Solder ring fitting
Yorkshire Fittings are a proprietary range of pre-soldered capillary connectors for joining copper pipes used in plumbing. They are suitable for installation by the advanced DIY hobbyist. They are also exceptionally useful in tight locations, where one hand is holding a piece of sheetmetal to protect the area behind the workpiece while the other hand holds the blowtorch.
To obtain perfect joins, clean the inside of the fitting and the outside of the copper pipe using coarse steel wool, apply flux paste, then insert the pipe into the fitting and apply heat from a portable propane torch until a ring of solder shows at the edges of the fitting. Let the solder cool (do not pour on water) to obtain a durable joint. Yorkshire fittings are now made with lead-free solder.
The fittings come in a great variety of configurations, such as Tee-pieces, straight couplers, elbows or bends, reducers (to join pipes of different diameters), stop-ends, and there are also versions with screw threads (male or female) at one end to fit taps and galvanized iron pipes.
External links
- Yorkshire Fittings
- Watts EZ-Sweat fittings, a similar (possibly licensed) system