Have you ever heard of the term “plumbing compression fitting?” If you’re into do-it-yourself plumbing, then you’re probably aware of it. Otherwise, you may say, “Wait, what?!” when you hear it from your plumber. Well, we admit that may be a little bit exaggerated but let’s face it. Not everyone loves DIY plumbing and that’s actually one reason why we’re here. So aside from providing you top-notch services, let us also give you more information that will help you understand plumbing even more. So for today, we’ll explain to you what compression fittings are and why are they important.
What are compression fittings?
Plumbing compression fittings are designed to connect two pipes; a fixture and a pipe or a fixture and a valve together.
How are they used?
These are used in toilet stop valves as well as connections for cold and hot water faucets. They are also widely used in dishwashers, refrigerators, bathroom vanities and other plumbing fixtures and appliances.
How does compression fitting work?
In general, these fittings are made up of three components: the ring, the nut and the seat. These parts are attached to each other by first sliding the nut onto the tube or pipe and then connecting the compression ring. These components are compressed so that they can keep the connection watertight or in other words, leak-free.
Any tips when using these things?
Compression fittings are pretty easy to install. You don’t have to be a master plumber to be able to create connections with the help of these plumbing parts. However, there are some things that you should remember.
1. These fittings are designed to keep the pipes, fixtures and valves in place. In other words, they restrain movement to keep the connections leak-free. However, there are times when they fail to serve their purpose. For instance, if you’ll use these fittings on the refrigerator’s icemaker, you’ll sooner or later find out that it’s already loose because the appliance is being constantly moved. You see, just like pipes and other plumbing fixtures, compression fittings are also prone to wear and tear. And so when that happens, you’ll experience waking up to a puddle of water at the base of your fridge which means that the fitting has failed and there’s already a leak in the connection.
2. Another thing that you have to take note of is that compression fittings are not meant to lengthen pipes. That’s definitely not their job. If you’ll use a double compression type, you’ll have to anticipate that it won’t last very long. Every rotational movement or impact on the fitting will result to its wear and tear. If you really want to lengthen your pipes, you can just solder them or create sweat connections.
3. When using compression fittings, please ensure that you won’t recycle its parts. For instance,yYou just can’t use the old ring and the old seat and then afterwards just replace the nut. That’s a big no-no. If you need to replace the fitting, you must ensure that all the components of the replacement are new. Otherwise, you can expect the connection to leak sooner than you expect it to.
We hope that you learned how does compression fitting work and why it’s important in plumbing. If you need help with plumbing installations and repairs, just call your trusted Wellington plumber. Plumbers 911 Florida delivers exceptional plumbing services in Wellington FL including faucet repair, drain pipe cleaning, water heater service, plumbing appliances installation, plumbing installations and many more! Call us at 305-662-0668 (Miami-Dade County FL), 954-468-0512 (Broward County FL), 561-327-6287 (Palm Beach County FL) to schedule a service!
Learn about the common plumbing problems involving copper compression fittings. Watch this video now.
Please wash your hands frequently. Washing with soap and water for twenty seconds is the preferred method, however when water is not available, please use an alcohol based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol.
Practice social distancing by staying at least six feet away from another person.