PROPRESS FITTING POPPING OFF INFERIOR PRODUCT TO SOLDERING 

They work extremely well when installed correctly.

I have an acetylene turbo torch in my van. Im damn good at solering. But i use my propress and im done in less than half the time. Never had a joint "pop" out. I use only Viega fittings, Ridgid press tool, and clean and properly press the pipe. Warrantied for 50 years. Ive pressed thousands of fittings and not one leak.

Wasn't installed correctly

Just like soldering, if a Propress fitting is done correctly, you will have no problems. When you showed the fitting, it looks like the gasket was missing. I've soldered pipes for 20 years; I'm done wasting time soldering. For small jobs, Propress is what I use.

Chances are that pipe was not inserted into the fitting all the way, you’re supposed to mark the depth before you crimp it, but solder is still preferred by me

Pro press I like for certain things. When we had 500 gal water heater installed at work it was a godsend. 4 inch and 2 inch copper which would have taken a lot of time to solder and shutting down fire alarm system. Been in for about 12 years now and no leaks. That wire that was burnt, I'm gonna say the last guy melted an o ring or at least distorted it. My main water shut off for house broke and guy I had out said not to touch valve unless I was ready to replace line all the way to street if line snapped. He put in a pro press ball valve just after broken valve. They have their place but I love a good solder joint. Thanks for video Steven!

I have seen many of the unit kitchens, usually in teachers lounges at schools. I always use a piece of sheet metal as a heat shield when soldering close to combustibles. You got the skills, Steve.

Check out that house! Cool kitchen! And the old boiler... It'd be cool if you can get footage of that historical artifact!

Just a tip I like to use soaked wet rags to cover any electrical wires or pipes I can't move out the way to keep from burning them with the torch... love your stuff Steve your my favorite RU-vid hvac tech am a hvac tech myself!!

You have to prep the pipe even with propress. Sand, Reem the inside, and mark the pipe so you know it’s all the way in. Also you have to check the gasket inside the fitting to make sure it’s good. I always insert the pipe then pull it out to make sure the o ring didn’t rip. Then I press from the side, top, then bottom if you have room. I use propress every day and these steps will eliminate problems with leaks.

Do those tags say "installed by Mikey Pipes" ??

My mother had a general electric range. I recognize those banks of push button temperature controls for the burner coils. Lo to high. They were fairly accurate. Built in 1955ish, and installed into 57,000 levittown, pennsylvania homes. In the 1980s they started failing, and parts were available, i remember replacing two banks of switches. GE would put a mechanical lited clock in the center of the range controls. It had a flourescent bulb mounted over the cooking area, which made a great kitchen nite lite

I use pro press all of the time. Knock on wood never had a problem!! Sure the fittings are a lot more than sweat fittings but the labor is cut in half!! I have seen plenty of sweat fittings leak over the years!!

Cool old GE setup at the end

Burnt wire tells me this isn't the first time this happened. I'm guessing it has froze repeatedly ie the burnt wire in the same location. I have seen solder joints freeze and do the same thing. Tell the bonehead to shut the valve and open the boiler drain and drain the water out.

A friend of mine had one of those GE Kitchen Centers in his kitchen until recently. The oven was shot and he wanted to modernize and make some layout changes so he did a full kitchen remodel. The stainless countertop is now in my backyard. I was hoping to repurpose the sink/countertop but deemed it too impractical to do so for my needs; I haven't decided what I'm going to do with it now.

User error (I thought maybe the pipe was too thin). That GE set up belongs in a museum.

Not taking sides, I've seen badly soldered joints blow out too! No mater what you use, everything is prone to fail. So yes your right Steve a lot of guys do need to learn how to properly solder a joint.

Reminds me of my grandparents basement back in the day. Every single pipe, BX cable and conduit was painted white.

I use pro press and solder. Depends on the situation of the job. The more interesting question is why did it freeze? Did the homeowner not open the drain spigot in the fall? Good vids I enjoyed watching.

My new boiler was all done with pro press and M rated pipe. A minor thing I don't like about it is the pipes squeezed and has crimp flats in it too, almost like the crimping tool had too much closing power. The theory about using pro press is, as labor costs increase, the time saved by using pro press will decrease the installation cost for the homeowner even though the fittings are so expensive. In reality if they finish 15 minutes sooner they will use up the 15 minutes doing something else, cleaning or whatever. There would need a ton of connections to do to save an hour or more in time. And if there was a ton of fittings, the extra cost of them would cut into the one hour or so labor time saved.

