Search the forum,

The reason I don't use flexis...

Discuss The reason I don't use flexis... in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Status
Not open for further replies.
some one suggested i may be a fat bearded man called brian... which im not, but i hope dancinplumba is a gorgeous dark styled (hopefully a full head of hair)haired, with blue, or borwn (i dont mind) eyes, a cracking personality and a lovely big.....
 
claireplumb said:
some one suggested i may be a fat bearded man called brian... which im not, but i hope dancinplumba is a gorgeous dark styled (hopefully a full head of hair)haired, with blue, or borwn (i dont mind) eyes, a cracking personality and a lovely big.....
Click to expand...
flexi?
 
claireplumb said:
some one suggested i may be a fat bearded man called brian... which im not, but i hope dancinplumba is a gorgeous dark styled (hopefully a full head of hair)haired, with blue, or borwn (i dont mind) eyes, a cracking personality and a lovely big.....
Click to expand...
pmsl claire way off ha ha ha
beautiful green eyes i have
 
what colour is my name now? ive been accepted into the arms of love
 
Way off topic guys, continue the love match in the Arms. I've booked my kilt for the wedding by the way.

Still remain flexi about it.
 
As a true Scot I wear nothing but fresh air under my kilt! Just keep me miles away from any fan heaters or I'll scare the hell out of your guests.
 
i like plastic,pushfits,....flexi's,they all have a place, but where possible copper is my preferance,and i'm sure the punter does too.
 
Right firstly I've got to complain, there's only room for one fat bearded bloke on this forum and that's me so hands off my title Claire/Brian.

Secondly on the subject of flexis, I fitted a combi for my sister in law some years ago and a week later her kitchen ceiling came down. Her hubby had fitted the bathroom using flexis and the hot one to the bath had burst.

If a tap comes with flexis I'll use them but I won't buy flexis to use for any other taps. I also throw the fibre washers away that come with tap conns and use the nylon ones that you can buy, they're a lot more robust and if you get an awkward one the don't split like the fibre ones.

If I have a really awkward bath filler or mixer to connect I'll use the Speedfit tap connectors that you can hand tighten as a deck filler can't swivel like taps.
 
system3 said:
Good post Watertight. May I suggest that you bend a supply of usable offsets suitable for a number of applications and keep these in your van as I do. Most wash basins can use a 60mm offset and if you bend a few right angles as well and some crossovers, you will have a ready made supply that will do for most jobs. You'll feel more satisfied with your work too. Use any medium size cuttings left over from jobs, it saves a lot of time and if you make these up in your spare time, it can actually become an enjoyable "chore" as well as good practice.

Solder/pre-compress any tap adaptors before connecting to the basin and you'll soon be flying through using copper as your preference.
Click to expand...

To be honest I'm probably better at bending than I realise. I've had an electronic pipe freezer for over a year now and 9 times out of 10 bend offsets to adjust the rads pipework when changing to a modern sized rad as I think it looks better than extensions. And realised when thinking about the last job that for a while now I've been pulling the right offset first time and by eye. And that's under pressure, with a popcicle standing between Mrs Smith's cream carpets and a lake of dirty water.

Ok you guys have won a convert. I will begin to try and use copper.

Damn it, I just re-stocked though. Anyone want to buy £75 worth of flexi's?
 
Last edited:
system3 said:
.....I've seen too many of them burst especially the cheap imported ones to place any confidence in them at all. One was on the counter in PTS today being returned as it had burst and had a quarter inch gash down the middle of it. I've seen perfectly installed ones with no kinks, twists or strains of any kinds burst for no apparent reason. At the end of the day they are basically a rubber hose covered in braid.

I now only use copper and having come through and used the Speedfit renaissance, I have a sense of pride with my work with copper and work completed with my bending machine. I can bend an offset very quickly and know that it won't burst either.

I'm not in any way making a dig at those who use flexis and plastic plumbing, for everyone is entitled to have their own preference, but in my opinion copper and soldered fittings or Kuterlite compression fittings will outlast any plastic installation and look far more professional.
Click to expand...

If i send you my address could you send me all the flexis you remove from taps please
 
stevetheplumber said:
If i send you my address could you send me all the flexis you remove from taps please
Click to expand...
Why would I want to remove them? I just do not install them. They are not allowed in most of the public buildings I work in due to health risks. I'll send you a few with built in Legionnares disease at no extra charge.
 
I've just had a thought.
I use flexis when on jobs, but I don't use them at home. I've never really thought about it before.
Spose it's a time thing, in the back of my mind I'd rather use copper everywhere but if I can get in and out of a job quicker I will.
Feel a bit guilty now...
 
That's what I was talking about when I said the opnions we hold which we want to hold should be viewed with the most suspicion. It's one of the basic foundations of logical thinking but is not at all intuitive so you need to force yourself to do it.

Before you ever argue any position, ask yourself if you want to believe it because it's wholly true or because, to some extent, it makes your life easier, makes you money, sits with your established world view, pre-existing opinions, sides with your biases...etc...

It can of course do both. But always be suspicious of self-interest. Don't let it inform opinion without reason behind it.

I#m pretty sure, the more I think about it, that the reason I use flexi's is because it's quicker and more lucrative than copper. It is only secondarily because I imagine they're safe and reliable. And that is it. I may announce that they're fine and everyone uses them these days to myself whilst mumbling my rehearsed potential conversations with the customer while still half posted under a bath, but the truth is I'm doing so to silence a niggle.

Only the fool ignoreth the niggle.
 
