lot quicker

 

[Keithmac]

The O rings are the weak link in the press fittings, will be interesting to see their longevity.

 

[cheb]

They'll be the same O rings as in the push fit fittings. How old are the earliest of those? Acorn is a brand name that comes to mind, but that could be wrong.

 

[brightspark]

il stick to copper pipe and yorkshire soldered fittings tried and tested . never had a soldered joint leak yet in 55 years and ive done plenty

 

[angellonewolf]

il stick to copper pipe and yorkshire soldered fittings tried and tested . never had a soldered joint leak yet in 55 years and ive done plenty

i use push fit plastic compression what ever fits the job aslong as its not at my house it gets soldered

but would most want to pay for the time soldering ?

 

[brightspark]

i use push fit plastic compression what ever fits the job aslong as its not at my house it gets soldered

but would most want to pay for the time soldering ?

probably not because there either cheapskates or ignorant to a tried and tested job and dont know any diffrent .the only plastic pipe in my house is the blue cold water main up to an adaptor to copper then a standard brass stop tap with conex fittings . its everyone to there own though as long as there happy with it

 

[Kayos]

I once watched a soldered 54mm elbow inch its way off a pipe, very slowly but quicker than the lad could run down 8 flights of stairs to turn it off

I agree soldered is fantastic and I have soldered at least eleventy million joints, but tech moves on. Proper push fit and crimp it as good, if not better than soldered these days

Did my cylinder in press fit, it was quite enjoyable and didnt have to waste 300 litres of water because of flux in the pipes

 

[Welderpaul]

Watched a plumber on YT do a detailed comparison between end feed and press. He fluxed, set up, and soldered a test piece with about 12 fittings on. Then did the exact same with press. He worked out the cost of the fittings for the two different options, and the exact time it took him to do each.

The conclusion was press saved about 2.5 mins, but cost an additional £18/20 to do, based on genuine press fittings.

Certainly speedier but at a heavy cost. Great avoiding flux, fumes, hot work, clean up/clean out. Perfect when pipes have water in still. Fittings are bulkier with the allowance for the jaws to close them up, especially elbows.

I've had a few plumbers in my properties fitting CH etc, they all use end feed.

A Rothernberger M press with 15, 22 and 28mm jaws - used and in decent condition is roughly a grand, with an extra 500 or so per press ring and intermediate (pincer) jaws to close up the press ring.

 

[Tim.S]

We've used one for years, hot works are a no no in most social housing sheltered heating schemes, we've used them on water and gas up tp 75mm, bloody awkward when you need to press each side of a wall even with 45 degree heads and not as neat as capillary fittings but they seem to work alright.

 

[awemawson]

As said, the O rings will be the weak link in the long run.

Having spent far too much time today struggling to replace tiny O ring seals on a metering valve spindle for a propane crow scarer because they had gone unbelievably hard, I can imagine the plumbing ones suffering the same fate under someones floor in years to come.

(yes it now seals, thank you for asking, and is amazingly loud)

 

[Rrobson]

Yes, even modern o-rings will definitely perish over time.
I like the premise, they are great bits of kit based on a principle that’s been used for decades, and the entry into this type of installation is slightly lower than soldering. I’m sure anyone could pick up this tool with a basic instruction manual and fit a good joint.

I do however think it means the pipework will now be a serviceable part, much like a boiler. I wouldn’t have a issue with press fit at the point of a boiler installation (to use as an example) because those fittings would likely need replacing anyway on fitting a new boiler which has a shelf life of 10-20 years (if you are lucky).
I wouldn’t want it anywhere else in a house I’m planning on keeping more than 20 years, especially those running through floors or walls. A good soldered joint has a life of 50+ years. Of course pipework can fail, but press fit doesn’t eliminate this given it’s the same material.

I know it’s got its uses, and I’m not against trying to to improve or speed up an age old process, I just think a different process could be used for traditional copper pipe joining without flame (maybe some form of induction heating or similar?) which would do away with much of the risk when using torches.

 

[cheb]

There's big electric soldering irons with jaws to fit 15 and 22mm fittings. Antex is a brand I've heard of. Caveat: I've never used one so don't know how good they are.