Steve, been using press for for years buddy over the pond. If it’s done right nothing wrong it. Soldering that close will have totally knackered the o ring inside

I use a small piece of 5/16" thick piece of hardi plank. works great as an insulator when soldering in cabinets and ceilings

Tell it how it is Steve. Your the man, you know your stuff. Great vid and stay safe.

Admittedly I love the speed of the PP device, but I'm old school and love to see the flame turn the copper the blue color and watch a perfect bead roll around the fitting. Nothing looks better than a newly-sweat joint with no tear drop on the bottom that's wiped clean.

Hi Steve , just a FYI for ya, if you can find an old piece of aspestice siding somewhere, it works great for tight spaces where you need to protect wires. Just slide it into position and everythings protected.

Nice job, I remember like a year or so you were in a crawl space with all spray foam insulation. It was like very similar job with outside faucet water line and a fitting either split from freezing. Even with all the spray foam on the underside of the crawl space you still soldered to make the repair, right there you knew Steve Lav is a professional.

The water company replaced the meters in our neighborhood and shut down the water main for the entire street. When they turned the water back on the next day I had a leak coming from the valve stem on my pressure regulator. The utility company would not repair the leak. So I go out to Lowes and purchase a new pressure regulator and since I had to turn off the water I decided to install a ball valve above the original gate valve which was installed when the home was built. I told the guy in the plumbing department at Lowes that I needed some pipe fittings and a piece of 3/4 copper pipe. Well the guy walks me over to the shark bites and starts pulling the fittings I wanted. I looked at the guy and said I don't want that shit I'm going to sweat the pipe. His jaw dropped down and he said are you a contractor. I said no but I know how to sweat pipe. I paid for all my fittings for what one of those shark bite fittings would have cost. I learned how to sweat pipe watching your videos. My first couple joints were ugly as hell but I kept trying, I kept heating the joints up and pulling the fittings apart, another trick I learned from you, cleaned the joints and kept trying tell I got it right. I can now sweat pipe with the best of them thanks to your great videos. You da man Steve.

Sears used to sell what they called a kitchenette. It had a 2 burner stove, a kitchen sink, and a refrigerator all made in one unit. I used to think they were kinda neat. A lot of the motels here in North Carolina had them in the 1970's.

Pro press works when done right but I still prefer good old solder. I mostly only use it when there's an issue with getting the line dry enough to solder. In that case I'll build the section I need with all solder joints then cut and pro press the ends while the water is still running out.

That's a cool sink combo thing..I have a g.e custom imperial oven/stove with pull out burners it's pretty cool I like seeing the yesteryears utilitys

Hey Steve and Miss Molly, from Baltimore MD! As a property manager I do my share of plumbing work, and enjoy your videos BTW...I relocated to the Midwest two years ago and your Boston/NJ accent sometimes makes me homesick !

I bought the mega press for a job in a church where I had to run 200ft of 2" copper. Soldering all those joints would have taken me weeks.

Pro press cost more per fitting but the amount of labor to be installed in much less. Gotta know what your doing when installing pro press fittings, mark it to make sure it didn’t move. Works great 👍

Lmao Steve's comment after 10:25. Good ol Steve rummaging through their cabinets and everything. Love it

My dad always had his asbestos cloth in his solder box. Worked great the only PP fitting that every failed is the one i forgot to crimp

In sweden we pretty much always pro prees. To hard to get a permit for soldering. If a propress pops off. Usually the press maching is not calibrated and malfuntioning or they used the wrong jaws or not inserted deep enough. but great video Steve! Best wishes from a Swedish plumber

If I was him I would be more worried about the wire than the outside sillcock . I never saw a pro press done correctly pop off? I have a press tool because it is popular in this area and any repairs are difficult on existing buildings. Wait a few years until this “ZOOM” lock shit start to leak on the A/C systems. Might be ok in industrial no flame situation but I’ll stick to the old fashioned stuff. Nice fix Steve.👍

Electric and water,wow,pro press are good for some jobs.variation in fitting is required now to work in our industry in the UK.great video as always, I laughed when you said good enough for this neighbourhood 🤣

Steven, I was commissioning generators and switchgear on a large industrial plant construction project. The vendor for the HVAC used propress (or similar) on refrigerant lines. They ended up having to replace all of them at a cost of "no telling what" before the plant was fully commissioned. Totally poor product and bad idea. R410A lines blowing off all over the plant. They call it PRO-press but there is NOTHING professional about it. Barely better than shark-bite. Solder is the only way to go. That GE custom kitchen unit was very cool!!! I have rebuilt a wall-mounted refrigerator which was part of one of these. Very neat product. So much character for products back in the day! Thanks for sharing these videos. Good stuff!

