That's a game changer with the schrader valve, what a top tip! I can absolutely see the advantage of air testing. Thank you. At college finding the leaks was half the fun! There was always one pipe insert missing, or a compression fitting not nipped up properly and the crestfallen student would get properly ribbed for it. Nobody ever had a leaky soldered joint though. The pros do it too. A neighbour knocked on the door the other night as her radiator was leaking and the boiler pressure dropping, she'd had British Gas out to service the system a couple of weeks ago but this was the first time she'd used it since. The leaking compression fitting on that radiator wasn't even hand tight, it just hadn't been tightened up at all.
Love the stuff you talk about on this channel. I’m not an expert, I’m not in the Trades, I’m smart enough to hire experts who have spent years becoming experts do the things I don’t have the skill sets to do…whew…that took forever to simply say: Thanks for taking the time to teach all of us (experts/Journeymen, apprentices/undergraduates, and us fans of the Trades) about the cool stuff you do as part of your job. Cheers
Good to see this tip First, thing to say is I am not a pro plumber. But I have done this several times when installing new plumbing runs. A central heating system operates at more than 1 bar or 14 psi, so I use a foot pump with a pressure guage and never go above that. I've done this to test sections of plumbing before filling with water, leaving it pressurised for several minutes. Air leaks out a lot quicker than water, so you can tell very quickly if something's wrong. I push the button in the middle of the valve to release the air safely.
I made a pressure test rig as I was doing loads of plumbing in my house - with a pressure gauge and 22mm and 15mm end so I could attach it to either. I wish I'd known about the schrader tip here, as the way I attached mine was MASSIVELY more complex. I only tested it to 1bar and then left it for an hour to see if the gauge moved. Allowed me to find a couple of tiny leaks easily with water spray and fairly liquid. No leaks when I finally filled the system, and happy days as it was another massive job that I saved a packet on doing my own extension... which i will eventually finish, maybe in the mid 2030s.
Absolutely brilliant idea. Sadly came one day too late for me. I'm water testing at the moment and yes one push fit fitting decided to attempt a return to the wild at one bar. Thanks so much for this top idea Rodger :)
Rodger i have been in the building trade my whole working life and i have never seen anyone use this nice trick i must say i am always impressed with your content on this channel and every topic you cover A++++
I think it’s how fast or slow a loss of pressure the clue to rads or boiler . Slow drop rads ! Just like that out of the blue a few times boiler ! Valve or diverter ? Minute leak HW exchanger ? Am I talking nonsense lol 😂
Brilliant tip! Carried out on my Reno. After a few minor noticeable leaks, I can now get the pressure to hold at 1-2bar for an hour. Sadly overnight it keeps dropping, so still on the hunt for that final leak….. hoping it could be the schrader valve itself
Thank you so much for this tip with the valve 👍 I am retired plumber and I have a one off job to do where I need to dry pressure test, I went to get my dry test kit and it is nowhere to be found and I didn’t want to spend £30-£50 on a one off job To replace the dry pressure valve, thanks again Roger. This has just saved me a lot of money 👊, keep up the great work with the videos 👍
Very clever. We had the water level in the CH header tank going up and down with the cold water tank in the loft. The ball valve had scaled up and ran very slowly so I suspected a slow leak in the hot water cylinder coil. The plumber disconnected the coil from the CH system and did an air pressure test. He came back the next day and the pressure had dropped indicating a leak. The cylinder was replaced, but I didn’t appreciate the possibility of CH inhibitor mixing with our hot water, so I’ll probably get a combi boiler when we replace it.
As a trainee site engineer many many moons ago this is how 6" or 4" etc rainwater drainage was tested prior to backfilling using pipe end stops and a certain air pressure pumped in.If the pressure held backfill and lay the next few lengths and so on.I forget the tolerance of psi loss per minute now though.Basically if air cant escape water cant.
Was on a Site today in London where they are doing exactly this. With a compressor though. For all the same reasons. Much easier and quicker to identify and fix the faults without the big draindown!
Gonna get one! I like the soap test as its definate, leak or not, since pressurised air can vary with temperature plus a large volume of air could take a long time to drop pressure enough to be sure its leaking
@@SkillBuilder that would be like a big leak. Anythinglike a drip would take a long time. Frustratingly, most of my 'fails' have been radiator tails. Seems like you have to wind and wind ptfe tape forever to avoid leaks. I always screw the tails in and out 'bare' first to remove any sharp bits that might tear the ptfe
I use predominantly push fits now and been using them for about 15yrs. Only had one leak and that was because the pipe was marked. On compression fittings I use paste. Rarely solder. I feel confident enough to say that I never pressure test and (so far) it’s been great. Although, I think pressure testing is the right thing to do. Useful video.
