If you mess up a soldered joint, you heat it up, pull it apart, clean it, and try again. If you mess up a ProPress joint, you cut it out. That fitting is destroyed. You lose an inch of pipe and a $4 fitting every time you slip.
But is it the right choice for every job? This post will break down everything you need to know: the mechanics, the cost, the safety, and the few places where you should still keep the torch handy. propresser
But if you walk onto a new construction site today, you are just as likely to hear the ratcheting click of a ProPress tool. Manufactured by Viega, ProPress is a mechanical press fitting system that has fundamentally changed how we join copper tubing. It is faster, colder, and statistically more reliable than traditional solder. If you mess up a soldered joint, you
For a DIY homeowner, a $3,000 tool is insanity. Even for a journeyman, the ROI only makes sense if you are pressing 100+ fittings a week. The fittings themselves cost 3x to 5x more than a standard copper fitting. A ½” copper elbow is $0.80; a ProPress elbow is $4.00. You lose an inch of pipe and a
If you do a lot of remodels, owning a ProPress allows you to have your laborers do basic water line moves without needing a licensed plumber for every tiny joint. However, check local code first.
It isn’t all sunshine and ratchets. ProPress has limitations.
ProPress doesn't make you a better plumber than the old-timer with the torch. But it does make you a faster , safer , and often more profitable one. In a trade where margins are razor-thin, that clicking sound is the sound of money being saved.