I'm using the uponor system. 0 failures since 3 years that I've switched from copper. I'm surprised propress failed.

Nice work Steve. GE push button electric ranges was the stuff back in 50's & 60's. Many were still in use through the late 70's early 80's. Worked on many of them. Yes, I'm old. Old but not obsolete. Never go hungry if you learn a trade. The one thing they can never take from you is knowledge.

Wow, what a kitchen!!

Iv done buildings with pro press and yes there has been leaks and blow outs because its not installed correctly. I do now how to solder I learned how to solder years ago but a job that would take years now it’s months. That’s why we test before inspections to make sure this stuff doesn’t happen and the inspector wants to see pressure in the lines

when soldering copper you know you have the fitting on enough to solder it the issue i see with pro press is the same as shark bite it needs to go on all the way and perfectly or it WILL fail

Steve, don't hold back about the Pro Press--tell us how you really feel!

"good enough for this neighborhood" this guy gets me every time 🤣🤣

Thanks for the video steve.

I’ve been using pro press for a long time and let me tell you they are simply the best I guarantee that I’ve never seen pro press fittings pop off like that that’s just weird

Midwest = Shark Bite. New England = Shock Bite.

Most often if a propress pops out it’s because the pipe wasn’t pushed into the fitting before compressing. We have never had one pop out yet. We have to use propress most times because obtaining a burn permit from the fire department for a couple fittings is not feasible.

Dude Steve is a gem of a person. You gotta admit he’s a real OG

Those propress connections look like Miss Molly used them as a chew toys!

That was one cool kitchen! If they made stuff like that now it would sell like hot cakes! No one mentioned cpvc. I used that sometimes and it works great. It's fast, cheap and no special tools. I prefer to use copper and I always sweat the joints.

User error; just like an improper solder joint. I attempted to remove a press fitting by twisting it off without success. It did eventually come off using an oscillating tool to cut the press coupling. Supposed the o-ring is just backup; the pressing action mechanically bonds the copper together-similar to a compression fitting. Don’t knock it with out giving it a chance.

They used to sell 1/2” X 4 “ copper sweat slip couplings that could be cut to custom length. Have you seen these lately?

Not equipment malfunction, installer malfunction. Those fittings were not installed properly. Those should never pop off like that . First time I have ever seen that !!! Steve lav to the rescue!!!!

I’ve never seen a pro press fitting pop off like that in my life. I’m guessing he did not have it on all the way before he used the pro press. I’ve been watching Steve for many years and this is a first in his videos. That just shows you how rare this is. Plus I’ve never seen it in my personal life either. User error is the reason she popped off.

I have measured, cut, fitted an apartment in half a day and only did flux and soldier. After polybutylene (I installed enough of that to reach the space station) I don’t trust anything with crimp fittings farther than I can throw it. Shark bites fail as well and whatever that piping is, was a bit after my time.

Ive used it for years but i have seen it freeze and swell enough to loosen fittings. I still solder if i think freezing is an issue

Hey Steve I work in the air compressor world and all the kids use pro press I still lug around my torch and B tank but your right to tool up for pro press at the beginning must be awful expensive! They can't run to a local hardware store to get the fittings either I'm pushing 60 and on the down side of my career my torch has been good for the past 30 odd years

Totally agree and I'm glad I learned how to sweat pipe from an old timer when I was in my teens.

I bet that line froze up. I had that happen on a similar situation. The exterior faucet was not winterized and pushed apart.

in my area certain commercial sites like hospitals require only pro press . i’ve seen a lot bad press & solder connections but always user error. you can even solder press fittings by removing the ring, don’t recommend lol but it works don’t get me wrong i still use an like soldering.

Who ever installed the pro press fittings may not have inserted the pipe all the way in. They are supposed to ream the inside of the pipe then slide the fitting all the way in. Mark the insertion with a black felt marker to ensure it does not pop apart before pressing. It’s a good idea to wrap the press fittings with wet rags to keep them from getting too hot if you are soldering near them.

Never had a problem with Pro Press at all.

That GE thing was really really cool to see.

Love this guy and his videos. When I grow up I can be as cool as Steve

Steve is always blaming material and not install

Shots fired!

On propress the print is just a backup. When pressed correctly the copper of the fitting and the copper in the pipe are fused together. You can do this experiment yourself by pulling out the o rings then installing one (just for demonstration purposes obviously)

Thanks for the video of the GE counter with all the built-ins Bill N LINY

Super tech next level stuff! “ solder it like a super tech” mama!

