Plastic pushfit pipe is now very common this is a piece of 15 millimeter
John Guest pex barrier pipe. This is now very common there are a lot of plumbers
out there that will only use plastic pipe because it is so much easier to use
and so much faster to install. There are a couple of things you need to be aware
of when you're using a plastic pipe and push fit fittings so we will
take a look at those in this video. You can see that I've got two pieces of 15
millimeter pex pipe here and they both actually look identical but one is made by
Hep2O one is made by John Guest Speedfit. A lot of this pipe is
actually guaranteed and some of it is guaranteed for 25 years in this example
we're actually going to make a joint using the John Guest
speedfit pipe. One thing you should never do is mix up the fittings so you should
never use John Guest Speedfit fittings on Hep2O pipe if you read
the instructions it does actually say that you should only use the correct
fittings for the pipe. So for the speedfit pipe you need to use the speedfit
fittings. You can probably get away with using Hep2O fittings on the
speedfit pipe but if there is an accident and one of the joints blow off
they are obviously going to blame you for using the incorrect fitting with the incorrect
pipe. For that reason you should always use the same pipe and the same make of
fittings. Most of the push-fit fittings manufacturers do say that you
can use their fittings with copper pipe so you should be able to use any make of
copper pipe with push-fit fittings. So this is the John Guest
speedfit which is very common in the UK you will notice that this actually has
marks on and they are cut marks to help you to ensure that you get the fitting
fully inserted you should only cut this pipe where the
cut marks are and that will help you when you come to make the joint because
the next cut mark along will be visible at the collet. To cut the pipe you're going
to need a specialist cutter like that that simply has a sharp blade in
there some of the manufacturers do sell their
own cutters and there are quite a few of these different types available. This
is a particularly good one this is a Rothenburger. So to cut the pipe
it's very easy we're simply going to choose a cut mark but then take the special
cutter and we're just going to put that on there and then we'll just squeeze the
handles and that will cut the pipe cleanly. The important thing now is to
use an insert you will notice this one has got two o rings on it that is a
John Guest superseal insert they don't all look like that some of them don't have the o rings on.
So all you do is take your pipe take your insert push
that in with a twisting motion and that needs to go all the way in so whenever
you make a joint with a plastic pipe you always need to put an insert in like that
I just like to point out that you can actually use these with compression
fittings should you wish to do. It's always a good idea as well to inspect
the end of the pipe to ensure that there are no scratches or anything on the pipe
that can damage the o-ring. Some people have suggested using a hacksaw to cut
this pipe that is not a good idea it can actually leave a burr on the edge
which can damage the o ring causing it to leak at a later date. So you need
to ensure that the insert is pushed all the way in like so. Fittings now come in
plastic bags like so these are very handy because they actually have the
instructions on the side. It's a good idea to keep them in the bag until you
need to use them some manufacturers use silicone grease on the inside to
lubricate the o ring and if you take them out the packets that can actually
dry up causing it not to work as well. So this is a John Guest speedfit fitting
and it needs to be in the open position like so before we insert the pipe and
as I pointed out earlier I've cut it on the cut mark so we need to insert
this pipe so that that mark goes all the way in.
Before I do that I'll just make a couple of points about these you should never let
children play with these because in the inside of there there are some stainless
steel grit rings that can damage your fingers so never push anything in there
either don't go putting your finger in because it can actually damage you. You
might just be able to see the stainless steel grit rings on the inside of there
and you can actually see the o ring at the end there that does the sealing. So
we're now going to take the pipe and what we're looking for is to push it in
until that mark reaches the back of the collet there. So I'm going to get that and I'm
going to push it all the way in and you can see that that has gone all the way in
there once it's in we can then twist that half
of the fitting and that is now locked in position. We will now do exactly the
same with the other piece of pipe just turn that around then you can see the
mark the mark is there so we now need to lock that half of the fitting as well so
we just twist that all the way in so now we have a perfectly made joint in there
that will be able to withstand a lot of pressure. What you can also do with these
fittings is you can buy collet clips like so there are 15 millimeter ones
and they come colour corded like so so you can actually get a white one a
blue one or a red one and you can actually use those and they can be
pushed in between the collet and the fitting there and that will ensure that
nobody can undo the fitting and it will also ensure that the fitting won't come
undone accidentally so if you ever worried about these kinds of fittings
especially if there are in an area where somebody might mess about with them such
as kids etc you can always use a collet clip like that simply insert that in there
and that will ensure that nobody can mess about with the fitting. So making a
joint with plastic pushfit pipe is an absolute piece of cake it really is
child's play you do just have to be careful don't go cutting it with a
hacksaw ensure the pipe isn't damaged and you
will have a very successful joint that will last for years. Some of these
manufacturers are now guaranteeing their fittings for 25 years. So now I'll just
pop these off we'll undo the fitting we simply need to push in the collet there
and then pull the pipe like so sometimes with these you will find that the
collet will come out of the end well that's nothing to worry about if that
comes out simply push it back in obviously you do need to ensure it's not
damaged though before you put it back in. If you want to join plastic pipe to
copper pipe it's very easy simply going to cut that using a pipe slice. The
critical part now is deburring the end of it if you look at that it does
actually have burrs on the end they can damage the o ring and there can cause it
to leak. So we're going to use this which is a deburring tool that will deburr
it externally and internally so we simply need to push the pipe in there
give it a few twists then do the same on the other side that will beburr it internally.
Sometimes what I'll do is take a piece of scotch brite pad and actually use
that to ensure there were no burrs on the end that will give you a really
clean piece of pipe on the end. This is actually very useful as well if you get
a pipe in a location where you can't actually get the deburring tool in you can
wrap that around the pipe and you can ensure that there are no burrs on the
end of it. So we can be sure that that is now burr free you don't need to use an
insert on copper pipe all you need to do is ensure that the fitting is in the
open position take the pipe push it all the way in until you feel it
physically stop and then rotate that collar again to lock the fitting. Again if
you want to you can use a collet clip on there and that will prevent it from
coming undone. So push fit pipe is absolutely fantastic it is very fast
very easy to use it's often cheaper than copper pipe and copper fittings and
virtually anybody can do it, it really is a idiot-proof. Thank you for
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