Joining old flex copper to new rigid – diameter is too large
byrd48
| Posted in General Discussion on
Hi, I’m plumbing a hot water loop into my home. The 3/4″ loop is already plumbed and now I’m joining the individual fixtures to it. Two of my fixtures have 1/2″ flexible lines and for the life of me, I cannot get a standard elbow or stop coupling over it. It appears to be almost the same diameter as the couplings. I tried to flare out the coupling but it still wont’ fit. Did the older copper flex pipe have a larger outside diameter than what is produced today?
Any tips on how to solve this problem (without running new fixture lines up through the wall)?
I’m in the middle of it now, so any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jon
Replies
The old flex tubing might be ACR tubing (refrigeration) which is sized by outside dimension, rather than by inside. I'd put a micrometer or caliper on it to see. You can get an adapter for connecting it to copper pipe.
Thanks, I think it does say acr on it. Are those adapters available at Home Depot?
I doubt that you will find them at HD, but it's possible. Ace, Do It Best etc hardware is more likely, but really I would just go to a plumbing store. You may have to get a transition from ACR tube to a standard thread then adapt that to your copper. Take a sample to the store if you can cut off a section.
Copper has dropped in cost quite a lot from a couple years ago. That was a good year for PEX tubing manufacturers.