Existing Tools And Requirements For Copper Connection
The Joining Procedure
There are three separate steps required for the successful joining of copper pipes:
1st stage Pipe and Fitting preparation
2nd stage Pipe and Fitting preparation, or Flux application
Solder and Heat application
Pipe Preparation:
Copper oxidizes when it comes in contact with oxygen; any copper
left exposed to nature will quickly discolor and take on a dull, brownish appearance. To assure
a successful connection between two pieces of copper pipe or tubing, this oxidation residue
must be completely removed from both the outside surface of the pipe tubing and from
the inside surface of the intended connecting sleeve or fittings. Complete, effective removal
of the oxidation before joining copper pipe sections is without question the bane of every
working plumber’s existence. To address this critical stage of pipe preparation, plumbers currently
use a combination of a fitting brush (more accurately, a twisted-in-wire brush, or
TiWB) for de-oxidizing the inside of copper fittings or sleeves, and variations of sand cloth or
open mesh cloth to clean the outside of copper pipe. These two types of preparation tools –
TiWBs and sand-paper-like sand or mesh cloth – account for 80% of all tool-ware sold to
perform the required work. Essentially these two products are used to “manually scrape” the
required surfaces clean, the inside of the fitting and the outside of the pipe.
Flux Application:
Once the plumber has performed the difficult and time-consuming
task of restoring the copper pipe and fittings to their cleanest state using the TiWB and cloth,
he then applies Flux to both intended connecting surfaces. Flux is a chemical compound (essentially
a combination of a mild acid and Vaseline) designed to perform a final task to assure
successful joining of copper pipe sections by liquefying and chemically guaranteeing the removal
of any residual oxidation or foreign residue from the required working surfaces. Flux
is a supplement to, not a replacement for, the arduous job of thoroughly cleaning the outside
and inside surfaces of copper tubing which the plumber must join together.
Solder and Heat Application:
Solder and heat are then simultaneously applied to the
intended connection. The heat (usually applied by a portable torch) is necessary to melt the
Solder (a synthesized combination of metals with a relatively low melting point) so as to fill
in the cavity between the connecting surfaces of tubing and sleeve. If there is any residual
foreign matter on the outside surface of the tubing or on the inside surface of the fitting, the
solder will not completely adhere to these wall surfaces and the joint will leak, every time.
To achieve the necessary clean surfaces has been a challenging undertaking before the
introduction of the CopperKey™ tool. That the undertaking has been even more challenging
is clear when one considers the typical plumber’s actual working environment.
The Plumber’s Working Environment
While the plumber has had to clean the inner and outer surfaces of copper pipes and
fittings that he needs to join, using a TiWB and sand cloth, he invariably has to do so in circumstances
that greatly increase the difficulty of getting the necessary parts clean enough.
Invariably most of the joining of copper tubing occurs in ceilings, or floors, under counters,
and or other generally difficult to reach places, usually after at least rough boxing-in has occurred.
Nonetheless, the working plumber has to be able to clean the required connecting surfaces
in all these awkward, and hard-to-reach places.
The Procedure for Surface Preparation of the Inside of Fittings:
As described above, the plumber prepares the inside surface of fittings with a twistedin-
wire brush. He can usually address the preparation of fitting surfaces while standing comfortably
with fitting in hand, using a TiWB.
The plumber cleans the connectors by tightly palming the small sized fitting in one
hand and then inserting the fitting brush body inside the cavity. The brush body is purposely
sized to fit very snuggly inside the fitting, which thus
requires substantial effort from the plumber to produce
the scraping action needed for the preparation exercise.
Due to the design of the TiWB, the plumber is also required
to continually release his grip on the brushing tool
to renew a reusable grip of motion. This necessary function
not only makes the preparation procedure slow and laborious, but also quickly leads to
user fatigue, and over an extended period of time can result in severe strain or injury to the
wrist and forearm muscles.
Plumbers quickly learn to insert “only part” of the fitting brush inside the fitting so as
to facilitate the burden of the work. Unfortunately, this often results in the exposed brush
filaments simultaneously cutting & scraping the inside of the palm of the plumber’s hand. In
the real world of the job site, such new open abrasions have immediate exposure to and contact
with the acidic flux required in the second stage of pipe preparation. The shortcut also
renders the brush less effective in achieving the necessary degree of cleanliness to assure a
leak-free joining.
The CopperKey™ Tool, with its revolutionary design, eliminates the difficulty with
respect to snugness due to its re-dimensioned brush, does away with the requirement to release
and renew one’s reusable grip of motion with its crank and handle design, and shields
the user from brush filament lesions due to its revolutionary patent-pending fitting guide system.
The Surface Preparation Procedure For The Outside Of Copper Pipe
While the burden of the procedures necessary to prepare the inside surfaces of fittings
is indeed unpleasant and often inadequate, it pales in these respects when compared to the difficulties and
burden encountered in preparing the outside surface of copper tubing for soldering.
As previously discussed, the majority of copper installers use abrasive cloths to prepare
the outside surface of copper pipe., including sand cloth, or open mesh cloth, or emery
cloth. In rare cases traditional plumbers can still be found using steel wool for pipe preparation.
Regardless of weapon of choice, however, all of these products require the user to
tightly trap a strip or piece of one of the abrasive products inside the palm of his hand, and to
trap the working pipe with the other hand. As with fitting preparation, the process is also
slowed down by the requirement to release the pipe or the grip on the abrasive cloth and renew
a reusable range of motion. With the abrasive material in hand, the plumber proceeds to
arduously rub the pipe raw of oxidation residue or construction debris.
Even in new construction, when the pipe is relatively fresh, the task of rubbing a gritty
and abrasive product over a metallic surface (the pipe is only properly prepared when it
shines) is always challenging. In cases of older piping (as in renovation or repair work) when
the pipe has had substantial time to oxidize, the burden of effort required is then dramatically
enhanced, as is the likelihood of failure. And still this exercise can be even that much more
difficult when the pipe requiring cleaning is confined in a small cavity that is hard to reach
and often is surrounded by extruding nail heads.
It is not widely recognized that the working plumber often plies his trade either uncomfortably
working on his knees near or under the floor, or working on a ladder in the sub
floor of the next elevation. In either case pipes are most often run in small hazardous and
restricted spaces. The plumber must often overcome severely restricted views and access to
work on cleaning preparation of the pipes and fittings that he must join together without leaks.
The physical challenges alone prevent success in a substantial number of undertakings.
Because the costs and consequences of failed joints are significant, plumbers for more
than 50 years have been forced to undertake these awkward, painful, ineffective, and outright
unpleasant cleaning processes. With the introduction of the CopperKey™ tool, the plumber
is able to maintain his emotional equilibrium, freed-up from failing to make leak-free joinings,
a most visible and costly failure, and is able to achieve quality results every time without
injury, abrasion, frustration, or re-doing of faulty couplings.
The CopperKey™ tool solves all of these problems with a unique, patented combination
of technologies that clean the inside and outside of copper pipes and fittings better and
faster than any existing tools, thus making copper pipe preparation for heat-fusing by a whole new magnitude
quicker, more reliable, and cheaper. Not only is less time consumed at high hourly rates,
but failure rates – and consequent repairs during and well after construction – are reduced to
virtually zero.
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