I hope someone will have experienced this problem before, and can advise.
I need to tap into the flow and return of a straight run of 22 mm copper tubes with two simple "T" compression fittings. It is the middle of a run.
The left sides feed a series of radiators, and even if I disconnected them all, the uprights leading from the flow and return pipes to the valves go through floor boards, and the holes are snug fit. Therefore, there is absolutely no "give" in the 22 mm main circuit pipes on that side.
The right sides of the flow and return run for about 5 meters under the floor, where they turn with a standard elbow hard against a floor joist. So therefore there is no slack on that side either in principle.
I am hoping in fact that, having cut a pipe, I can force it apart sufficiently to insert the "T" just with brute force and ignorance, relying on the natural elasticity of the 22 mm pipe to force it open by the 5 mm needed to do so.
As a last resort, I could lift the floorboard along the 5 meter run to expose the pipes. I have calculated, using the Pythagorean theorem, that I would need to lift the middle point of the pipes by 5 cm to shorten them by 5 mm to allow me to insert the "T". They should bend that much, but I do not want to have to go to all that trouble if I can avoid it.
Am I being too optimistic, even though the pipe run to the offending joist is about 5 meters ? I do not want to cut into the pipes only to find that it is impossible to insert the "T", because it would involve unsoldering several joints to sort it out. It would be better to try to find another way of achieving the objective.
But in my simple mind, I am hoping that there will be enough elasticity in the pipes to let me compress them by 5 mm just using crude leverage. If they were 15 mm pipes, I would be more confident, but 22 mm may be more difficult.
No doubt someone has faced this problem before and would be willing to advise.
Thanks.
I need to tap into the flow and return of a straight run of 22 mm copper tubes with two simple "T" compression fittings. It is the middle of a run.
The left sides feed a series of radiators, and even if I disconnected them all, the uprights leading from the flow and return pipes to the valves go through floor boards, and the holes are snug fit. Therefore, there is absolutely no "give" in the 22 mm main circuit pipes on that side.
The right sides of the flow and return run for about 5 meters under the floor, where they turn with a standard elbow hard against a floor joist. So therefore there is no slack on that side either in principle.
I am hoping in fact that, having cut a pipe, I can force it apart sufficiently to insert the "T" just with brute force and ignorance, relying on the natural elasticity of the 22 mm pipe to force it open by the 5 mm needed to do so.
As a last resort, I could lift the floorboard along the 5 meter run to expose the pipes. I have calculated, using the Pythagorean theorem, that I would need to lift the middle point of the pipes by 5 cm to shorten them by 5 mm to allow me to insert the "T". They should bend that much, but I do not want to have to go to all that trouble if I can avoid it.
Am I being too optimistic, even though the pipe run to the offending joist is about 5 meters ? I do not want to cut into the pipes only to find that it is impossible to insert the "T", because it would involve unsoldering several joints to sort it out. It would be better to try to find another way of achieving the objective.
But in my simple mind, I am hoping that there will be enough elasticity in the pipes to let me compress them by 5 mm just using crude leverage. If they were 15 mm pipes, I would be more confident, but 22 mm may be more difficult.
No doubt someone has faced this problem before and would be willing to advise.
Thanks.
