Need help replacing a sweat coupling with compression ball valve

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Yes, just cutting out the coupling neatly with a fine tooth hacksaw is much better than trying to heat and pull off the soldered coupling.

You can heat the remaining solder bumps with the torch, then wipe them off with a few swipes of an old dry kitchen sponge, or a small rag folded several times over.
 
Yes, just cutting out the coupling neatly with a fine tooth hacksaw is much better than trying to heat and pull off the soldered coupling.

You can heat the remaining solder bumps with the torch, then wipe them off with a few swipes of an old dry kitchen sponge, or a small rag folded several times over.

Thank you so much for your help. I will try your suggestions and report back as to how it turned out.
 
Wear eye protection, and long sleeves are not a bad idea either.

My forearms both have some permanent white spots where solder got me, even though I brushed it off right away.

And I would be blind if I did not wear eye glasses, with actual glass not plastic lenses.
 
cutting the soldered coupling out and adding a compression valve is going to be be very very difficult if you do not have the correct tools. ridgid # 103 mini cutters will fit in that joist space !!!!!!!!!
to rid the pipe of the excess solder you need to heat the wipe and wipe the excess off
then you need to sand the remaining solder off the pipe.
if not. the olive on the compression fitting is NOT GOING TO FIT
 
I'm not a Plumber but do my own plumbing at home and can easily sweat copper.

What about simply 4 joints per line to sweat instead of 2 by removing more of each line than just the existing couplings?

Picture the valve positioned on either side of the cuts with a short stub of piping already sweated on while using a slip coupling to connect the stub to the remaining piping.

If space is extremely limited the stub could be slightly longer than a slip coupling, so that the coupling could be slipped on the stubbed out valve while being fitted in place.

As for sweating near wood, buy a Oatey 9 in. x 12 in. Hands-Free Heat Shield from Home Depot or the equivalent from Lows.

You could also soak the wood with water from a spray bottle if you're proficient at sweating a joint.

If you didn't want to sweat, this plan could be replicated with Sharkbite fittings, only if you have the increased length needed to accommodate their longer slip coupling.

I only have 2 Sharkbite fittings in my home and they are at the top of the flexible supply lines for my water heater.

I would not install sharkbite fittings in a wall, but if that's an unfinished basement space that you're in frequently enough to notice any future issues... then you might feel comfortable using them there.

In my opinion from the pictures shown, there will be plenty of play to use either regular instead of slip couplings as long as the wall where those lines exit to your laundry area weren't foam sprayed or sealed in some other manner.

With the idea that every well thought out project requires two trips to the home center anyway, just buy regular and slip couplings and take back what you don't use.
 
Hello guys,

just an update, I completed the project without the use of any torch. The pipe where there wasnt enough straight pipe without removing the coupling, I cut around the coupling (i got lucky because when I moved the small pipe cutter as closely to the coupling as it would come, I ended up missing my ideal cut length by only 1/8” which didnt cause a problem). The second pipe, I simply put the valve upstream of coupling and did not touch the coupling.

The first one obviously had more movement than I ideally liked (as in once the valve is connected to both pipes, it would move up/down due to cutting it a bit longer). That scared me at first but once I tightened everything, I had no leaks.

Attaching a picture. Thanks for your help.

I will now create a separate thread for how to repair the utility faucet on the other side of this valve (which is why I installed this valve, so that I can service that faucet).

0-F9-DBF51-8-A13-4051-844-C-001-EDC5-FD7-D4.jpg
 
When I read your post, it makes me think the valves you are using allow one to cut out 1.5" of pipe and then, without moving either of the resulting pipe ends, install the valve.

So, the valve could be installed in a length of pipe which was held rigidly at both "ends."

Is that right?
 

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