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What you are talking about is soft soldering, it is easy when you get the knack. Make sure both surfaces are clean and shine, then heat the joint.
Personally I currently like pex piping cheaper than copper and easier to install.
lynx-
when you get the knack
This is what I was getting at. Watched a few youtube videos and it looks pretty straightforward. I understand the concepts. But the vids are made by professional plumbers doing this day in day out, hence my question. I think I'll probably have enough to do to warrant buying some solder, flux and a few fittings to have a practice. I already have some pipe and tools like pipe cutter, deburrer etc.
Seems like it should be easier than yesterday's endeavours - put all the pieces together in the right order, tighten everything up so I only have two nuts on the T I'm inserting to tighten in-situ, turn off water, drain system, cut pipe, insert T and tighten, turn water back on, leak. Water off, tighten, water on, leak, repeat - for about two hours. All in the under sink cupboard.
Instead the leaky joint would have been soldered in advance, and just the two T connections would need an awkward in-situ solder which would still be easier than trying to fit spanners into a space in which spanners do not want to fit.
I've basically talked myself into it. I'll let you all know when it goes horribly wrong :)
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Personally I currently like pex piping cheaper than copper and easier to install.
From my perspective PEX is a million times better as there is more margin for error drilling the centre of a joist rather than notching the top/bottom. Also means it's less likely that some clown will put a nail / screw through it. Therefore I won't have to waist my time putting someone else's fuck right.
Arducius
Bobbo
How hard is soldering copper pipe? After wrestling with compression joints all evening yesterday I did, in the end, finally have the dishwasher plumbed in but I feel like learning to solder would have made the job a lot easier.
And we have a sink with a big strainer, are they standard sizes? I ask because it has a food waste macerator attached to it which we don't want and is leaking from within the unit itself so I need to remove it and fit a new trap/waste pipe and maybe a new strainer if the existing one is integrated into the unit below which it looks like it could be.
Ideally I just want to swap it out for a new one with standard BSP thread to fit a new 40mm trap/waste which I can connect up to the existing waste pipe.