What a great tip. Your advance warning was sufficient, and in fact a bicycle pump came to mind even before you mentioned it. There's always going to be that One Guy ... (thanks for posting!)
I worked on a church renovation and the undercroft had underfloor heating and £50k worth of hardwood flooring. The underfloor heating was tested with an air-pressure test and passed. When they switched the water on, a section of pipe started to leak and the flooring above it got wrecked. When the flooring was taken up, the section of pipe had several holes drilled into it, like a flute.
My dad taught me this technique, always released the pressure through the tyre valve. Just remember you get all the energy out that you put in, 5 min work on the pump can come out in less than a second, and if it brings a bit of brass with it you've made yourself an air rifle.
Thank you, Rodgers learnt something new today , question when using compression fitting I see in the usa they tighten the crap out of it . They way I was taught is to tighten by hand them continue with a half turn with a spanner / wrench if it leaks another quarter turn until it is tight . If you over tighten it deformed the olive / brass ring. Would you agree . Keep making the vids always great information and advise .
Does the UK not have test gauges. We air test all the time. This video may be about testing existing pipe work. I’m referring to new construction. There’s lots of times where you don’t have water to do a live water test. We have to pump it to 80psi because that’s the maximum allowable water pressure. We have to use a gauge because the inspector needs to see it. I’ve even done work at TX state university and they are basically a municipality unto themselves. The use UPC but have lots of their own exceptions. I did a live water test and was told it wasn’t sufficient. I had to air it up to 125 psi. As for testing existing systems, we use a test gauge that fits on hose threads. You put it on a hose Bibb or washer box, turn it on so it pressurizes then turn the water off to seal the system. If it holds for 15 min, it’s good.
Hi Josh Yes we have a lot of devices for testing but this is just a little trick using something you can pick up for nothing. We usually test with water but it is stressful.
Been air testing for yrs .its ideal for ufh especially on exposed sites prior to pouring slab. Using large 500 m coils generally you'll have just two connections lever valve with blank one end and pressure gauge at the other leaving manifold until 2nd fix.
Manufactured a 35mm low loss header and mixing valve recently in my own home. Air tested it up to 3 bar and it held for 24 hours. When I installed it , it leaked on one joint like a sieve. Be warned that air testing sometimes will not show up a water leak. Don’t ask me why, but apparently it’s known about in the trade!
Great idear Roger. Never had a leek on a soldered fitting, it's all down to preparation. I used to test my joints by Topping the system up venting off and then tapping each joint if there was an issue it would show.
It depends how you work. Putting central heating in an occupied house and leaving every joint uncovered so you can tap it puts a lot of rooms out of action. I air test room by room so I can put the boards and carpets back.
If you are going to air test , turn off all the radiators both sides first . Minimum air content then. If it’s on a combi you could always isolate the boiler as well.
This is great, came across it as I need to test my underfloor heating to pressure. I was thinking of filling the system a Dan extra length of pipe outside of the system, stuck a shrader valve on the end and pressurise that, shouldn't force any air into the system itself, than I can just isolate the ufh and leave it for 24 hours, pressure gauge on the manifold.. Can't see and issue?
Good video ,,but use ldf (leak detection fluid) if you can as washing up liquid is corrosive.also a strength test is usually 1.5 x the operating pressure so as a 1.5 x 1.1 bar allow some time for temp stabilzation and stay below 3 bar incase it trips any prv,s ( pressure relief valves..but defo better to test if you can before any flooring etc goes back down...keep up the good work..cheers
Hi Rodger; I’m a plumber of over 20 years, I generally use air for pressure testing as well, particularly for first fixing, I do use wet testing, but find it a pain to remove the water from the pipework for soldering. A question for you; what pressure is industry standard? I test at 2 bar for 30mins, then 5 bar for the same time, and have done for years. Recently I’ve had some problems with some speedfit fittings leaking, speedfit say to test at 2 bar for 10mins, then 10bar for 10mins, that seems extreme and dangerous particularly like you say cap ends popping off and bouncing around at a hundred miles an hour! Also, when doing my apprenticeship we used to test like that and had loads of leaks afterwards we think because of stretching the grip rings. My concern is that would speedfit honour any warranty issue if we test at a lower pressure? Also on combined copper & plastic systems would the extra pressure cause any damage to copper pipework and fittings (old or new)? Many thanks
Agree that this is a very good idea and very well executed. Just use a manual pump at less than 1 bar and take the obvious site precautions indicated. I'm off to get a Scraper valve. I suspect that Kwikfit or any tyre dealer will have 1000s of old ones lying about as they replace one for every new tyre sold....