Pro Press is fine. I’ve seen more leaks on bad solder joints. Those tools need to be maintained and the joints fitted correctly; chamfered, polished, fitted and marked.

Really enjoy your video Steve! Smooth and professional! Good work !

I’ve been told not to apply the wet rag so fast after the you soldered you have to let the soldering completely freeze before you apply the wet rag otherwise it may fail in the future

Not enough play in that pipe for that press joint to come apart. i've installed thousands of press joints and not a single failure outside of user install error. I've purposefully tried to pull fittings apart and it is extremely challenging. unless this guy has line pressures outside of normal, this was completely user install error and not product failure.

I've been to two county fairs and a goat roping rodeo and I ain't never seen anything like that.

Whether it's shark bite or pro press the pipe has to be prepped just like a solder joint. If you don't clean the surface first it will fail or leak.

Also The House that I bought when I made a Big Mistake and married a Woman, was built in the 1950's. It had a metal Kitchen Sink that was called Shirley. It had built in drawers and cabinets and and a pretty wide kitchen sink with work counters on each side of the sink.

the art of asking questions and not listening to the answers

I'm irrelevant but I approve this message 😌👌

the best part of the vid was the kitchen. that was bad ass.. thanks for sharing

Should you solder that close to another propress fitting? Send like it would affect the o ring in the tee to the right. Also, isn't it best product to not cool the fittings with a wet rag after soldering... Can crack the solder

Not sure about the depot propress. Viega and Apollo propress work pretty well, but you have to use the right brand jaws. Got a call about a 3" ball valve that blew off and went through 2 office walls because they used the wrong jaw set. That coupling was not pressed, fully.

If you look closely when Steven picks up the pro press piece that he cut out you can see that the end of the copper pipe is all the way near the end of the pro press fittings therefore not giving enough space for the other side of the pipe which is why it blew off. Pro press can hold up to 500 psi if installed correctly and you mark where are you should press. Especially with slip couplings

Looks to me that the guy before didn’t make the fittings all the way. Common practice in commercial plumbing company I learned was insert pipe into fitting, mark with sharpie makin then pull out and check depth on mark and proceed to press once you confirm pipe is fully seated in fitting. I’ve pressed thousands of joints on large commercial jobs and I’ve only seen them leak a couple times and that’s usually because someone either forgets to press it, doesn’t make sure it’s in all the way, or the gasket is cut by the burr of the pipe it is installed onto. Propress is good when used properly.

Steve, love these videos. Keep it up mama. Nobody likes to solder anymore. Keep the vids coming brother

Looks like one end of the fitting wasn't crimped. Yes soldering is great and so is pressing. But like anything else you have to have the proper equipment and know how. I work for a major university and we use all methods of joining pipe. I'll tell you the pro press and especially the mega press can be a real lifesaver. I use the press fittings on compressed air, heating hot water, chilled water, low pressure steam, condensate. I have pressed over 4000 joints in 10 years never had an issue with the viega brand.

I probably shouldn't say this, but your buddy Mikey Pips is a huge progress fan.

Man you’re gonna melt the EPM seal in that other Propress joint. Nothing wrong with Propress fittings. I use Propress to Pex A with great results!

I love how close the breakers are to the sink on the GE…. No UL listing back then lol.

Good morning Steve and “Miss Molly “! Called you in to fix somebody else’s fuck up ! Boca Raton, Florida

Pro Press has its place, but soldering is a skill that should never be forgotten.

Was taught how how to solder then learned about propress did an entire 26 floor office building every single joint is pressed and I tested each bathroom myself. Not a single leak, just like any joining method if not installed properly it will fail.

That sink oven thing was super cool

Oh steve you got a ot of nerve to solder close to these old cardboard ceiling tiles. There very flammable. But i guess you know your stuff. Keep up the good work!

Soldering is a skill , no doubt. I love and appreciate a nice clean solder job with no grapes. I took great pride in my soldering , no runs , shined the hell out of each joint but I feel got to change with times and technology. Press is simply way to go nowadays. Just remember to minimize close joints , leave room for future fittings. Nothing last forever.

Nice fix on that !!

2 ways this happens either it wasn't pushed in all the way in at the moment of pressing which I hardly doubt cuz it will leak or the pipes froze I see it a lot fittings will pop out instead of the pipes spliting or bursting so my veredict as licensed plumber is the home owner forgot to drain spigot it froze and there u have it a second repair on a promt to freeze pipe