Tightening single ended compression fittings

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Hi, wondering how other people do this:

have just replacing the filling loop for my central heating as the old one was weeping from the check valve. The bit I had real trouble with was getting the isolation valve for the heating side tightened up enough. Normally with compression fittings I use two spanner’s and tighten both sides up simultaneously so the forces work against each other and hold the fitting steady. In this case as I was only tightening the one end, I found it really hard to tighten up, the whole fitting kept spinning on the pipe. Got there eventually though by holding onto it with a stilson. In hindsight I should have got a better quality fitting that has a squared off section to help with this kind of thing.

Does anyone have any tips to make this easier next time, other than just buy a better quality fitting?

thanks
 
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I believe you may have answered your own question. However if in doubt, use grips, stillson etc.
 
Most valve will have flats on the body of the valve to allow a tool to grip it. If not then I use vice (mole) grips. Unscrew the plastic handle off first, makes it easier to grip.
 
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Thanks both, thought I’d check for next time, mole grips it is.

Tangential question, when removing the old valve, it was so tight against a soldered fitting that I couldn’t move the nut back enough to get to the olive - needed to get it off to clean up the pipe prior to fitting new valve. Ended up having to chop out the pipe work around it and remake it. Have I got about this the hard way, is there any ways of getting olives off other than sawing through them with a hacksaw?
 
You could use an olive remover like the Monument one (Screwfix 88681). Bit expensive for occasional use, and depends on you being able to screw the compression nut onto it.
 
You could use an olive remover like the Monument one (Screwfix 88681). Bit expensive for occasional use, and depends on you being able to screw the compression nut onto it.

yes, that looks exactly the thing that would have been useful!

Always assumed they grabbed the olive somehow, didn’t realise it threaded into the actual nut
 
You could use an olive remover like the Monument one (Screwfix 88681). Bit expensive for occasional use, and depends on you being able to screw the compression nut onto it.
Wont work with really old prestex fittings ;)
 

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