Here in Spain every appliance is connected by flexi's i've been here 16 years, I have 20 in my house, changed two only when I changed the kitchen tap.
We stopped using them , because I think the one 's in the uk were cheap and nasty.I first used Acorn ( you have to old to remember that) in 1983
We were installing shower cubicles in hotels with the mixer at the back, there no way that you do it in copper and we were on a price, and as far as I know there was never a problem with the plastic.
As friend owned the hotel group.I would have told.
 
You can't beat copper, but plastic has it's place.The reason that plastic gets slated is that it is badly installed, in the uk outside MIlton Keynes looking at a new estate, the pipework was rubbish, no attempt to straighten pipework,waste pipes running backward and all on show.the trade has gone down hill bring the 4 years learning .:83:
 
It's always the same with this topic, if you use flexi's your not a 'proper' plumber.

Well what a load of bull.

Fine, you don't use flexi's, good for you.

Personally, I use flexi's and I do it in copper as well, all depends on the job, the price and the access.

It's just a shame that this topic always ends up pointing fingers. It's not what we come on here for.

Rant over.
 
system3 said:
.....I've seen too many of them burst especially the cheap imported ones to place any confidence in them at all. One was on the counter in PTS today being returned as it had burst and had a quarter inch gash down the middle of it. I've seen perfectly installed ones with no kinks, twists or strains of any kinds burst for no apparent reason. At the end of the day they are basically a rubber hose covered in braid.

I now only use copper and having come through and used the Speedfit renaissance, I have a sense of pride with my work with copper and work completed with my bending machine. I can bend an offset very quickly and know that it won't burst either.

I'm not in any way making a dig at those who use flexis and plastic plumbing, for everyone is entitled to have their own preference, but in my opinion copper and soldered fittings or Kuterlite compression fittings will outlast any plastic installation and look far more professional.
Click to expand...

same here on new install , if its a change taps def flexi for me
 
SimonG said:
It's always the same with this topic, if you use flexi's your not a 'proper' plumber.

Well what a load of bull.

Fine, you don't use flexi's, good for you.

Personally, I use flexi's and I do it in copper as well, all depends on the job, the price and the access.

It's just a shame that this topic always ends up pointing fingers. It's not what we come on here for.

Rant over.
Click to expand...
I never said that and never even implied that. If you read my earlier post I wrote:

Not snobbery or the "we're better than you coz we use copper and you dont". My post is not slating plastics and flexis it's my opinion and I have seen too many failures to feel confident about using them. If you like using plastic and flexis, then ok that is your preference.
 
system3 said:
I never said that and never even implied that. If you read my earlier post I wrote:

Not snobbery or the "we're better than you coz we use copper and you dont". My post is not slating plastics and flexis it's my opinion and I have seen too many failures to feel confident about using them. If you like using plastic and flexis, then ok that is your preference.
Click to expand...


If you read my post again you will see that I did not say that yourself had implied anything. In fact i did not quote from any individual post.

My complaint comes from the general tone within the thread.


I'll just agree to disagree, after all would be boring if everybody had the same ideas :)
 
Last edited:
I know that Simon, you were not getting at me personally. This topic will always start a heated debate amongst some of the forum members. Debate and individual opinions make this a good forum as these are generally not stifled or controlled to suit any particular viewpoint, which is not often the case in other forums I am on.

Let's all stay flexi about this eh?
 
system3 said:
I know that Simon, you were not getting at me personally. This topic will always start a heated debate amongst some of the forum members. Debate and individual opinions make this a good forum as these are generally not stifled or controlled to suit any particular viewpoint, which is not often the case in other forums I am on.

Let's all stay flexi about this eh?
Click to expand...

Like it :)
 
flexis are for diying wanabee plumbers, and copper is for dinosaurs who cant programe the bloomin vcr. Plastic is no good cus the tat man wont give you money for it.

im going back to lead :)
 
AW seeing as you're going back to lead, can you show the kiddies what a ball joint looks like! LOL

Personally I'm going back to Roman aqauducts.
 
We seem to do this subject every few months!!

I use flexi's. I use them a lot more than I did five years ago. If you go back to when I first started plumbing 15 years ago, (I'm only 33) I never used them or plastic pipe. Dad wouldn't allow it!

They have there place. They save time, they're (obviously) flexible so can save a lot of ball ache, and there are situations where you simply have to use them. (back to the wall pans for instance, where you can't see any of the plumbing when it's second fixed.

I haven't had one burst on me as yet. I'm sure the day will come. I've also been called to random leaks on 20 year old copper installations. Nothing is perfect. When I uprated my house to an unvented cylinder, it blew a 30 year old copper endfeed elbow off. I checked pipe and fitting. Both tinned with solder, it was just time for the fitting to go....that's life.
 
Last edited:
But Danny, your end feed lasted 30 years before giving up the ghost. Do you seriously think that a flexi would last as long. Would you as a professional use them on a unvented cylinder?

I embrace new technology, I try it out and make my own opinion about it. Having used flexis in quite a few applications and seen some that have been installed by plumbers, and their failure rates, I just do not have confidence in them. If you and anyone else uses them and rates them highly, then that's fine, I do not have a problem with that, everyone does things to a method that they are happy with.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
New posts
Status
Not open for further replies.

Reply to The reason I don't use flexis... in the Plumbing Jobs | The Job-board area at PlumbersForums.net

Similar plumbing topics

W
Outdoor Tap at Porch
Hi, basic question, any insight much appreciated. Looking to have an outdoor tap in my front porch fed from 15mm pex coming up from suspended floor. Pic 1 is inside porch, pex temporarily clipped to give an idea of pipe placement (ignore shoddy blockwork of booted cowboy builder!), Pic 2 is...
Replies
6
Views
201
Dave Moore
D
Creating content since 2001. Untold Media.

Newest Plumbing Threads

Back
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website. For the best site experience please disable your AdBlocker.

I've Disabled AdBlock