Great tip, I'm going to be trying soldering for the first time on my combi boiler system. What's the best way to let the pressure back out. Pressing the valve pin in? Undoing a bleed valve on a rad?
I’m sure the guy with the funny hair cut has a fancy machine that costs a right few Bob,In the shipyard we test a ship with 2lbs and that finds cracks and missed welds all over the place Dangerous to go any higher I kid you not.
I work on site and have always water tested. Didn’t know air testing wasn’t allowed and just assumed it was because it isn’t very time efficient when It came to finding a leak.
How much pumping should be required to start pressurising the system? I've laid new push-fit pipe work to replace the old CH system and would like to test it. I've rigged this up and capped all the pipes that will connect to the radiators. Should I expect to be pumping a good bit or should I see the gauge move fairly quickly after I begin pumping? There is a main run of 22mm pipes with branches of 15mm out to different radiators.
The danger that you are talking about is called stored energy and as you stressed it a lot, it is very dangerous. I worked on a big project (process) and we were only allowed to gas (nitous) test pipeowrk that was not supposed to carry liquids and only gases and we did not want contamination. If I remeber correctly, only 2 out of 30 systems were tested this way.
@@SkillBuilder roger is there a button on this valve to safely release the pressure as i carnt see it from the picture any help would be most grateful thankyou for the video
Brilliant. Just like finding a puncture in your BMX inner tubes. Shame Mythbuster is no longing airing. I'd like to see them fabricate a house and pump up the heating system until it explodes..... So we don't have to 🤭🤔😵💫
Well I never, that saves a lot of ballache! There's me drilling holes in 22mm compresion cap ends and fitting the bolt in shrader valves. BTW, they work great in a pneumatic unblocker with a makita air pump ;D
Does anyone do the opposite I.e. vacuum testing, or probably pressure reduction to see if the system will hold a partial vacuum. Could prevent anything ‘blowing off’. I would guess a full vacuum could in theory collapse/buckle radiators or tanks etc.
Always air test my systems before fill up best way of checking all the grab rings on pushfit and highlights compression fittings that need more tightening or paste saves causing a leak and draining down.
Doesn't air/gas, and therefore air testing, require tighter fittings than water? Can you get a lot of false positives this way as you find "leaks" that might not happen in a water system?
Stacks have always been tested with air but it is very low pressure. If you are telling me there are 7 bar air tests going on without the area being cordoned off I am surprised because the HSE don't allow it.
I presume that if I go round, tighten everything and get everyone out of the house, I'm good to go, right? It's just nuggets who whack on the pump on an alien installation without checking, that are in danger of taking someone's eye out?
1 bar is the compressed pressure on the guage. I suppose you could say it is 1 bar above atmospheric pressure so it is two bar. If you have pipework going up 9.8 metres to the top of a house you have 1 bar right there.
I can pump my boiler central heating system safely upto 2.5 bar with water. why is it more dangerous using air instead if the pressure in the system is also 2.5 bar? I can't understand why the same pressure under air is more dangerous?
I had a guy put in a rigid gas connection to our new gas hob …. He then said I need to test it a took a friggin lighter out of his pocket 😳😱. Luckily I’m still here 😬🧱👍🏽
It is quite a common trick,or was. When you light a gas cooker you are doing the same thing. The danger is aways a build up of gas rather than the bit you know about. I have seen a guy repairing gas in the road with a cigarette. He showed me how hard it is to light an open ended gas pipe.
@@SkillBuilder like the scene in films, where the bad guy throws a cigarette into a pool of petrol, and the whole thing goes up... in reality, it would extinguish the cig as soon as it hit.
Um. So the guages you get for spinning onto a hydrant and checking pressure? Take the swivel off. The shradar valve wiggles into that hole now you can plug on to a hydrant or washing machine valve. We only air test. 80psi fir water 5psi for drain. You testing a bathroom with that bike pump? Your stored energy is same result with water. Except dryer. Your gonna be there forever with that pump. Strap your pipe and nothing goes flying. It’s copper not plastic.
That is true, I had some carbon deposists wash out of brand new copper tube that held up on air. The thing is, most leaks will show up and a lot of the time it is just the plumber forgetting to solder a joint or do up a compression nut.
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