gluing pipes together??? now ive seen it all

[cadillackid]

Ok so it was kind of a normal weekend.. buddy asked me to help him program up some controls and help get some units started up on one of his job sites...

all new kit, so I get there.. vacuum poumps are whirring away, im programming the computers... then I noticed and started laughing at the newbie there who was vaccing down units where the pipes were not even brazed yet....

then he starts laughing at me and said "brazing is for old fuddy duddies".. turns out they have been using something called "HVAC super pro"...

basically they are gluing together their pipework.. and it claims to work even with 410A systems... said theyve been using it since last summer and it doesnt leak...

does this stuff actually work? i would love to use somnething like that on a job where im concerned about pipework too close to flammables..

but somehow im skeptical wioth all the expansion and contraction that copper does in a heatpump system that the "glue" would just crack...
-Christopher

[nike123]

Do you know that modern airplane could not exist without glue.
Or did you heard that bridges are glued.
Here is one used in plumbing:
http://www.accentshopping.com/product.asp?P_ID=149558

http://hvac-talk.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=345632

[Gary]

Sounds too good to be true.

Anything that can stick copper to aluminum has my vote. :)

[cadillackid]

well I guess we will find out how this all works out.. if this stuff works it could be a godsend for tight to braze places like repairing coils, or brazing up in attics where fire hazard would be high...

ive still got a couple mini splits in my test lab at home with flairs on them... one leaks a little so I keep that system charged with just a few PSI of nitrogen until im ready to work with it.. maybe ill give this stuff a go and cut the flairs off and see what happens...
-Christopher

[Magoo]

Hi gary.
correction, "sounds too good to be Glue".
I imagine this newby product has been feild tested for twenty years. [ not ]
Just the like your local plumber, cut and glue. What has this trade come to, next we will have every Tom, **** and Harry set up as heat pump installers. OK so whats new.
Magoo

[desA]

Unless the glue can fuse the two parent materials together, it is likely to fail at some point under fatigue loading.

[cadillackid]

Unless the glue can fuse the two parent materials together, it is likely to fail at some point under fatigue loading.

my thoughts for sure... and the fact in another forum it was mentioned a joit failed because it was stepped on...

granted I dont make a point of stepping on refrigerant lines, however i venture to say in most residential and light commercial applications where units are at ground level, grounds keepers and maintenance people do at times step on pipework..... in fact ive done it be accident myself and a brazed connection didnt suddenly leak because of it...
my real concern is that manufacturers of coils will start to use this stuff in their processes as im sure it would save lots of time and $$ to do so... I have enough problems with chinese made coils leaking as is..
-Christopher
-Christopher

[monkey spanners]

Found this on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNi-kvRpz84

In the time it took to glue that lot together we'd have finished brazing and be on out third cup of coffee :D

Jon

[Gingerair]

Wonder is it's anything like loctite 603, have used this before with brass elliot plugs to blank off evap tubes & it's worked fine.

Know the strength of a 603 joint is dependent on the 'bondline gap'. Up to a point, the more snug the fit, the stronger the joint...

[cadillackid]

ive got an evaporator coil with a leak... maybe ill see what happens to try and repair it for kicks (it is a lab piece)...

charge it up. run it in heat mode and let the unit kick out on safeties(kill the evaporator fan).. with r410a the head pressure ought to really be punchin by then...
-Christopher

[hwtan]

anyone got the contact of this company?

tried to email them but it didn't manage to send to the recipient.

[cadillackid]

ive not contacted them directly... however it is for sale at many HVAC distributors around the country.. I ordered some but haven't had a chance to use it yet... did do a practice joint with it and it held nitrogen up to 500 PSI and didnt leak.. even baked it in the oven at 150 degrees F...
-Christopher